gitzo tripod head 3/8" or 1/4"?
bugbear
I recently lucked into a small Gitzo tripod
at a car boot sale.
It was cheap enough that I took a risk...
The head plate has multiple drillings that
are all tapped for 3/8".
The camera fixing bolt is mainly 3/8", with a short
section of 1/4" at one end.
I believe 3/8" is the size of fixing used for larger
cameras, even though the tripod is quite small.
Here are a coupla' photos.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_main.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
Can anyone tell me how I fix a "normal" camera with a 1/4" socket
onto this head? Do I need an adapter of some kind?
And (secondarily) can anyone ID the tripod as a whole?
BugBear
David J. Littleboy
"bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
>
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_main.jpg
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
>
> Can anyone tell me how I fix a "normal" camera with a 1/4" socket
> onto this head? Do I need an adapter of some kind?
Get an Arca Swiss clamp and plate system, either from Really Right Stuff or
Kirk Enterprises. They'll have "plates" that go on your camera, and clamps
that go on the head. (Get a clamp with the larger screw size, Doh!)
Clamps:
http://www.kirkphoto.com/platforms.html
Plates (click your camera mfr):
http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/body_plates/index.html
I've purchased stuff from both Kirk and RRS, and it's all really good stuff.
David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan
bugbear
> "bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
>
>>http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_main.jpg
>>http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
>>
>>Can anyone tell me how I fix a "normal" camera with a 1/4" socket
>>onto this head? Do I need an adapter of some kind?
>
>
> Get an Arca Swiss clamp and plate system, either from Really Right Stuff or
> Kirk Enterprises. They'll have "plates" that go on your camera, and clamps
> that go on the head. (Get a clamp with the larger screw size, Doh!)
>
> Clamps:
> http://www.kirkphoto.com/platforms.html
>
> Plates (click your camera mfr):
> http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/body_plates/index.html
OK; that'd work.
Thanks for the pointer. What a lot of money :-)
Assuming I don't want an auxilliary Q/R system,
my questions remains - is this tripod/head
directly usable (and how...) with a camera
with a 1/4" mount?
And cheaply ?
The tripod cost me 3.00 pounds sterling...
BugBear
David J. Littleboy
"bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
> David J. Littleboy wrote:
>> "bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
>>
>>>http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_main.jpg
>>>http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
>>>
>>>Can anyone tell me how I fix a "normal" camera with a 1/4" socket
>>>onto this head? Do I need an adapter of some kind?
>>
>>
>> Get an Arca Swiss clamp and plate system, either from Really Right Stuff
>> or
>> Kirk Enterprises. They'll have "plates" that go on your camera, and
>> clamps
>> that go on the head. (Get a clamp with the larger screw size, Doh!)
>>
>> Clamps:
>> http://www.kirkphoto.com/platforms.html
>>
>> Plates (click your camera mfr):
>> http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/body_plates/index.html
>
> OK; that'd work.
>
> Thanks for the pointer. What a lot of money :-)
I thought you'd say that. But then you'd have a Q/R system that you could
use on any tripod.
> Assuming I don't want an auxilliary Q/R system,
> my questions remains - is this tripod/head
> directly usable (and how...) with a camera
> with a 1/4" mount?
Since 3/8 is larger than 1/4, you're stuck; you basically need both parts of
a quick release system.
The only alternative would be if one of those quick-release system camera
plates happened to have a 3/8" threaded hole in the bottom of it. The Really
Right Stuff _generic_ L bracket (that works on things like the Nikon FM2 and
Mamiya 7) has a 1/4" hole. Oops. No cigar.
Both Kirk and RRS can be quite helpful, and would be willing to sell you a
camera plate with 3/8 threads if they had one, if you called them or emailed
and asked. (I think they owe me a commission<g>.)
(Also, check B&H or the like for cheaper Q/R systems.)
David J. Littleboy
"bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
>
> The head plate has multiple drillings that
> are all tapped for 3/8".
>
> The camera fixing bolt is mainly 3/8", with a short
> section of 1/4" at one end.
Dumb question: What happens when you put the bolt through the head with the
1/4" end sticking up?
Another dumb idea: chuck the head (it looks as though it's nicely made (the
markings on the base are really pretty) but it's probably pretty poor as a
head) and buy the smallest RRS head. I have one, and it's quite nice. You'll
need a plate (since it comes with a Q/R clamp) for each of your cameras,
though.
