Help! Sunpak tripod head fell off....

[Peeb]

I've had this Sunpak 7500tm for several years. Yesterday at a family event, the head fell off. No big deal, right? Just screw it back on- it's threaded.

The bolt is loose and won't hold for me to re-thread. When I start to rotate the head back on the bolt starts to thread back into the center pole of the tripod.

Am I doing something wrong?
Have I lost a piece?
If something is broken, can you just replace that center monopod piece and keep going?

Mods- not sure what sub-forum to put this so, I'll start here unless you have a better spot.

Thanks!

 

[tirediron]

Can you add an image or two; I understand the problem, but it's a little hard to offer any advice without seeing it.

 

[unpopular]

Am I doing something wrong?

Well. You bought a Sunpak Tripod.

(sorry, I couldn't resist)

 

[Peeb]

Bottom of head

 

[Peeb]

Center pole

 

[Peeb]

Loose free spinning bolt

 

[Derrel]

I was at Goodwill yesterday...they had three similar tripods....each at $6.99. Might be time to head down there and pick one up.

 

[TCampbell]

I'm wondering what's under the top of that center column. On many of the higher-end tripods, that center bolt is reversible -- being a 3/8" 16 thread-per-inch on one end of the bolt (the size that threads directly onto tripod "heads"), but it can be unthreaded and flipped and the opposite end has a 1/4" 20 tpi thread (the size that threads directly into the bottom of the camera). Often there's just a lock-nut to snug it in place.

I'm wondering if there is a lock-nut under there and it's come loose. Does that plate come off? Is there a set-screw (usually a hex-screw that needs an allen key)? This might be a very simple fix.

 

[astroNikon]

I would guess a locknut as Tim has mentioned.
Maybe the lock nut unlocked itself an now rotates when the head rotates.

If you have 2 nuts that fit, hand thread them on then have them oppose each other (screw them tightly together). Then use that to unscrew the screw taht you have. It may just end up to snugly fit in the inside of the column. You'll have to tighten it enough so the head doesn't loosen it again. Maybe add some lock-tite to it after you have tightened it.

Of course, with the time put it, you might just be well off buying a new one and not dealing with it. Then donate it to Goodwill for Derrel to pick up.

 

[Peeb]

OK- I know when to say uncle!

Tried to tighten it one more time- nothing doing.

Starting over with a new tripod. Thanks for the input, guys.

 

[unpopular]

Get a Majestic!

Because you never know when you might upgrade to a Panaflex.

 

[TCampbell]

OK- I know when to say uncle!

Tried to tighten it one more time- nothing doing.

Starting over with a new tripod. Thanks for the input, guys.

Tripods are one of those things that you should be able to buy and have it last for the rest of your life. It's also a piece of gear that, in my opinion, should be able to take a bit of a beating (you shouldn't have to handle it with white gloves.) The low-cost models, unfortunately, don't seem to be able to take a beating and may even develop problems with gentle use.

Thom Hogan (byThom.com) had an interesting blog article about how you can spend $1000 for a tripod or $1700 for a tripod, and he believes most photographers end up doing one or the other. Immediately the alarm bells should be going off because nobody really spends $1700 on a tripod (even if you buy a Gitzo). When you read the article you discover that the $1700 is really a price tag he "adds up over time" because the photographer buys a cheap tripod, which breaks, buys another cheap tripod, which breaks, buys a slightly better tripod, which turns out to be inadequate, and at some point finally buys the tripod they SHOULD have bought the first time and if they had it would have been the ONLY tripod they would have ever bought. The moral of the story is... don't cheap out on the tripod -- or you'll just be buying another.

You might have a look at Manfrotto. In Manfrotto, the "190" series and the "055" series are probably the two most popular. The "190" series a bit smaller and lighter. The "055" is a bit larger and a little more solid (neither of these are their smallest nor largest tripods). You can get these in aluminum, carbon fiber, with 3-section legs or 4-section legs, lots of options. Neither cost $1000 -- nor even half of that.

If you want a recommendation on a $1000 tripod, we'd be happy to offer suggestions. ;-)

 

[astroNikon]

I bought a $1,000 tripod/head.
For $90.
From an online estate sale. It had worn paint in areas, etc. But everything mechanically worked perfectly (legs locks, center gearing, etc), and the leg pads are all there though have lost some color (from dark black to blackish). You can find deals out there if you wait and know what to look for.

My other tripod I also bought for about $90, along with a carbon monopod for about $90.
Used Deals abound but you just have to wait for what you are looking for.

 

[unpopular]

Tripods depreciate SO fast. Never, ever, ever buy a new one.

Tripods are one of those things that you should be able to buy and have it last for the rest of your life. It's also a piece of gear that, in my opinion, should be able to take a bit of a beating (you shouldn't have to handle it with white gloves.) The low-cost models, unfortunately, don't seem to be able to take a beating and may even develop problems with gentle use.

I've literally thrown my Manfrotto off cliffs and down rocky mountain mountain sides. Watching it bounce around on the way down a vertical drop was pretty cringe-worthy, but it was either me or it. Sure, it's a little scratched up, and one of the control knobs is a little bent, but only a little and I do not notice it and has no impact on it's use.

Which is too bad. Because I really want a gear head.