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Tripod problem

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:20 pm
by 59caddy
In my videos, you may have noticed that up-and-down motion can be quite jerky. Even when I loosen the appropriate joint, the motion is still impeded. How can I eliminate this problem?

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 4:17 pm
by Saturnalia
Try some lubrication...

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 9:22 am
by J T
Get a better tripod? Image

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:58 pm
by 59caddy
Not sure how common this is, but the culprit was grease that had turned somewhat sticky and resistive. I got rid of the grease and replaced it with silicone.

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 6:31 pm
by Saturnalia
grease does tend to die...your fix should work just fine :wink:

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:26 pm
by J T
Grease? Silicone? What the heck are you talking about when it comes to tripods?

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:29 pm
by Saturnalia
J T wrote:Grease? Silicone? What the heck are you talking about when it comes to tripods?
Some tripods just need a little help moving freely :wink:

Generally, they are the older, cheaper models. I had some. Then I got my brand new high-quality one. No grease :D

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:59 am
by J T
Weird. I've never seen a cheap tripod that needed lubrication.

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 5:10 pm
by Y@
J T wrote:Weird. I've never seen a cheap tripod that needed lubrication.
Have you ever been in Wal-Mart? :lol:

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 6:28 pm
by PerRock
There are really 2 types of tripods, Video & still. Still tripods are designed to be locked into one place then unlocked, moved & locked back down. Video tripods are designed to allow smooth fluid motion when moving and are actually usually pretty hard to firmly lock down. Most "cheap" tripods (like what you'd get from Walmart) are designed for still photography & will most likely give you some jerky motions when doing a panning video on them. The best solution is to get a video tripod. However it is often possible to get a still tripod that doesn't jerk. It usually involves playing with the adjustments to find the sweet spot that allows a nice controlled pan but also doesn't cause any jerkiness.

peter

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:37 pm
by trainerd
59caddy wrote:Not sure how common this is, but the culprit was grease that had turned somewhat sticky and resistive. I got rid of the grease and replaced it with silicone.
Believe or not as they say, that "grease" is supposed to be sticky and resistive, it's not broken down, it's made that way to help smooth/take up slop in the assembly. (not technically slop, more like usable clearances.) Many a Telescope has been ruined in its positioning ability by replacing the "sticky" grease with something else -silcone, lithium, and the rest. The telescope mount becomes jerky and twitchy in motion. I h look at the mount and see if there is surface roughness. But on the whole, the price/brand of tripod, used in video/photography makes all the difference. Hope this helps.

Re: Tripod problem

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2013 8:30 am
by railohio