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_main.jpg
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
--
David J. Littleboy
dav...@dumbideas.com
Tokyo, Japan
Chris Loffredo
It looks like the classic "Reporter" model: I have two of them (in
separate locations).
You use the screw for different sizes simply by turning it over.
I had the same head and, while not at all bad, I prefer more modern
Manfrotto heads to it - especially since they have quick release plates
and the old cork on your head may have hardened, making a firm
attachment difficult.
I like the Manfrotto 460 MG as a 3D head; light but can hold a Kiev 60 +
300mm or a Rolliflex SL 3003 + 400mm quite solidly (and costs lots less
than Arca Swiss).
I'm 100% satisfied with the legs themselves (excepting dreams of carbon,
etc.)
=> Correction, my "Reporter" only has 3 (longer) leg elements, not 4; so
yours must be the model just under that.
Current Gitzo models:
http://www.gitzo.com/products/metric/tripods/45classic/rightscreen.php3
dadiOH
> Assuming I don't want an auxilliary Q/R system,
> my questions remains - is this tripod/head
> directly usable (and how...) with a camera
> with a 1/4" mount?
Of course it's usable...put the stud through the head with the 1/4"
portion up, extend it appropriately, screw on the camera and lock it
in that position with the knurled plastic knob on the stud below the
head.
--
dadiOH
____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
bugbear
> bugbear wrote:
>
>
>>Assuming I don't want an auxilliary Q/R system,
>>my questions remains - is this tripod/head
>>directly usable (and how...) with a camera
>>with a 1/4" mount?
>
>
> Of course it's usable...put the stud through the head with the 1/4"
> portion up, extend it appropriately, screw on the camera and lock it
> in that position with the knurled plastic knob on the stud below the
> head.
Doesn't work - the bolt is threaded-and-screwed through the
plate. So as I rotate the bolt to turn the 1/4" portion
of the the thread into the camera, the bolt will
be extending itself from the plate,
so the camera to plate distance stays roughly
constant - the camera isn't pulled down onto the
plate.
BugBear
bugbear
> "bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
>
>>The head plate has multiple drillings that
>>are all tapped for 3/8".
>>
>>The camera fixing bolt is mainly 3/8", with a short
>>section of 1/4" at one end.
>
>
> Dumb question: What happens when you put the bolt through the head with the
> 1/4" end sticking up?
I can't turn the bolt to secure the camera,
since the 3/8" thread in the plate means
the bolt moves upwards w.r.t. plate
more or less as fast as the 1/4" thread moves
into the camera.
> Another dumb idea: chuck the head (it looks as though it's nicely made (the
> markings on the base are really pretty) but it's probably pretty poor as a
> head)
It appears that it's an earlier version of a 158 dollar head:
http://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1736
> and buy the smallest RRS head. I have one, and it's quite nice. You'll
> need a plate (since it comes with a Q/R clamp) for each of your cameras,
> though.
BugBear
bugbear
> It looks like the classic "Reporter" model: I have two of them (in
> separate locations).
Excellent. I have a name to google with.
>
> You use the screw for different sizes simply by turning it over.
But the bolt is threaded (and hence "captive") in the plate.
If it just passed though a hole in the plate, I would
understand.
My thoughts on a "fix" involves simply drilling
out the hole, so the 3/8 bolt simply clears
(so the 3/8 bolt has fere travel through the plate)
I could then fix the 1/4" end into my camera, and pull
the camera down on to the plate using the large plastic
nut.
But I just keep thinking I shouldn't have to...
BTW, the camera that will go on this (in the short
term) is a tiny light Canon A60, but I also
use a Canon A510.
Both digital compacts :-)
BugBear
Pat
free -- so you can't beat that.
1. You could drill out the threads so you just slide the rod through
the hole and thread into the camera. Then tighten with the know.
2. Put the camera on the heat slightly ajar and hold it into position.
Thread the rod through the mount and into the camera. Then when
you've got the threads into the camera, tighten down with the know.
Then rotate the camera to do the final tightening. There are two
issues here. First, it'll take a little playing with to get it tight
enough and still straight. Second. make sure you don't over do it and
drive the rod into the camera.
I suppose you could also grind the threads off the rod. But that
doesn't sound to exciting.
Finally, you could always hold the camera in place with duct tape ;-))
Good luck with it.
