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.).