Tripod Breaks Twice!
Vložit
- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- This is an old Slik U5000 tripod that, up until recently, served me well on many winter and summer trips as an ultralight travel tripod. The 3-way (spider) arm joints are made of plastic. Two of the three totally failed in a complete break, twice. I guess it was cumulative plastic fatigue, and the cold temperature finished it off. No more plastic joint tripods for me. I am purchasing a more expensive (an heavier) carbon fiber lightweight tripod.
If you enjoyed this and other of my videos, please click "Like", and please consider Sharing and Subscribing, and clicking the Bell for notifications, thank you!
It will greatly help me out if you do, thanks! :-)
manfrotto makes quality tripods.
bwillan I second the manfrotto
I have a Benro Travel Angel. It’s a big tripod in a small package, fits in a backpack! I went for the aluminum model rather than the carbon fibre, a bit heavier but I don’t trust even the carbon fibre in cold weather. I also have a Manfrotto, way more heavy and bulky but fine if I don’t have to carry it very far. I am most sorry for your loss. You must have have had many good years together.
I will third the manfrotto
4th
Thanks Bwillan! I Really wanted a Manfrotto. My specs needed were a tripod under 2 lb's, preferably under 1.5 lb's. I almost bought the Manfrotto BeFree carbon, for the light weight, which is their lightest weight "full size" travel tripod. But it was list about $400 CAD, which is getting up there, before extra release plates. The aluminum version was too heavy for what I wanted. Also the BeFree has many bad reviews with the top leg angle mechanism, and they are changing it with the new BeFree Advanced, but only in the aluminum. I expect the Advanced carbon will be out soon, but I can't wait for that. So I just bought a Sirui carbon T-024X, its being shipped now. Only 1.5 lb with the ball head (although I saw a video review where it weighed in at 2lb's). Lightest high quality travel tripod I could find in carbon fiber, great reviews, and over $100 less. So now I am committed. First time I will be using twist locks. I am used to flip locks. I hope it stands up to reasonable abuse out in the bush.
It is funny you mention cold as being a problem. I have a U8000 Slik tripod and the winding crank to raise and lower the center shaft broke off where it connects to the tripod. I suspect my problem is the opposite of yours. The heat in my apartment is so extreme in winter it tends to dry out plastics. My rubber bands disintegrate in my desk drawer, other plastics become tacky, etc. Most likely plastics are formulated to remain stable within a certain high-to-low temperature range.
Hi. I have had lots of problems with plastic in cold weather. Plastic springs in door handles on Reno Cars. Charging cables for phones. Windows on tents cracking. Push button switches on torches. Especially waterproof ones. Cheap tarp cracking. Even dry bags. And we don't get very cold winters in the UK. I tend to now test things in the food freezer as well as asking the manufacturer. Cheers from George
Hi George! Cheers from northwestern Ontario, Canada! Ya plastics are quite variable in their chemical properties. My toboggan is a sheet of 1/4 inch UHMWPE and it is virtually indestructible. It won't crack even at extreme winter temperatures, and it remains flexible to snake over logs - incredible properties. HDPE is variable in its chemical composition I hear, some compounds very good in cold, some not. I have had plastic webbing hardware, like quick release buckles, shatter in the cold. The cheap stuff always cracks and breaks. As a consumer we sometimes have no idea if the plastics on gear are good, or junk.
Wintertrekker Many thanks for replying . Old George
Manfrotto all aluminum tripod will not let you down.
Thanks DSmith! Very good choice. After some research looking for the lightest carbon tripod I could get away with for a decent price, I ended up buying a Sirui T024X. It got down to a choice between it and the Manfrotto BeFree carbon, but for over $100 less, I went with the Sirui. I almost went aluminum, where many more reasonable lightweight options open up for significantly less money. But to cut a half pound to a pound in the travel tripod class I was looking for, some savings, I went carbon this time. These days I am trying to cut weight in my gear. Less weight often means less durability. We'll see if I regret it. :o)
I’ve had good luck with Manfrotto (aluminum), and Sirui (carbon). [Do not like Sirui heads.]