Duncan Chesley
<bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
>
>I can't turn the bolt to secure the camera,
>since the 3/8" thread in the plate means
>the bolt moves upwards w.r.t. plate
>more or less as fast as the 1/4" thread moves
>into the camera.
>
I would screw the bolt into the plate until just the 1/4" piece is
sticking up. Then lock it with the knob from below. Then screw the
camera onto the bolt until snug, adjusting the amount of the bolt that
is sticking up as necessary by loosening the knob slightly.
I was also terrible at 3-D mechanical drawing.
Cheers,
DuncanC
Nicholas O. Lindan
> Here are a coupla' photos.
>
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_main.jpg
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
>
> Can anyone tell me how I fix a "normal" camera with a 1/4" socket
> [the plate is threaded for a 3/8" bolt?]
Well, the first thing is to throw whole head thing into the dustbin and get
the head and quick release plate _I_ use, I wouldn't use anything
other than the best so you can take my recommendation as gospel.
I recommend the PermaJam head and the SlipsOff QR plate. Last
week I recommended the BalloWax head and the ThreadStrppr plate but
that was before no....@no.where set me straight and I now do what
he tells me to do and so should you.
ObSmileyOff
I think you have a non-standard bolt for the head.
http://www.saeki.co.kr/shop/shop_01_product_content.asp?code=UE0010016
is what the Gitzo bolt looks like. The threads in the plate only go
part way [or should] and the end set of 3/8 threads are threaded
past the plate threads. The bolt is then free with the smooth
unthreaded portion of the bolt going through the plate. The knob
is threaded to the bolt at the knurled head-end of the bolt.
The bolt is screwed into the camera and then the plastic knob
is turned to pull the bolt down into the head to clamp the camera
in place.
Gitzo sells replacement bolts/knobs/assemblies. For the mean-time
try a long-ish 1/4-20 bolt from the ironmonger.
I would wager you are number NNN in a long line of folks who have
bought that tripod, scratched their head mightily and sold it off.
--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Darkroom Automation
http://www.nolindan.com/da/index.htm
n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com
bugbear
>
> Well, the first thing is to throw whole head thing into the dustbin and get
> the head and quick release plate _I_ use, I wouldn't use anything
> other than the best so you can take my recommendation as gospel.
> I recommend the PermaJam head and the SlipsOff QR plate. Last
> week I recommended the BalloWax head and the ThreadStrppr plate but
> that was before no....@no.where set me straight and I now do what
> he tells me to do and so should you.
>
> ObSmileyOff
(nice!)
> I think you have a non-standard bolt for the head.
(a friend looking over my shoulder has also
pointed out that while the head locking knobs are black
plastic, the plate locking knob is gray - perhaps
another non-original part?)
> http://www.saeki.co.kr/shop/shop_01_product_content.asp?code=UE0010016
>
> is what the Gitzo bolt looks like. The threads in the plate only go
> part way [or should] and the end set of 3/8 threads are threaded
> past the plate threads. The bolt is then free with the smooth
> unthreaded portion of the bolt going through the plate. The knob
> is threaded to the bolt at the knurled head-end of the bolt.
>
> The bolt is screwed into the camera and then the plastic knob
> is turned to pull the bolt down into the head to clamp the camera
> in place.
>
> Gitzo sells replacement bolts/knobs/assemblies. For the mean-time
> try a long-ish 1/4-20 bolt from the ironmonger.
>
> I would wager you are number NNN in a long line of folks who have
> bought that tripod, scratched their head mightily and sold it off.
That is excellent information. I suspect I can make such a bolt,
and it clearly solves the problem.
I don't think it's the whole answer to the question though,
since it doesn't explain why the plate is threaded.
Perhaps it's multi-functional?
But - yes - I think you've cracked it!
BugBear
Lawrence Akutagawa
"bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote in message
news:450560cf$0$3589$ed2e...@ptn-nntp-reader04.plus.net...
OK. First point - it is the tripod head with which you have difficulty, not
the tripod itself. (The tripod also has the threaded 3/8" bolt with a 1/4"
thread on one end.) Correct?
