Tripod

[Genkisan]

Ive dug an old tripod out from under the stairs that I used to use for my Camcorder. The only thing is... It only has a screw thread on the top for attachment, which the camera can screw onto, but has the obvious side effect of immobilising the camera ontop of the tripod, ie cannot pan around or up and down (as its fixed). Looking in the photo rags, it looks like all photographic tripods have a head attachment that is a mobile top to the tripod.

So..

Can you buy that head, or do I have to invest in a new tripod?

Sorry for the long post... was trying to clarify my position.

Hope to hear from you chaps soon.

[andygrif]

It will depend a lot on the thread on top of the tripod. Could you post a picture of it please?

Some pods (decent ones) have removable heads and the budget ones tend to be fixed, which would mean you would need to replace the tripod if you wanted to pan.

[Genkisan]

No idea if its a pile of junk or half decent... and it goes back a few years which if nothing else means its not tooooo compact or toooo light... built to last :)

[andygrif]

No idea if its a pile of junk or half decent

Somewhere in between I'd guess.

The thread on the top should be able to accommodate a tripod head. You have a couple of main options....

1. Ball and head. Example here:
http://harrysproshop.com/Tripods/Manfrotto_Tripod_Heads/488.gif

2. Pan & Tilt. Example here:
http://www.manfrotto.com/fileindexednew/module2/item/file0001451.gif

Take your pod along to your local photo shop and ask them to talk you through the various options. Alternatively eBay is a great place to pick up old heads from.

[RichardtheSane]

Sorry to ruin your day....

But I had one of these tripods and to be honest it is much closer to junk than half decent.

It will be fine if you don't use the geared centre column. The leg braces will also make it much less versitile for you.

Did I mention Don't use the centre column at anything other than absolute lowest? I say this as it is badly designed and at best will sieze up. Mine the gear mechanism simply gave way with my camera on it - and this was not a heavy camera either!

Get a decent head, and then you will be in a good position to upgrade your tripod legs in the future. Once you have used a good head then I suspect it will be the near future.

did I mention avoid using the geared centre column?

[andygrif]

The geared centre column not much good then?;)

[RichardtheSane]

The geared centre column not much good then?;)

Did I mention that? ;)
So I did :lol:

[Genkisan]

Thanks Andy & Richard...

Gonna look at head costs (and Im not talking those found around Kings Cross station).. and compare that to just buying the full tripod with head.

Thanks for your help chaps!!!