LyleB
23-Jul-2010, 07:58
I bought one of these at my local camera store. It seems to be a very stable, reasonably weighty support for my range of cameras - P&S to 4x5. I made the mistake of buying a relatively cheap ball head, and so I'm planning to upgrade that in the next week or so. When it was purchased, the camera shop installed the ball head, so I didn't notice the mounting bolt.
The legs come with one of those, dual 1/4" - 3/8", spring loaded bolts, in which the 3/8" threads retract when the 1/4" are needed. These 3/8" threads DO NOT inspire confidence. They are loose and thin, seem they will break easily and appear to be a very weak link in a very crucial part of the assembly. They do tighten and seem to hold once a head is attached, but do not seem all that strong.
I have found threads on various forums that discuss work-arounds for similar designed Giotto tripods. When I attempt to gain access to this mounting bolt on the ProMaster, I cannot get the mounting assembly off of the center shaft. I found a set screw on the side of the shaft, and loosened this, even removed it, but cannot get the mount to unscrew from the shaft to gain access to the bolt.
Hope you understand what I'm saying. I want to replace this dual-sized mounting bolt with a solid bolt for added security when attaching a medium format or larger camera. Does anyone have one of these and know the trick? I cannot afford to replace both the legs and ballhead at this time.
Thanks for any tips you can give.
The legs come with one of those, dual 1/4" - 3/8", spring loaded bolts, in which the 3/8" threads retract when the 1/4" are needed. These 3/8" threads DO NOT inspire confidence. They are loose and thin, seem they will break easily and appear to be a very weak link in a very crucial part of the assembly. They do tighten and seem to hold once a head is attached, but do not seem all that strong.
I have found threads on various forums that discuss work-arounds for similar designed Giotto tripods. When I attempt to gain access to this mounting bolt on the ProMaster, I cannot get the mounting assembly off of the center shaft. I found a set screw on the side of the shaft, and loosened this, even removed it, but cannot get the mount to unscrew from the shaft to gain access to the bolt.
Hope you understand what I'm saying. I want to replace this dual-sized mounting bolt with a solid bolt for added security when attaching a medium format or larger camera. Does anyone have one of these and know the trick? I cannot afford to replace both the legs and ballhead at this time.
Thanks for any tips you can give.