I always enjoy your channel, thanks for sharing!
Hi Brian! Funny you should mention Sirui carbon. That is what i decided to go with (T-024X), after almost buying a Manfrotto which was going to be my first choice. I will give the Sirui C-10 ball head it comes with a try. I can switch it out if it doesn't work out. I will copy-paste the response I gave to Bwillan below on the decision process: I Really wanted a Manfrotto. My specs needed were a tripod under 2 lb's, preferably under 1.5 lb's. I almost bought the Manfrotto BeFree carbon, for the light weight, which is their lightest weight "full size" travel tripod. But it was list about $400 CAD, which is getting up there, before extra release plates. The aluminum version was too heavy for what I wanted. Also the BeFree has many bad reviews with the top leg angle mechanism, and they are changing it with the new BeFree Advanced, but only in the aluminum. I expect the Advanced carbon will be out soon, but I can't wait for that. So I just bought a Sirui carbon T-024X, its being shipped now. Only 1.5 lb with the ball head (although I saw a video review where it weighed in at 2lb's). Lightest high quality travel tripod I could find in carbon fiber, great reviews, and over $100 less. So now I am committed. First time I will be using twist locks. I am used to flip locks. I hope it stands up to reasonable abuse out in the bush.
Yup plastic and -20C and less don't mix. Bought a Manfrotto BeFree (travel tripod). More pricey but figuring it will do a lot better in the cold as the hinges are metal. There are locking tabs set within plastic tabs so buyer beware. There was another brand that was cheaper and have the twist locks and even had carbon fiber legs so lighter and cold won't conduct along the aluminum but they were a little short for my height so I settled for the aluminum Manfrotto model. Amazon.ca or Henry's does the trick!
Hi C! I just ordered online the Sirui carbon T024X. It was a toss up between it and the Manfrotto BeFree carbon for features and minimal weight (under 2 lb's is my new requirement). The Sirui was over a $100 less so that was the deciding factor. I did see some questionable reviews of the BeFree's adjustable leg angle things, and I see the new BeFree "Advanced" model in aluminum has changed the adjusters to a different design, and I am betting they may change the carbon model as well, but so far its not in their catalogue. I almost went for the Advanced in aluminum, but I needed to cut weight so ended up going carbon in the Sirui. I hope I did not make a mistake with the Sirui, so we'll give it a try and see how it holds up. I need to start doing more gear reviews, and this would make a good video pros/cons discussion video.
Looks like it'll work great, just need to make very sure you've secured each twist lock, they're famous for letting go if not cinched properly. The snap locks are full on or full off, more fool proof for this fool lol.
Up until now I was a snap lock only guy. I refused to go with the twist locks. But I started to count grams to cut weight, and I thought I would try the twist locks to save a few grams and some packable space. Hopefully I can remember to secure each one and prevent my camera from tipping over and breaking! :-)
This consideration is definitely a sign of old age lol. Gram weenie now eh Hoop? I hear ya, should be thinking more this way myself. Very impressed with build quality of the Manfrotto so we'll have to compare notes next winter.
Manfrotto or even Slik tripods brother. I have had a Slik tripod for 23 years and 2 Manfrotto tripods for 22 years and never have had a problem with them. And now they are up here in Alaska in real cold weather at times.
