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Broken Gitzo Tripod

^^^ I am always afraid to place any of my photo gear in my packed luggage for fear of theft (you are brave). So I have a heavier Tripod for when I travel by car or for use locally and a travel on that goes along with my backpack that has my camera and lenses. I do agree with you about the weight issue, and carbon fiber is supposed to be stronger yet lighter.
 
fcortese said:
^^^ I am always afraid to place any of my photo gear in my packed luggage for fear of theft (you are brave). So I have a heavier Tripod for when I travel by car or for use locally and a travel on that goes along with my backpack that has my camera and lenses. I do agree with you about the weight issue, and carbon fiber is supposed to be stronger yet lighter.
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Well, I'm always way over the carry-on weight with the rest of my camera gear, so I really have no choice. The tripod is the least expensive item that can go in the checked luggage. Two camera bodies, grip, lenses, filters, lighting gear, etc. Plus I always have a laptop with me. Can't carry it all on board, alas.

The whole tripod, including its head, weighs something like 4.5 pounds. I might be able to shave one little pound off of that with a 'travel' tripod, but that wouldn't make any difference. It would still have to go in the checked luggage.

Also, when I fly it's usually for a trip of two or more months at a time. I don't want to be stuck with a shrimpy, fussy little travel tripod for that long.
 
Phrasikleia said:
Well, I'm always way over the carry-on weight with the rest of my camera gear, so I really have no choice. The tripod is the least expensive item that can go in the checked luggage. Two camera bodies, grip, lenses, filters, lighting gear, etc. Plus I always have a laptop with me. Can't carry it all on board, alas.

The whole tripod, including its head, weighs something like 4.5 pounds. I might be able to shave one little pound off of that with a 'travel' tripod, but that wouldn't make any difference. It would still have to go in the checked luggage.

Also, when I fly it's usually for a trip of two or more months at a time. I don't want to be stuck with a shrimpy, fussy little travel tripod for that long.
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Oh, I fully understand not being able to carry everything on board, I just always worry about who is looking into my luggage after it clears TSA. I guess that's just the state of air travel nowadays. I can see with the extensive time spent elsewhere that between clothing, personal items and camera equipment the weight can add up fast! Given that fact, the better tripod for travel makes sense. If I ever get to the point that I am doing more distant travel other than by car for photography, I'll probably be faced with the same dilemma!:eek:
 
fcortese said:
Oh, I fully understand not being able to carry everything on board, I just always worry about who is looking into my luggage after it clears TSA. I guess that's just the state of air travel nowadays.
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Heck, I worry about who is looking into my luggage while it's clearing TSA. Apparently, some of those TSA agents have sticky fingers. :(
 
One of my jobs is baggage/ramp for an airline at Denver International Airport. Bags rip/break open now and then, and I've always been amazed at the stuff that falls out of them. To my knowledge, the only time people steal things is when they cannot be watched. There are cameras all over at DIA, and people shoot movies through the passenger windows as we handle bags, so that makes baggage handlers paranoid.

On the other hand, I had a toasted PB&J (with raspberry J!) in my bag, inside a kiosk where there are no cameras. Someone went into my bag, took out my sandwich, unwrapped and ate it, and left me the crumb-filled wrapping on the table. A buddy had his iPhone stolen out of his bag. I guess bag agents only steal from each other, not passengers! That's good for you, though! :p
 
fcortese said:
Actually, he sounds like a lucky guy. good luck with the new tripod. I haven't put my Manfrotto through as much action as you or The Reef or others, so I am in no position to analyze just yet. Good luck with the new Gitzo.
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I should clarify, the tripod that failed on me wasn't a Manfrotto or Gitzo, it was an cheap one which I didn't mind getting full of sand and rusted when using it in the ocean.
I have a better heavy studio style one now but still seeking a portable ocean-goer.

Phrasikleia said:
I too wore my neck strap like that for a while, but now I tend to move around too much to have the strap remain on the camera. I'm often fussing around with lights or just standing away from the tripod (I use a radio-signal shutter release), and I don't want the strap swinging around beneath the camera and causing vibrations. So I have a strap that unhooks from the camera, and it goes into the bag when I use my tripod.
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That detachable neck strap is a good idea, I might to look into one...

