Hello, I was offered a Bolex tripod similar to the one pictured at a good price. The thing is, it is missing its top plate (the part that sits in the circular depression in the third picture).
The seller tells me that this plate is easily found online. I have looked cursorily but haven't found anything yet.
Is this a foolish purchase? Will I spend time and money looking/machining this top plate?
The tripod is in excellent condition otherwise.
Yes, you will not find it. In fact, that plate might be on the bottom of a Bolex movie camera.
So do you suggest I give up on this tripod?
Does the head come off? If so just replace the head. Your head now is a movie head anyway with only pan and tilt.Originally Posted by cherdlu
It's unlikely that you will find an odd bit for a long obsolete and defunct tripod, so to purchase it would not be recommended. Vintage equipment has its charm, but be wary of the many rabbit holes waiting to swallow you up. Besides, if for large format, you might want to find something a bit more substantial.
Good luck!
Isn't this tripod enough for a 4x5/5x7 Arca Swiss setup?
If you replace the head, it's not really a Bolex tripod anymore. It's legs. If you can't get a plate on it, it's not enough for your Arca Swiss. Unless the guy wants like $35, why mess with it. In it's current configuration, it won't work for you. If complete, I like movie camera tripods for 4x5 and 5x7, I use a lot of them.
Garrett
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This is a Paillard / Bolex tripod. I love these except they suck all the heat from your hands on a cold day and they don't collapse into luggage. I use mine now for an 8x10 and 5x7 Deardorff in the past. Good solid tripod. Easy. Fast. I took off the head and tossed that. I doubt you'll find the bowl adapter. (Actually, not sure this one has a bowl.) You could make one from wood or abandon that mess and just attach a nice head of your choice. The rubber tips on legs dry up and get hard. They don't seem to crack off, at least not yet. Only matters on marble and wood floors.
A fully operational, very clean model is worth about $75 IMO. (I bought my first one at a photo swap for $50. Good shape but dusty.) Originally there was a chain that went between the eyelets in the legs to contain them. You can add a string. Or go without, no biggie. Oh, make sure that the little stop blocks that keep the legs to a standard angle are in place. (Looks as though they are there in your pic.) You'll not find another set of those either. Use this info to keep the price down. The new head for it will cost much more than the legs.
Contact me by email and I'll send you pix of mine, if you like. I'm a big fan. Best bang/buck in tripods.
If you don't mind modifying it, just drill a hole through the plate and add a threaded whatcha-macallit to screw into the camera and use it as a conventionally-attaching tripod. I never trusted those quick-release plates anyways...
"I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."
I agree Mark S. I have a Miller cine tripod. The wooden type. Bought it from Morley Baer. It has a concave bowl, but no mating convex bowl-thingy. I put a couple of big wooden washers on either side and added a 3/8" bolt with a big Gitzo head. Fabulous. Easy. Same way Morley ran it. Paillard is like a metal version of the Miller.
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