Charlie wrote in post #17804624
even quick clamps get dirty from the beach, and they occasionally snag on stuff, which is really annoying. If the clamps got loose on the field, game over unless you have tools handy. My bogen clamps ran into occasional problems, and had to replace a few of the lock caps. No such issue with twist stuff.
my biggest gripe with twist is not having an indicator to show that it's locked. the clamps, you can visually inspect to see that they are locked, not so with the twist.
Get a silver Sharpie, and put some index marks on the parts of the twist lock, like shown here. Not aligned by even a small amount (upper lock) is loosened, aligned (lower lock) is tight, visible even when you're standing tall and not bent over
I have a mark on the center column lock, and a couple on the ballhead that are similar...the twisting part to left of fixed part = loose; aligned (or to the right) = locked (mnemomic, 'Right is right!")
As for twist locks being PITA, is dependent upon implementation. I had Bogen/Manfrotto for decades, and much preferred its ease and time of setup over the Gitzos I tried back in the 1980s. I owned a Bogen 3221, loved the lever locks and hated the twist lock on the contemporary Gitzos back then! Fast forward 20 years and Gitzo adds ALR and G-lock design in the mid/late 2000s. Via POTN, myself and someone else engage in a 'shoot out' in set up and break down times for my Bogen vs his new Gitzo... time of setup and takedown was a virtual draw.
Saving 3 pounds was becoming a need, not a luxury, for my body as it continues thru 'middle age' and progressing toward eventual senior citizen status. The Gitzo is well worth the expense, and I am reminded of that whenever I pick it up! I prefer 3 leg segments, because travel length is not an issue for me, and I hate the 50% extra time to fidget with 3 additional leg sections to extend, and then later to collapse.
The metal Bogen sections extended out simply with gravity, due to their mass; I wish the Gitzo CF had sufficient mass and even lower friction to permit sections to extend out on their own, but the setup time is nevertheless like my old Bogen 3221 time in spite of that manual intervention needed to pull out the legs (rather than using gravity).