Phrasikleia said:
Well, let's see...he's the voice-activated light stand, pack mule, sensor cleaner, and cash cow. But I'm his Photoshop mistress, Lightroom advisor, and gear researcher. That's an even deal, no? :cool: I always smirk when I hear a guy complain that his wife protests his gear purchases or gets impatient when he wants to stop and take photos on vacation; having a shutterbug wife comes with a whole other bag of perils! :D ;)
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Haha, seems fair :cool: :p


I've never had any issues with tripods in checked luggage myself although it can be a worry.
Camera gear always comes with me in a small wheely bag.
 
wonderspark said:
One of my jobs is baggage/ramp for an airline at Denver International Airport. Bags rip/break open now and then, and I've always been amazed at the stuff that falls out of them. To my knowledge, the only time people steal things is when they cannot be watched. There are cameras all over at DIA, and people shoot movies through the passenger windows as we handle bags, so that makes baggage handlers paranoid.
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To this day at MIA*, a lot of stuff still goes missing-in-action out of passenger baggage. It's endemic; it's been happening for years. They regularly have high-profile sting operations and make public arrests, and yet it continues. The common factor these days seems to be that the bag misses the plane or gets mysteriously rerouted to the wrong flight; that gives the thief plenty of opportunity to go through the contents. When the bag finally arrives, whatever valuables that were in the bag are gone.

I am glad to know that Denver has a handle (no pun intended) on baggage theft since I'll be flying through there next month. ;) Though valuables like my camera, housing, dive computer, travel tripod, etc. are always in my carry-on.

*MIA: Maybe the most aptly name airport code since SUX.
 
TheReef said:
That detachable neck strap is a good idea, I might to look into one...
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I've been using Optech straps for a 6-7 years along with their uni-loop connectors. They give me some flexibility on what gets attached to the camera, if anything. If I am not using any sort of strap, then I can just connect the two uni-loop connectors together over the top of the view finder.

http://optechusa.com/
 
fcortese said:
Oh, I fully understand not being able to carry everything on board, I just always worry about who is looking into my luggage after it clears TSA.
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It's always a risk, I don't really like it but I am forced to check my GT2531 inside my regular luggage because it won't fit inside any carryon I own, and probably wouldn't be allowed on the plane anyways owing to the fact that it has spikes on the bottom. I think I have heard others say that since the 2541 is a few inches shorter, they do manage to fit it into some kind of carryon and avoid the need to check any photo gear, partly why it is a more popular choice for the travelers in my experience.

I delude myself into a false sense of security by rationalizing that most people don't know beans about tripods, and they couldn't tell a Gitzo from an Induro to save their life. Security through obscurity :)
 
Cliff3 said:
I've been using Optech straps for a 6-7 years along with their uni-loop connectors. They give me some flexibility on what gets attached to the camera, if anything. If I am not using any sort of strap, then I can just connect the two uni-loop connectors together over the top of the view finder.

http://optechusa.com/
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Thanks for the link and info Cliff3, looks like what I'm after.
 
gnd said:
I don't know how much I would trust those plastic clips, I've had too many break on handbags and stuff. I'm using those vintage straps with metal clips, just like this one.
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As I noted in my post, I've been using them for 6-7 years. They've been fine. I used to shoot with a D2X and am now using a D700, both with Nikon professional-level zooms and telephotos. So the clips can handle weight just fine. And unlike metal hardware, these clips can't scratch the equipment.
 
I have been using a Gitzo Reporter De Luxe with a ball and socket head since 1979 and it still like new. I have even stood on it and I weigh 215 lbs!
 
Finally an update on the warranty repair, for those of you who are interested. I had to send the broken Gitzo tripod to Bogen/Manfrotto in New Jersey. That cost about $25 for UPS ground (with insurance) and took one week to get there. They received it on Tuesday morning. I emailed them this morning to find out the status of it and got this response:

"The unit is here, it should go out in about 5 to 7 working days."

So presumably they are honoring the warranty and repairing it. The reply is hardly explicit about what's going on over there, but I expect I should have the repaired tripod back in a couple of weeks.
 
Phrasikleia said:
Finally an update on the warranty repair, for those of you who are interested. I had to send the broken Gitzo tripod to Bogen/Manfrotto in New Jersey. That cost about $25 for UPS ground (with insurance) and took one week to get there. They received it on Tuesday morning. I emailed them this morning to find out the status of it and got this response:

"The unit is here, it should go out in about 5 to 7 working days."