Second point - DadiOH has the right solution. Your image of the head shows
three items: the head, the stud, and a "wheel" with a threaded (3/8", isn't
it?) hole in the center. Screw the stud, 1/4" portion up, into the tripod
head "appropriately"...one way is to measure the depth of the tripod
receptacles of both cameras and use the shorter depth of the two. Then
screw in this "wheel" from *under* the tripod head until it snugly fits
against the underside of that tripod head. You will find that the stud is
held fast and will not move. Then rotate your camera snugly onto the 1/4"
portion of the stud. If the camera does rotate under pressure (stud is not
held fast and does move), then tighten the "wheel" down more.
The point is that you don't thread the stud into the camera independent of
the tripod. You make the stud fast to the tripod such that you thread the
tripod into the camera...or thread the camera onto the tripod.
Chris Loffredo
Oh, well, than *any* head will do... ;-)
More seriously, the screw probably isn't the original. If you have an
old camera shop nearby, try finding a 1/4' screw & blocking ring - I
think that' still better than damaging what is practically a collector's
item (whatever you paid). Also, one of the weak spots of that head is
that you can really get a good grip on the tightening screw, so an
alternative could be nice.
Nicholas O. Lindan
> since it doesn't explain why the plate is threaded.
The plate is threaded to hold the bolt captive. If the
hole in the plate was a through hole the bolt would fall
out. The top section of threads is threaded through the
plate and then the bolt is loose to slide up and down.
Other tripods place a 'C' ring around the top of the bolt
after it has been placed into the plate. However, this
keeps you from easily changing the bolt from 1/4 to 3/8.
With the Gitzo you just unscrew one and screw in the other.
The bolts used on the columns are reversible - that may
be what you have: a ground down center-post bolt.
dadiOH
Both the stud and head in which it resides are threaded so here's a
step by step for you...
1. Screw stud into head so 1/4" part is up.
2. Continue screwing stud until the end is *just* through the plate.
3. Set camera on plate aligning stud with hole in camera
4. Screw the stud up some more...enough to afix the camera but not so
much that the stud pushes through the hole in the camera bottom
5. Tighten stud to plate with the knurled, plastic wheel (which is
also on the stud but below the head) while holding camera in position.
Alternately, screw down stud by rotating the camera, then tighten with
knurled wheel.
If you do this alot, get a quick release plate.
bugbear
>>I don't think it's the whole answer to the question though,
>>since it doesn't explain why the plate is threaded.
>
>
> The plate is threaded to hold the bolt captive. If the
> hole in the plate was a through hole the bolt would fall
> out. The top section of threads is threaded through the
> plate and then the bolt is loose to slide up and down.
Doh! Of course - the answer's always obvious when
you're told it.
>
> Other tripods place a 'C' ring around the top of the bolt
> after it has been placed into the plate. However, this
> keeps you from easily changing the bolt from 1/4 to 3/8.
> With the Gitzo you just unscrew one and screw in the other.
> The bolts used on the columns are reversible - that may
> be what you have: a ground down center-post bolt.
Yes - it is identical to the bolt that holds the head
to the column.
BugBear
Bill Funk
<bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
>Chris Loffredo wrote:
>> It looks like the classic "Reporter" model: I have two of them (in
>> separate locations).
>
>Excellent. I have a name to google with.
>
>>
>> You use the screw for different sizes simply by turning it over.
>
>But the bolt is threaded (and hence "captive") in the plate.
It looks like the hole is through threaded - that is, the bolt will
screw all the way through the plate. If not, what is the threaded
wheel in the second pic for, except to lock the bolt?
Thread the bolt in with the 1/4" part protruding upward, thread the
camera on, and lock the bolt with the locking wheel, and Bob's your
uncle.
No?
--
Bill Funk
replace "g" with "a"
Paul Furman
> Dear all;
>
> I recently lucked into a small Gitzo tripod
> at a car boot sale.
>
> It was cheap enough that I took a risk...
>
> The head plate has multiple drillings that
> are all tapped for 3/8".
>
> The camera fixing bolt is mainly 3/8", with a short
> section of 1/4" at one end.
>
> I believe 3/8" is the size of fixing used for larger
> cameras, even though the tripod is quite small.
>
> Here are a coupla' photos.
>
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_main.jpg
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
I got one just like that at a garage sale with no bolt at all. I
caniballized a 1/4" bolt from another cheap old tripod and that works
fine except that it's a loose part when there's no camera attached. The
slack isn't a problem, just that it's lacking a 'catch' to prevent it
falling when the camera is removed.
> Can anyone tell me how I fix a "normal" camera with a 1/4" socket
> onto this head? Do I need an adapter of some kind?
