I absolutely agree that companies should be good neighbors ... key word is should. Many times shareholder return becomes the deciding factor. Sometimes companies forget the first shareholder should be their customer. I will be interested to see if Gitzo understands this enough to respond.
EB-1 wrote:
The tripod flat plate loosened itself and almost fell off. I was using only a 1 series body and 70-200/4 IS at the time and did not have the special tools. What is up with Gitzo? Do they use 12-year-old weaklings to tighten the 3 series plates or what?
EBH
I own a few Gitzo's and have owned several that I've sold. For the prices we pay, I expect not just competent workmanship, but superior, no-excuses workmanship. If I wanted fall-apart junk I'd go buy Induro/Benro.
It's good that you've told everyone here, but if you don't tell Gitzo, vociferously I might add, what happened you're wasting your umbrage/anger and it's all for naught. They obviously know about the problems but are doing little, if anything, to rectify it...
I have a 5541 for use with my 8x10 camera. The top plate was a bit loose when it was shipped, so I tightened it down. No big deal. The people in the factor just didn't tighten it down as much as they should have. It's not a flaw in the design. Just crank it tight, and you're fine.
As I related in an earlier response to this post, I believe the base plate issue is mainly one of user error as opposed to product defect. Like you, I also have a Gitzo 5541LS carbon fiber tripod with which, I must add, I am very satisfied. Nonetheless, if Gitzo is shipping its systematic tripods with the base plate bolt loose, Gitzo ought to warn its customers of that fact. Further, Gitzo should also warn its customers that they should periodically check the systematic products to make sure that all bolts are properly tightened. These warnings would be no different than the warnings that tire manufacturers give to buyers to make sure that tires are properly inflated, or the warnings that auto manufacturers give buyers of their products to always wear seat belts.
In February I was using my new 3541xls in Yellowstone with a Wimberley and 500mm and the plate came off. Of course we all had gitzos but nobody in the group had the specific silly screwdriver to tighten it. We stripped the screw in Yellowstone, but at least made it work. I tightened the plate when I came back from Yellowstone and now take that silly screwdriver on trips.
I will say the Gitzo folks are nice to deal with, one of the legs started turning (coming unglued) when I was in Alaska so I dropped it off at Bogen (in NJ) and I just got sent a new tripod by them and received it within 5 day of dropping off.
As I related in an earlier response to this post, I believe the base plate issue is mainly one of user error as opposed to product defect. Like you, I also have a Gitzo 5541LS carbon fiber tripod with which, I must add, I am very satisfied. Nonetheless, if Gitzo is shipping its systematic tripods with the base plate bolt loose, Gitzo ought to warn its customers of that fact. Further, Gitzo should also warn its customers that they should periodically check the systematic products to make sure that all bolts are properly tightened. These warnings would be no different than the warnings that tire manufacturers give to buyers to make sure that tires are properly inflated, or the warnings that auto manufacturers give buyers of their products to always wear seat belts.
PORSCHE917 wrote:
I believe the base plate issue is mainly one of user error as opposed to product defect.
It's neither user error or product defect... it's purely a design defect (rooted in maximizing profit at the expense of [gear] safety). The "Fix" is not a solution for me (but Rube Goldberg would have liked it) so I'll come up with something to secure the plate on my 1325.
We're getting ready to buy a tripod for my wife but it won't be a Gitzo. Hell, even Benro knows better than to implement such a poor design!
Greg
Jul 02, 2009 at 09:47 AM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
bitmaker wrote:
It's neither user error or product defect... it's purely a design defect (rooted in maximizing profit at the expense of [gear] safety). The "Fix" is not a solution for me (but Rube Goldberg would have liked it) so I'll come up with something to secure the plate on my 1325.
We're getting ready to buy a tripod for my wife but it won't be a Gitzo. Hell, even Benro knows better than to implement such a poor design!
Lars Johnsson wrote:
So what's poor in the design then
The casting(s) that form the Gitzo base plate is two pieces. The correct design is one casting to form the base plate.
louis fusco wrote:
locktight ?
...will work for securing the clamp screw and nut. But it won't do anything to secure the two cast pieces to each other (and that's where the failures are occurring).
Don't know. I'd suggest emailing them at the address they provide on the product page. FWIW, the NSN thread that started all this also has some "homemade" fixes with pics. But I'd bet the third party solution NSN is offering is probably lighter or more secure, or both (for a price, of course. ) I have to believe Gitzo will eventually incorporate some change in their design that will take care of any issues people are having--obviously this is not a complicated thing to fix--but it may not be available until the next generation of tripods.
bitmaker wrote:
It's neither user error or product defect... it's purely a design defect (rooted in maximizing profit at the expense of [gear] safety). The "Fix" is not a solution for me (but Rube Goldberg would have liked it) so I'll come up with something to secure the plate on my 1325.
We're getting ready to buy a tripod for my wife but it won't be a Gitzo. Hell, even Benro knows better than to implement such a poor design!
Greg
this design has been around for in excess of 10 years now. and only recently does it become an issue
bitmaker wrote:
The casting(s) that form the Gitzo base plate is two pieces. The correct design is one casting to form the base plate.
...will work for securing the clamp screw and nut. But it won't do anything to secure the two cast pieces to each other (and that's where the failures are occurring).
What do you mean when saying the top-plate is two pieces? It looks like one piece on my Gitzo tripods ?
And who say one piece is the correct design We have used this design for many years without anybody complaining before. And suddenly it's wrong and you can't use it after that many years
I carry my 800mm lens on my top-plate all the time. And it's strong enough to do that without any problem. And also without the plate getting loose or having to tighten it all the time
bitmaker wrote:
The casting(s) that form the Gitzo base plate is two pieces. The correct design is one casting to form the base plate.
...will work for securing the clamp screw and nut. But it won't do anything to secure the two cast pieces to each other (and that's where the failures are occurring).
