Mark Baigent Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Hi all, it was with some surprise that I realized that I have been using the same tripod for 30 years, I cannot say that about anything else in my kit.So some thoughts...http://markbaigent.co.uk/cms/one-tripod-thirty-years-manfrotto-075/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Nice article. Presumably you don't take it for long walkies (the tripod, not the dog). Tripods are one of those things that tend to get neglected when upgrade time comes around. But the technology has moved along a bit. My carbon fibre Manfrotto with small ball head (1.5 kg in total) is what goes out with me and is helping to preserve my shoulders and arms which are no longer pristine unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Baigent Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 Hiya, I heaved it up five storeys of ladders a month or so ago!!Luckily I do not roam far these days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dov makabaw Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Hi Mark If it is still as solid as a rock why change it. New gear is unlikely to last as long as holding onto you trusty friend. .dov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ramsay Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Bought my Mamiya RB in 1987, still in regular use Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I envy you guys being able to carry heavy weights. Pete Davis (Dyn LLun on here) is 67 or so and still lugging an enormous camera and tripod around. My shoulders are telling me they've had enough of that and there is no arguing with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin paterson Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Hi. Still using the old Gitzmo from nearly 40 years ago !! Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cribb Visuals Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 My old Gitzo is still running after 20 years plus (second owner here on that one). I found a Manfrotto tripod like that above chucked out in Brooklyn recently and added that to my stable! Personally, I like the older heavier steel. In rough neighborhoods that special tripod martial art comes in useful. Carbon fibre might not stand up to the abuse... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin paterson Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Hi. Just counted so just after 30 years. Passed down as well. All my others are up in the loft in various states of repair !! Sorry was it a Gitso!!!! Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickfly Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Had same tripod for 20 years, only replace head twice and rest of it six times. (bastardised trigger quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nacke Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Still have my two legged Gitzo, was garenteed for a lifetime and one reincarnation, but Bogen wanted $300.00 to fix the broken leg.... On the other hand I am still using, almost daily, my Norman 800 Superlight. I've sent it in for repair twice and it continues to work like a champ. Norman's are great, too bad that Bill and the company is gone, but still in business. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Baigent Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 Bought my Mamiya RB in 1987, still in regular use Alex Nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Baigent Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 Hi Mark If it is still as solid as a rock why change it. New gear is unlikely to last as long as holding onto you trusty friend. .dov The only reason that I would change it is if it sustained further damage, although I will now stop taking it for granted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Bought my Mamiya RB in 1987, still in regular use Alex Yes, you can't get decent bookends these days My old original Benbo from Kennett Engineering days is still going strong but looks like cr#p, which I kind of like. Not sure exactly when I bought it, some time early 90s - on third set of protective feet (some held on with gaffer tape). Still used indoors but less so out in the wild, I went carbon fibre a long time ago for a carrying around tripod. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Morley Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Yes, the well-made tripods from the past can last a long time. My Manfrotto Triminor was bought new 35 years ago for 35mm use, and my Gitzo Cremaillere 3 was bought second-hand 20 years ago for 5x4 and larger format. Both are great tripods that continue to give good service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyn Llun Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 My Giant Gitzo in some of the pictures here :- have had for nearly 50 years. I replaced the three top sections some 25 years ago and the head has had several new locking knobs over the years. Cost me a fortune all those years ago (astronomical now) but in the long term a bargain. Still in constant, hard use every day. Will see me out. The wooden tripod in some of the pics is the other end of the price spectrum. It's an old surveyors tripod I picked up for a tenner in a junk store. I put a spare Gitzo 5 head on it and it too has long hard use and is still working fine. I have used this for over 30 years now. Both these tripods have taken real beatings in the field and also survived many, many short and long haul flights around the world. I love Gitzo stuff as you can still buy every screw, knob, washer and leg section for every tripod they ever made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyn Llun Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 ooops what happened to the link?! http://www.pete-davis-photography.com/news.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I wish I still had a use for my '68 Hasselblad (bought in 1983) but I still exercise the shutter regularly and won't sell it for peanuts. I even sold my frozen store of film two years ago for not bad money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyn Llun Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I suppose that I am very lucky to be selling work, both new and 'vintage' through my galleries and dealers that is made using traditional kit and materials. The buyers of my work would not be amused to get an inkjet print from a digi file! This means that the vast fortunes I invested over the years in top end kit, vastly expensive large format lenses etc. etc. has now repaid itself many, many times over and still doing so. I have hardly any 'redundant' kit here. Even my older top - end Leica lenses are now being used on my Digi M's due to their inbuilt compatibility. Buying the best never let me down although it was hard going financially over the years. Reaping the benefits now though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin McAbee Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I still have and use my Bogen 3020 as they were called here in the US. I guess Bogen was the official importer then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.