>
> And (secondarily) can anyone ID the tripod as a whole?
Loosen the center extension column by twisting the fitting below then
pulling up on the head and the name hides under there.
Mine says Gitzo Made in France - Gilux Reporter:
<http://www.edgehill.net/1/?SC=go.php&DIR=Misc/photography/2005-02-18-tripod&PG=1&PIC=1>
-also shown collapsed with name hidden
BTW it is handy enough but the leg tighteners get jammed and the head is
not strong enough for a long heavy lens. I use it for holding the
projector now, with a wood plank bolted on as a platform. I replaced it
with a new Gitzo 1298 with 'Basalt' legs (their version of a material
similar to carbon fiber) with a very small and simple Linhof 9051 ball
head. It's about the same size & look and fits in my backpack's outer
net pocket.
--
Paul Furman
http://www.edgehill.net/1
Bay Natives
http://www.baynatives.com
Chris Loffredo
>>
>> Can anyone tell me how I fix a "normal" camera with a 1/4" socket
>> [the plate is threaded for a 3/8" bolt?]
>
> Well, the first thing is to throw whole head thing into the dustbin and get
> the head and quick release plate _I_ use, I wouldn't use anything
> other than the best so you can take my recommendation as gospel.
> I recommend the PermaJam head and the SlipsOff QR plate. Last
> week I recommended the BalloWax head and the ThreadStrppr plate but
> that was before no....@no.where set me straight and I now do what
> he tells me to do and so should you.
ROTFL!!
Seriously, I think that Bilbo J. Baggins III Esq. of Hobbiton (Gasp!
Really!) undoubtedly wanted to give good advice and not *communicate*
what he considers to be worthy of his use...
For myself, I think I'll start adding my academic degrees, titles & more
prestigious locations to my signatures.
;-)
> I think you have a non-standard bolt for the head.
>
> http://www.saeki.co.kr/shop/shop_01_product_content.asp?code=UE0010016
>
> is what the Gitzo bolt looks like.
I concur (the two such heads I have presently being in galaxys far, far
away...
My complaints about that head are:
1) The small size of the bolt head above (not the gray tightening ring,
which is original), which makes it difficult to sufficiently tighten
cameras (even of the weight of digital P&Ss) added to
2) The hardening/smoothening of the cork interface, which make a secure
camera fastening *somewhat unreliable*..
For these reasons I've relegated both heads to secondary uses (copy
stand & flash support) and replaced them with other heads. YMMV...
Just experiment: If you find the camera(s) are flapping around loosely,
then you need a new head, otherwise - enjoy!
Lionel
<bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> opined:
I'd machine off enough of the 3/8" thread closest to the 1/4" threaded
section to let it spin freely in the threaded part of the plate. Maybe
five minutes work on a lathe. Less, if you don't care whether it's
pretty.
I'd also be tempted to turn a slot into the rod for a circlip, to keep
the rod from falling out of the plate when it's not screwed into a
camera.
--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Loffredo
> BTW it is handy enough but the leg tighteners get jammed and the head is
> not strong enough for a long heavy lens. I use it for holding the
> projector now, with a wood plank bolted on as a platform.
?????
While I agree in that I don't especially like that head, I've never,
ever had the legs "jam" on me (2 'pods over nearly 2 decades).
I do take the legs apart & clean them every half-decade or so.
Admittedly, I haven't used them underwater, buried in sand or stuck in
molten lava...
The classic Gitzos are a bit like the Nikon F/F2 of the tripod world -
basically indestructable - though there was a nutter in this NG who
maintained that the F2 was the most unreliable camera ever made!
bugbear
>> And (secondarily) can anyone ID the tripod as a whole?
>
>
> Loosen the center extension column by twisting the fitting below then
> pulling up on the head and the name hides under there.
> Mine says Gitzo Made in France - Gilux Reporter:
> <http://www.edgehill.net/1/?SC=go.php&DIR=Misc/photography/2005-02-18-tripod&PG=1&PIC=1>
> -also shown collapsed with name hidden
Ooh - that's ever so similar!
BugBear
Pat
Good solution ... if you own a metal lathe.
dadiOH
Or a file...
Lionel
opined:
>
>Lionel wrote:
[...]
>> I'd machine off enough of the 3/8" thread closest to the 1/4" threaded
>> section to let it spin freely in the threaded part of the plate. Maybe
>> five minutes work on a lathe. Less, if you don't care whether it's
>> pretty.
