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Dropped my new Nikon P1000 Arggghh!
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Apr 3, 2019 20:54:42   #
Paul60 Loc: Lowestoft, UK
 
Hi all,

I'd like your thoughts on this please.

I've been struggling to attach my P1000 to my tripod.

I have the small plate from the tripods head, fitted to the bottom of the camera.

As this camera is so large & heavy, I'm finding it hard (and very fiddley) to attach the camera.

Last night, I was packing up and picked up the tripod with camera still attached to remove it, when the camera fell to the floor from about 3ft onto carpet.

It seems like 90% of the time, the mount is not seated properly on the head, even though it looks like it is.

It felt secure enough as I used it, till I picked it up to pack things away.

The camera seems fine, but somehow the memory card popped out (with the door still closed). I opened the door and pushed the memory card home.

I can't see any visible damage to camera body, functionality or to the lens.

Do you chaps think it will be ok ?

I'm paranoid about it. I think I'll look for a better tripod head that's easier to use too.

Cheers

Paul. :)

Reply
Apr 3, 2019 21:13:25   #
dvdnj
 
You'll know soon enough. :-( Look for focusing issues, lens to camera mount wobble, and other odd behavior. You are lucky that it fell on carpet -- you might be in the clear. After waiting 3+ months for my new D850, I slipped on icey pavement, barely 2 months of owning it: that set me back almost a grand between the camera and lens repair. :-( (also, it's always a good habit to wrap the camera strap around your wrist when you are moving it while it is still attached to a tripod). Good luck to you!

Reply
Apr 3, 2019 21:21:16   #
insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida
 
Run it through the same trials that you would if you had just taken it out of the box new and for a trial run. I would bet you will know soon enough. Good Luck!

Reply
 
 
Apr 3, 2019 21:22:15   #
Paul60 Loc: Lowestoft, UK
 
Thanks,

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I'm definitely going to look for a better tripod mount.

Reply
Apr 3, 2019 21:52:34   #
billbarcus Loc: IPNW
 
Paul60 wrote:
Hi all,

I'd like your thoughts on this please.

I've been struggling to attach my P1000 to my tripod ...

Paul. :)


Paul, that's what they make camera straps for! I never attach or detach any camera without the camera strap around my neck. Camera straps have saved me some repair bucks and a few damaged cameras.

Every time I see a photographer using a camera absent a camera strap, or not around their necks, I just want to smack them up the side of the head.

Reply
Apr 3, 2019 21:57:11   #
Paul60 Loc: Lowestoft, UK
 
Thanks Billbarcus,

Smack in the head taken and lesson learned.

I just got through examining it in the daylight. Not a scratch. It seems to still work fine. All the buttons, dials move ok as does the zoom lens.

I'm really hoping its ok.

Cheers

Paul :)

Reply
Apr 3, 2019 22:21:30   #
mas24 Loc: Southern CA
 
It appears the carpet was your best friend. Otherwise, you might have had a cracked case. You would have had two choices. Super Glue, or send it in for Nikon repairs. Nikon does not cover warranty for Impact Damage. You would have had to pay out of pocket. Good luck.

Reply
 
 
Apr 3, 2019 22:29:15   #
Bipod
 
Paul60 wrote:
Thanks Billbarcus,

Smack in the head taken and lesson learned.

I just got through examining it in the daylight. Not a scratch. It seems to still work fine. All the buttons, dials move ok as does the zoom lens.

I'm really hoping its ok.

Cheers

Paul :)

That's good to hear, Paul!

Does anybody happen know what the design drop-height spec for current Nikon bodies is?
(or if Nikon even publishes such a spec.)

Sounds like you need a tripod with a better quick-release system. As cameras have gotten
lighter in weight, weak tripod quick-release systems have appeared on the market--some
of them made entirely out of plastic!

In the 1950s and before, there were no quick-release systems: you screwed the tripod directly
to the camera, which was very strong. I don't know when the first quick release was
introduced, but I started seeing "foot plates" around 1970..