Hi John! I decided to order online a Sirui carbon T024X, very light under 2 lb's. It was a toss up between that and the Manfrotto Befree carbon. But the Sirui was over $100 cheaper, so I went with it. We'll see how durable the Sirui is. Lighter means less durable. But at my age now, I have to cut weight on my pack for lugging a tripod around in the bush. I have always used flick lock tripods, so this will be my first twist lock, so we'll see how it does with snow getting into it and sand in the summer! :o)
When you get down below 15 degrees F I find a lot of plastics get very brittle. I would flex the basin of my polyethylene birdbath everyday to pop out the frozen Ice and it was great until it dropped below 15F then it broke. I know good old fashioned Nylon like what timing chain gears were made from is very strong in all temperatures, ABS and polyurethane seem pretty hardy too. I still have a super light tripod from the 80's that I took to Alaska and whatever they used as joints held up well. There are lots of high end tripods out there that are big money now, back in the 70's you had tons of inexpensive choices that were well made. Remember when they were selling lightweight collapsable "trekking" poles for $189 a pair and people were buying them?! lol
Thanks SC! Ya, "plastics" are a wide range of very different chemical compounds. My toboggan is a sheet of UHMWPE, and its essentially indestructible in winter cold. I could bash it with a sledge hammer at -40 and it would be fine. But other plastics can get quite brittle. I noticed all the high end tripods have metal leg hinges, so there is probably a reason for that. :-) They sure have gone up in price though. Cutting weight of gear is critical for me now as I age, so I just bought a lightweight Sirui carbon fiber T-024X at under 2lb's. Fingers crossed its not too light and breaks. :-)
I frequently see tripods being sold at thrift stores here in Alaska. Most of these being sold is missing the quick release pad. It is not difficult to fabricate a new quick release pad to replace the missing one if one is handy with and owns an assortment of power and hand tools. My current tripod is a thrift store special. Good luck in your search for a replacement.
Thanks Lonnie! We lost most of our camera stores around where I live. The online mega stores put them out of business. I never thought of the thrift stores, so I should do some tours through those one day. I did go ahead and purchase online a Sirui T024X carbon tripod, and its being shipped now. Pricey, so I will have to forgo some other wants and needs to pay for it. I did alot of online research and it beat out the Manfrotto comparable model for specs and reviews. Its under 2 lb's, which was one of my requirements. I almost went for the aluminum version which is almost half the price, but its an extra half pound or more. At this stage in my life I am trying to cut weight on what I carry, and I have often left heavy tripods at home because of the weight, only to be sorry when I really needed one. Ironically I can find really robust, and far less expensive tripods that are 4,5,6 pounds, and also ironically a heavier tripod is better for all things photography. So I am paying more for something that is less weight, and will be more shaky for taking photos and videos, and is probably more fragile. :-) We'll see how well it stands up to bush travel.
As an aside, most of the time I just use my hiking staff as a monopod. My staffs have a 1/4 X 20 thread bolt on top and I mounted a R.A.M. ball mount on top of each. I then mount another R.A.M. ball mount to the bottom of a quick release plate for my camera. I then clamp the two balls with a R.A.M. clamp. So now I can mount my camera on my hiking staff and have a very adjustable heights option as well as angle the camera however I want to angle it before tightening the clamp. I unscrew the basket from the bottom of the hiking staff and jam the staff in the ground for a quite solid monopod camera mounting system.
Hi Wintertrekker. I was, in one way or another, in the photo business all of my life. Yes Manfrotto make a robust tripod but they are a bit crude and, in my opinion, over weight. I think that if you want to buy your last tripod your best choice is a French brand called Gitzo. They have dozens of models and you will need to study their nomenclature, but they are excellent. My favourite field tripod is a Basalt (graphite) light weight model #GT1830. This can be lowered to under 20cm, the hardware is all metal and parts will be available.
You will need some type of head for this and I would recomend a ball head. I'm retired now so I can't help you with that. I use a 40 year old Leitz ball head but that would be over kill.
Good luck with this and take your time looking. If you ever come to Ottawa I can take you to a few stores to look at them and interpret what the sales guy is really saying.