>Good solution ... if you own a metal lathe.
I do, but I've done similar mods with a Dremel & (most importantly)
safety goggles. And maybe the OP knows someone with a lathe. ;)
Pat
Actually, that made me thing of something (which is fairly rare). I
used to have a Super Omega C enlarger and the plate that held the lens
was the wrong site. The El Nikkor lens screwed in but the hole in the
plate was too small. The hole needed to be something like 1.25" and
fine threaded -- with only one chance to drill it out and thread it. I
needed a machinist and since I was in college, that wasn't going to
happen.
I knew a BOCES machine shop instructor for the local high schools. I
took it to him and asked what he would charge. He didn't charge
anything. He took it and the lense to school and showed the kids a
"real world" problem and they did it as a class. Good learning for
them and free for me -- what a deal.
Maybe the OP could go to the local vocational high school and ask one
of the instructors. Might get a sweet answer and some free machining.
Otherwise, leather gloves and a file.
bugbear
> Big equipment for a little problem. Got to love it.
>
> Actually, that made me thing of something (which is fairly rare). I
> used to have a Super Omega C enlarger and the plate that held the lens
> was the wrong site. The El Nikkor lens screwed in but the hole in the
> plate was too small. The hole needed to be something like 1.25" and
> fine threaded -- with only one chance to drill it out and thread it. I
> needed a machinist and since I was in college, that wasn't going to
> happen.
>
> I knew a BOCES machine shop instructor for the local high schools. I
> took it to him and asked what he would charge. He didn't charge
> anything. He took it and the lense to school and showed the kids a
> "real world" problem and they did it as a class. Good learning for
> them and free for me -- what a deal.
>
> Maybe the OP could go to the local vocational high school and ask one
> of the instructors. Might get a sweet answer and some free machining.
Err. Guys?
I do dearly love messing around in a workshop.
(http://www.geocities.com/plybench my website)
But elsewhere in the thread a "Nicholas Lindan"
has revealed that my tripod simply has the wrong bolt.
I just need a spare part.
BugBear
Paul Furman
> Paul Furman wrote:
>
>> BTW it is handy enough but the leg tighteners get jammed and the head
>> is not strong enough for a long heavy lens. I use it for holding the
>> projector now, with a wood plank bolted on as a platform.
>
> ?????
>
> While I agree in that I don't especially like that head, I've never,
> ever had the legs "jam" on me (2 'pods over nearly 2 decades).
> I do take the legs apart & clean them every half-decade or so.
I can't collapse them. Like there's air pressure almost. I opened up &
cleaned the leather/carboard? slip things making sure the slot wasn't
clogged to no avail. It was like this when I got it at the garage sale.
> Admittedly, I haven't used them underwater, buried in sand or stuck in
> molten lava...
>
> The classic Gitzos are a bit like the Nikon F/F2 of the tripod world -
> basically indestructable - though there was a nutter in this NG who
> maintained that the F2 was the most unreliable camera ever made!
--
Chris Loffredo
> Chris Loffredo wrote:
>
>> Paul Furman wrote:
>>
>>> BTW it is handy enough but the leg tighteners get jammed and the head
>>> is not strong enough for a long heavy lens. I use it for holding the
>>> projector now, with a wood plank bolted on as a platform.
>>
>> ?????
>>
>> While I agree in that I don't especially like that head, I've never,
>> ever had the legs "jam" on me (2 'pods over nearly 2 decades).
>> I do take the legs apart & clean them every half-decade or so.
>
> I can't collapse them. Like there's air pressure almost. I opened up &
> cleaned the leather/carboard? slip things making sure the slot wasn't
> clogged to no avail. It was like this when I got it at the garage sale.
>
I just opened mine: The "slips" or gaskets are brownish but are
definitely synthetic.
If I hold my 'pod upside-down and loosen the rings, the legs easily &
smoothly collapse from their own weight.
Something isn't working properly...
Bandicoot
"bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote in message
> Dear all;
>
> I recently lucked into a small Gitzo tripod
> at a car boot sale.
>
> It was cheap enough that I took a risk...
>
> The head plate has multiple drillings that
> are all tapped for 3/8".
>
> The camera fixing bolt is mainly 3/8", with a short
> section of 1/4" at one end.