The Arca (or "Swiss") quick release system is pretty strong, but tends to be only used
on expensive heads. Also, it is not positive action: you have be sure to screw it closed
all the way. I may be wrong, but I think that it's the only quick release system that is an
industry standard.

The old Slik quick release, which looks like a plug rather than a foot plate, is very strong.
https://www.amazon.com/618-752-Replacement-Quick-Tripod-U-212DX/dp/B00009R6Q8
Older Slik tripods are inexpensive in the used market and most are very sturdy--though not
light in weight.

Tripods intended for movie/video cameras tend to be sturdier (and heavier) than those intended
for still cameras. Nearly all have pan-and-tilt heads. Most have decent foot plates systems.

I currently use about a dozen tripods--ranging from a ultra-light Gitzo Traveler with
Markins head to a Stitz CV1000Q professional video tripod, to a Servo hardwood, steel
and brass surveyor's model.. No single tripod can do every job. For heavy cameras or windy
situations, you need a heavy, rigid tripod.

I also have some tripods from the 1930s -- 1950s that I use to display vintage cameras--but
do not shoot with. The biggest improvement in tripods over the years wasn't quick release
systems (as you found out, a cause of failures) or high-tech materials, it was when they went
from round telescoping legs to square ones. The extra rigidity introduced by the angles in the
leg cross-section made it possible for a collapsible tripod to be almost as rigid as a
non-telescoping model.

For most uses, it is more important that a tripod be sturdy than that be light-weight.

Reply
Apr 3, 2019 22:29:32   #
Paul60 Loc: Lowestoft, UK
 
What I need is for someone to invent a portable padded floor ! ;)

Reply
Apr 3, 2019 22:39:38   #
Paul60 Loc: Lowestoft, UK
 
Hi Bipod,

I just bought this camera & tripod new. I am a complete beginner.

The tripod is a Manfrotto Befree with the basic ball head. The tripod itself seems to hold the weight of the P1000 ok.

It's just that the head plate is such a sod to attach and remove. Especially with such a chunky, heavy camera.

You think the plate has clicked and locked into place on the head, when in fact it hasn't. I used the camera on the tripod in my lounge room for a couple of hours thinking all was well.

When I picked up the tripod (to better get at the release catch) the camera just fell off.

I cursed this tripod last night. I'm going to shop around for a beefier one with a better release.

Reply
Apr 4, 2019 00:25:58   #
Bipod
 
Paul60 wrote:
Hi Bipod,

I just bought this camera & tripod new. I am a complete beginner.

The tripod is a Manfrotto Befree with the basic ball head. The tripod itself seems to hold the weight of the P1000 ok.

It's just that the head plate is such a sod to attach and remove. Especially with such a chunky, heavy camera.

You think the plate has clicked and locked into place on the head, when in fact it hasn't. I used the camera on the tripod in my lounge room for a couple of hours thinking all was well.

When I picked up the tripod (to better get at the release catch) the camera just fell off.

I cursed this tripod last night. I'm going to shop around for a beefier one with a better release.
Hi Bipod, br br I just bought this camera & t... (show quote)

It's always frustrating when brand new, name-brand gear let's one down.

Unfortunately, I'm not a Manfrotto user, so I can't suggest a fix or workaround.
At least you now know to pay extra care.

Many (most?) of the quck release systems on the market aren't really positive
action--at least not to the extent of, say, a climbers screwgate locking carabiner,
a turn-bolt action rifle, or even a refrigerator door latch.

Not many kids today want to be mechanical engineers. As electronics has grown
in prestige and prominence, mechanical design has suffered. Even fewer kids
want to be machinists. And programs to train both have suffered cutbacks or
been eliiminated.

Moreover, cost-cutting means that things that used to be made of metal are now
made of injection-molded plastic. Molding in a single piece puts severe limits
on the kind of shapes hat are impossible to make.

But even metal parts tend to be stamped or folded rather than machined or
forged. "Designing for manufacturability" everything possible is done to
reduce the amount of labor per unit. Priority #1 is to avoid machining
(turning, drilling, milling, etc.). Even computer-controlled machining is too
expensive unless millions of units are to be made and the selling price is high.