So presumably they are honoring the warranty and repairing it. The reply is hardly explicit about what's going on over there, but I expect I should have the repaired tripod back in a couple of weeks.
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that's good news. let's hope the repair holds up.
 
fcortese said:
that's good news. let's hope the repair holds up.
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Yeah, no kidding. I hope they didn't just glue the broken piece back in there (I did include the bit that fell out so that they could see there was no external trauma involved).

I also hope my new 2-Series CF Gitzo doesn't ever suffer from the same material flaw.
 
How is your new GT2531 holding up? Do you expect it will last for many years without component failures? That was the model I was thinking about purchasing.
 
jabbott said:
How is your new GT2531 holding up? Do you expect it will last for many years without component failures? That was the model I was thinking about purchasing.
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I've only had it a couple of weeks now, but I'm very happy with it. It is much beefier than the 1-Series, so it is at least giving me the sense of stability that I was missing with the other one. And, best of all, it's the same height and weight of the basalt one, so I didn't have to compromise on anything.

The bit that broke on the basalt tripod is larger on the 2531, so I'm hoping it will be less likely to break.
 
Phrasikleia said:
I've only had it a couple of weeks now, but I'm very happy with it. It is much beefier than the 1-Series, so it is at least giving me the sense of stability that I was missing with the other one. And, best of all, it's the same height and weight of the basalt one, so I didn't have to compromise on anything.

The bit that broke on the basalt tripod is larger on the 2531, so I'm hoping it will be less likely to break.
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Great to hear, good luck with it.
 
Ugh! I received the tripod today, and it was not repaired properly. :( They replaced the entire top part with something that no longer says "Series 1" on the black ring around the center column's hole, and my center column will not fit into it. I saw no reason to include my center column, so I retained it when shipping the tripod. Now it won't go into the hole without great force and then won't slide up and down in the hole. This repair is completely unacceptable! :mad:
 
Phrasikleia said:
Ugh! I received the tripod today, and it was not repaired properly. :( They replaced the entire top part with something that no longer says "Series 1" on the black ring around the center column's hole, and my center column will not fit into it. I saw no reason to include my center column, so I retained it when shipping the tripod. Now it won't go into the hole without great force and then won't slide up and down in the hole. This repair is completely unacceptable! :mad:
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I agree it's not an acceptable repair- you should contact them and express your displeasure immediately and demand they pay for shipping back to them- however unless you really use it, you should honestly consider nuking the center column anyway. You'll get a lot more stability with a flat base.

http://www.kirkphoto.com/Model_FP-100N.html
http://www.markinsamerica.com/MA5/TB-20.php

I don't see your model listed in either case- so it may be worth trying to find out which base you now have, as it may be one that will fit. If you have a store locally that stocks them, you may want to see if they'll let you figure out what column fits.

Paul
 
compuwar said:
I agree it's not an acceptable repair- you should contact them and express your displeasure immediately and demand they pay for shipping back to them- however unless you really use it, you should honestly consider nuking the center column anyway. You'll get a lot more stability with a flat base.

http://www.kirkphoto.com/Model_FP-100N.html
http://www.markinsamerica.com/MA5/TB-20.php

I don't see your model listed in either case- so it may be worth trying to find out which base you now have, as it may be one that will fit. If you have a store locally that stocks them, you may want to see if they'll let you figure out what column fits.

Paul
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Thanks for the links, compuwar, but this tripod is going to my husband. I bought a Series 2 CF model (GT 2531) before sending the broken one off to be repaired. He may want to replace the center column, but that's up to him. At any rate, I think Bogen/Manfrotto should send me a fully functional tripod, not one that no longer works as it should do. I shot off an email to their repair manager and hope to hear back that they will pay for return shipping this time. Grrrr. :(

As for the center column on my new tripod: I'm definitely keeping it. Sharpness is hugely important to me, but my lenses aren't long enough to cause any problems. If I had sharpness issues with the column installed, I would take it out, but that's definitely not the case. My tripod images do not suffer from lack of sharpness. Well, there have been a few times when the wind was blowing so hard that I had to hold down the tripod with my own weight to keep it from flying away, but I always chimp and try again enough times in those cases to come away with something perfectly sharp.

Also, I use the center column often enough that I prefer to have it installed. I like being able to reverse it for low-to-the-ground shots, and sometimes I just need extra height. I often get myself into some crazy position with the tripod legs all at different angles, perched on various bits of ground or rock, wherever I can get everything very stable, and then need a boost of a couple of inches for my composition--that's where the center column comes in very handy.

However, if ever I get some longer lenses and see a decline in sharpness, then I'll definitely reconsider the column.
 
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