>
> I believe 3/8" is the size of fixing used for larger
> cameras, even though the tripod is quite small.
>
> Here are a coupla' photos.
>
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_main.jpg
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
>
>
> And (secondarily) can anyone ID the tripod as a whole?
>
It's a Gitzo Reporter. I have one of that vintage with three leg sections,
and a later one with adjustable leg angles and four sections. Very good
tripod, and very rigid for its weight - not that it's exactly light. Good
with 35mm up to reasonably long glass, and OK for MF work (maybe not a
Pentax 6x7 though.)
The head is one of Gitzo's offset ball designs: a very ingenious head, and
very flexible. Some people really can't get on with them, but if you find
you like it, it is good - though the ball can be just a little 'grabby' at
times compared to, say, an Arca-Swiss (which will only cost you 100 times
what you paid for the tripod, after all...)
That bolt in the head, however, is not the original, and therein lies 100%
of your problem. The original has, from the top, a section threaded 1/4"
(or 3/8", you could order either) then a short section threaded 3/8", then
an unthreaded, narrower, section, then a longer section threaded 3/8", and
then a knurled knob.
In use, the plastic nut that you have is threaded on to it and turned down
onto the bottom threaded section, next to the knob on the end of the bolt,
and then the short upper 3/8" threaded section is screwed through the plate
of the head. This sits below the top of the head in the recess that
surrounds the hole, and the bolt is now held so it won't fall out, but it
will turn freely on that unthreaded section with just the 1/4" section above
the top of the plate. To use it, you put your camera on the 1/4" section
and screw that in, then turn the plastic nut up the lower thread in the bolt
so it bears on the bottom of the head and pulls the camera down snug and
tight. All this is very easy to see and quick to do, more lengthy and
difficult to explain in words...
Your options I guess are: get a QR system - the Arca-Swiss, with plates and
clamps from Kirk, RRS, or similar, is the best, but not cheap; order a new
threaded bolt from Gitzo - they still stock them and they are not that
expensive; or file down a section of the threads in the right place on the
bolt that you now have so that it works more or less as I described above -
cheapest option, though lacking a knob on the bolt itself, not quite as easy
to use.
It's a good tipod and head, so worth a bit of work or small expenditure to
be able to use it.
Peter
Bandicoot
news:79acg2t5ru184pq6f...@4ax.com...
[SNIP]
>
> I'd machine off enough of the 3/8" thread closest to the 1/4"
> threaded section to let it spin freely in the threaded part of the
> plate. Maybe five minutes work on a lathe. Less, if you don't
> care whether it's pretty.
>
> I'd also be tempted to turn a slot into the rod for a circlip, to
> keep the rod from falling out of the plate when it's not screwed
> into a camera.
That would more or less turn this bolt into a match for the one that would
have been originally supplied - a better solution than trying to work with
the non-original bolt as it stands and, necessarily, finding it very
inconvenient as as result.
Peter
Bandicoot
[SNIP]
> Err. Guys?
>
> I do dearly love messing around in a workshop.
>
> (http://www.geocities.com/plybench my website)
>
Ooh, another Neanderthal :-)
I used to be a regular on work.woodrecing years ago, but eventually got
tired of wading through all the Normites...
Peter
Bandicoot
[SNIP]
>
> (a friend looking over my shoulder has also
> pointed out that while the head locking knobs are black
> plastic, the plate locking knob is gray - perhaps
> another non-original part?)
>
No, the grey is original, just slightly older style for Gitzo than the
black. It may have come with that head or another originally, but it
certainly looks like a genuine part to me.
Peter
bugbear
(OT - sorry to the photo guys)
There's nothing on USENET for you, but there is one
decent (stunning) mailing list and several hand tools forums.
http://www.brendlers.net/oldtools/oldtools.html (mailing list)
http://www.woodcentral.com/newforum/handtools.shtml
http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=handtools
I've also heard sawmill creek favourably spoken of.
BugBear
bugbear
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_main.jpg
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
>
> Can anyone tell me how I fix a "normal" camera with a 1/4" socket
> onto this head? Do I need an adapter of some kind?
>
> And (secondarily) can anyone ID the tripod as a whole?