The root cause of all this isn't new technology: It's a stock market full of investors
who only look at short-term returns, and who expect every industry to be as
profitable as a hotel-casino. Profits are supposed to go up every quarter,
and public companies that fall short are punished by investors. And executive
compensation is now tied to stock price.

What feels like a hundred years ago, I was taught that every type of business has
a typical rate of return---higher for a casino than a grocery store or a farmer. The
only way a business could improve on that was by "eating the seed corn" so to speak.
If you cut costs beyond a certain point, say the baker starts using sawdust in his bread--
you'd lose customers and hollow-out the business. And it's still true.


This can't explain why closely-held corporations turn out so much junk--but
they too are mostly run by MBAs, who are taught to "manage by the bottom line".
According to business schools., you don't know to know anythig about
photography or the camera industry to run a camera manufacturing firm.

But we must also blame ourselves. Many consumers go looking for
a carbon fiber tripod, but few ask if the quick-release system is
positive action. Many buy based on a long list of "brochure features",
but few ask if the basic features work reliably.

As long as businesses love profit above all else, and consumers love
technology above all else, we will live in a world filled with expensive
gadgets that don't work and can't be fixed. And even those that do work
(most of the time) don't interoperate because they have proprietary
interfaces (quick release plates, lens mounts, hotshoe pins, etc.).

Reply
 
 
Apr 4, 2019 01:12:40   #
Paul60 Loc: Lowestoft, UK
 
Well said Bipod.

I have an old refrigerator here that belonged to my wife's grandmother.

It's still chugging away. Must be as old as me.

You buy one today, and it might last a couple of years if you are lucky.

Reply
Apr 4, 2019 01:26:39   #
speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho
 
Paul60 wrote:
Hi all,

I'd like your thoughts on this please.

I've been struggling to attach my P1000 to my tripod.

I have the small plate from the tripods head, fitted to the bottom of the camera.

As this camera is so large & heavy, I'm finding it hard (and very fiddley) to attach the camera.

Last night, I was packing up and picked up the tripod with camera still attached to remove it, when the camera fell to the floor from about 3ft onto carpet.

It seems like 90% of the time, the mount is not seated properly on the head, even though it looks like it is.

It felt secure enough as I used it, till I picked it up to pack things away.

The camera seems fine, but somehow the memory card popped out (with the door still closed). I opened the door and pushed the memory card home.

I can't see any visible damage to camera body, functionality or to the lens.

Do you chaps think it will be ok ?

I'm paranoid about it. I think I'll look for a better tripod head that's easier to use too.

Cheers

Paul. :)
Hi all, br br I'd like your thoughts on this plea... (show quote)


There are a lot of times, I carry the tripod to a different location, while the camera is still attached, I usually put it on my shoulder to move it, but I would never do that, if I was not sure, that the camera is secured! I always make sure of that, before I start shooting, so that something like that can never happen!

Reply
Apr 4, 2019 02:02:20   #
Jesu S
 
Paul60 wrote:
The camera seems fine, but somehow the memory card popped out (with the door still closed).


That's called the memexit syndrom.

Reply
Apr 4, 2019 02:17:36   #
Paul60 Loc: Lowestoft, UK
 
speters wrote:
There are a lot of times, I carry the tripod to a different location, while the camera is still attached, I usually put it on my shoulder to move it, but I would never do that, if I was not sure, that the camera is secured! I always make sure of that, before I start shooting, so that something like that can never happen!


I was sure it had clicked into the head ok. I moved the camera around a several times and wiggled it to be sure. It looked like it was in place and locked.

Being new, I am learning some lessons the hard way.

I have been experimenting with the tripod (no camera) and its not only difficult to tell which way it fits, but its also very fiddley to get the plate seated. A much bigger challenge when the bulky heavy camera is attached !

I notice if fitted the wrong way, it still sort of clicks into place, giving a false sense of security.

Any serious tugging and the plate falls right off.

I will get some kind of marking pen or paint to show which way it goes. I wish Manfrotto would put some kind of arrow or direction indicator on the plate and where you can easily see it with camera attached.

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