Thanks Redlock! Those Gitzo's are the platinum standard from what I read. No doubt they last a lifetime. Unfortunately they start at about $800 and go over $1000 very quickly. Out of my budget, but oh so nice. I just ordered online a Sirui T024X carbon tripod for under $300 (which I cannot really afford right now, so I will have to sacrifice something else). I wanted a traveling sized tripod under 2 lb's, and it beat out the Manfrotto specs and price. I researched for many hours and narrowed it down to the Sirui. They seem to get good reviews, even though they are made in China. But I notice some Manfrotto's are made in China also. I almost went for the aluminum version which is about half the price, but cutting weight for me now is a huge issue. Saving a half pound on the carbon version will make the difference between carrying it or not on some trips. Hopefully its not too light so as to be fragile. But I cannot see lugging around a 4-5 lb tripod in the bush anymore for me, I am getting too old. :-)
Wintertrekker Life is all about priorities and choices. About how a guy like me will spend what I do on my photo gear and then drive around in a car made in 1998 :) When I "get into" something new, I refuse to follow the accepted path of getting "entry level" gear and replacing it latter. I like to get the best gear that I can afford, first. In the long run it's cheaper and I get to use "proper good" stuff from the start. Like I said, choices.
This past year I bought a Manfrotto light-weight travel tripod that has a very nice fluid head, folds down to a very compact size, and overall is quite nice -- but I've already had a couple instances where one of the leg locks has started slipping. Not great for a $200+ investment. Too much plastic on it to be subjected to brutal cold, that's for sure.
In my new research on tripods, I was amazed at how many brands are out there, how many models are out there, and the range of prices for what looks to my eye as almost the same thing! :-) On the leg locks, did you tighten the adjustment screws and is it still slipping?
In the moment I didn't check. Then, of course, when I got home each time I forgot about it. Guess I need to get on that (if it has adjustment screws, of course). Thanks for giving me a prod.
Slik isn't know for its high quality but it is known for its price and weight. Manfrotto is my preferred choice and if you break it, you were most likely beating it over a bears head! Buy from a reputable dealer in camera gear and not a department store and you'll get what you need... be prepared to pay for it though... but you'll only pay once.
Thanks GTH&B! Since that tripod broke a few weeks ago (I was late in posting that video), I have done a ton of online research. I was leaning to Manfrotto. But my big criteria was find a a quality travel style tripod and head under 2 lb's, which is almost impossible. Long story, short, I ended up ordering a Sirui carbon T024X. It comes in just under 2 lb's, and that company seems to have some good reviews. I know a tripod that light might be more prone to breakage than a heavier more robust model. But at this stage in my life, I am trying desperately to cut weight in my gear. The carbon hurt my budget, but I saved a half to one pound over the aluminum comparable models. We'll see how the Sirui does. First time for me with twist locks, I have used flip locks all my life on tripods.
With further use eventually it 'wouldn't have a leg to stand on'. Best of Luck. Respect.
Ha ha! It converted to a monopod! Thanks CBC! A new tripod is on order! :-)
Looks like your tripod has monopod aspirations. :-D
Haha! Ya, unplanned monopod conversion! :-)
The best tripods you can buy:
www.reallyrightstuff.com/tripods/carbon-fiber
If they'r out of your price range, these are good too:
www.indurogear.com/products/tripods/
Thanks Adamaj! I knew about the RRS tripods. Very nice, very good reputation. But they are well out of my price range, especially with the USD-CAD exchange rate which is about +30% for us Canucks. Thank you for linking the Indurogear website. I had never heard of that brand. I checked it out and it looks like a very good quality line of tripods and heads. I just committed to an online purchase of a Sirui carbon T024X. Extremely light, and about $100 less than comparable makes and models. So I will see how well this little tripod does with the travel abuse I use it in. My main criteria other than price, was to cut serious weight and come in under 2 lb's, which is hard to do with any tripod that is going to last. Its primarily for carrying on my pack, and on a winter sled that I am hauling. Hopefully I did not go too light. My gear will be lightweight cameras so I don't need alot of strength, but I need it to be durable.
Actually, Sirui was another brand I was going to recommend but I couldn't think of the name for the life of me last night, lol. So you did good, no thanks to me! lol
Sure S U X whan that happens, Hoop; Good luck finding a replacement ATB Ter God Bless
Thanks Terry! I have found the replacement, and its on order. I went with a Sirui carbon T024X. Very lightweight, saved some money over the bigger name brands, but it pushed the envelope for what my budget was (it was just over). So I will have to tighten my belt! :-)