Further to the ID question, there's some text
on the head-plate of the tripod that may help;
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_plate.jpg
It says:
GITZO
made in france
brevete S.G.D.G
GILUX
TOTOLUX
(or possibly TATALUX;
the A/O thing is a triangle)
BugBear
bugbear
> TOTOLUX
>
> (or possibly TATALUX;
> the A/O thing is a triangle)
Google (and the Gitzo website)
says it's TATALUX.
http://www.gitzo.com/products/metric/tripods/45classic/rightscreen.php3
BugBear
Bandicoot
Thanks BugBear, I'll have a look at them when I have a moent.
Peter
Bandicoot
One of my Reporter tripods is also labelled Tatalux - I think that is a
model designation that Gitzo uses for tripods in more than one model range -
I've seen it on both Sport and Reporter models at least. Seems to designate
the models with more leg sections, though sometimes these are specified as
'compact', so I'm not sure exactly what it is intended to signify.
Other designations include "Industrial" which seem to be taller tripods with
fewer leg sections (I have another reporter that is an Industrial) and
"Geant" which is a tripod with extra leg sections to give it much greater
height than other models in the same model-range.
"Performance" signifies that the tripod is supplied with legs that can be
set to multiple angles, and is a modifier to the Tatalux/Compact/Industrial
or whatever name, while Weekend/Sport/Reporter/Studex/Inter Pro Studex/Pro
Studex/Tele Studex indicates the model range, _principally_ determined with
reference to the diameter of the top leg section.
These are all "Classic" tripods. "Explorer" tripods have fully adjustable
leg and column angles, "Mountaineer" are carbon fibre, and "Levelling" or
"LVL" tripods are carbon fibre 'pods with a mechanism that lets you level
the column without individually adjusting the legs. The new "Basalt"
tripods are an alternative to carbon fibre: lighter than aluminium but
cheaper than carbon fibre.
That's as much sense as I have made (or needed to make) of Gitzo's naming
conventions.
Peter
Matt Clara
news:4mmthnF...@individual.net...
That was no nutter, that was Tony Spadaro! As I recall, he had a lemon of
an F2, and took it a little too personally.
Lionel
<"insert_handle_here"@techemail.com> opined:
Exactly. If he'd spent real money on it, the answer would be to buy
the correct part as a spare, but the mod's easy & free, so why spend
money on it? ;)
Lionel
opined:
>Big equipment for a little problem. Got to love it.
Well, after years of wanting to learn machining, I finally found a
cheap lathe that's suitable for these sorts of tasks, & it currently
lives on a bench maybe 3 metres from my camera gear, so yeah, I'm
currently looking at lots of problems in a lather-oriented sort of
way. ;)
But more seriously, the OP's problem is the kind of thing I used to
(pre-lathe) solve with a Dremel, files, & some elbow grease.
>Actually, that made me thing of something (which is fairly rare). I
>used to have a Super Omega C enlarger and the plate that held the lens
>was the wrong site. The El Nikkor lens screwed in but the hole in the
>plate was too small. The hole needed to be something like 1.25" and
>fine threaded -- with only one chance to drill it out and thread it. I
>needed a machinist and since I was in college, that wasn't going to
>happen.
I'm still learning machining, so a task like that's way ahead of my
current abilities. But boy, I'm sure looking forward to the day when I
can take on things like that. :)
Bob Hickey
"bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote in message
> Dear all;
>
> I recently lucked into a small Gitzo tripod
> at a car boot sale.
>
> It was cheap enough that I took a risk...
>
> The head plate has multiple drillings that
> are all tapped for 3/8".
>
> The camera fixing bolt is mainly 3/8", with a short
> section of 1/4" at one end.
>
> I believe 3/8" is the size of fixing used for larger
> cameras, even though the tripod is quite small.
>
> Here are a coupla' photos.
>
> http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/bugbear33/gitzo/gitzo_head.jpg
>
> Can anyone tell me how I fix a "normal" camera with a 1/4" socket
> onto this head? Do I need an adapter of some kind?
>
> And (secondarily) can anyone ID the tripod as a whole?
>
Why not just get a brass 3/8 - 1/4 sleeve and a 1/4-20 screw about 3/4"
long. Screw it through the head into the camera and turn the camera the last
half turn or so. Or put that adaptor screw in backwards. Or get a junk video
QD. They're cheap. Or a 1/4-20 butterfly screw. Bogens have a 3/8 with a 1/4
spring loaded inside. Or, screw in a soft brass 3/8 and solder in. then
drill it out with a 17/64 drill.
Bob Hickey