Tripod Maintenance

Professional photographer, Paul Thompson in for outdoor photography guide. And today I want to talk to you about tripods. Now, we as photographers spend a lot of money on tripods and we need these to be the best and in the best condition that they can possibly be in. So I want to walk you through the steps today that I use to keep and maintain my tripods. Let's get going. Now. Now, especially with carbon fiber tripods, nobody actually tells you what to use with them. So I did some research on what other people use on varying carbon fiber products such as bikes, for example, cycles. So I looked at that and contacted the man manufacturers to see what they use with it. And what I found was actually a bike cleaning solution like this. Now, this one's called, but there are other ones available and it's designed for carbon fiber framed bikes. So I figured that, that it would do exactly the same thing with a tripod as it does with bikes because it's exactly the same compound. So I use that with all my carbon fiber tripods and it's been a fantastic product and it keeps them really spotlessly clean. What tends to happen is when you're out on field, especially by the coast, you get lots of salts and grime and you also get a build up of dirt and everything from your hands, using these things every day. So to be able to clean them right down is really important. So the first thing that I actually do with my tripods is obviously you've got your different leg sections. Now, what you want to do is remove each leg section, one by one and take them out. Now, what you really want to watch for with these tripods are these white inserts with the each leg section because these are really, really delicate. And if you pull them too far one way they're going to split and crack and then you've got a real problem, you're gonna have to send away for spare parts. But these white inserts really need to be cleaned down as well. You need to make sure each one of these white inserts is clean to get a build up of grime and dirt on them and that can um stop the friction going in and out of the tripod leg. So really, really pay attention to that. Now, there's going to be one of these on each leg section you take out. Now, the other thing you have to watch for is the twist lock leg sections themselves and more specifically the threads themselves, when you take each section off each leg section off, you're gonna find these threads inside and what you really want to do is make sure that you clean all of these leg leg section threads really, really well, because this point here is where you get a lot of grit, sand. All of the dirt accumulates in these threads and it can damage the threads. And that's the, you know, you sometimes undoing your trip on and you get this sound. Well, that's what's causing it. It's, it's usually a build up of grit in these threads and you don't want them, want to get them damaged. So the best way to look after them is to make sure you wipe out all of these threads and get all of the loose debris out of these threads. So it doesn't cause future damage basically. So my technique with cleaning the tripods down with the, with the spray is basically to open up each leg section all the way out. So you've got them all opened up just one, do one leg at a time and then you'll just separate each leg section, take each, each leg section out, completely clean all those threads off, clean. The inserts take off all the grime and then pop them straight back in so that they're not going to get damaged in any way. Then once you've got them all back together and you've got all the top sections cleaned on each leg section, I'll then get a cloth and then wipe each leg, leg section down with the cloth with a bit of the formula on it. But I spray the formula not directly onto the tripod itself. I spray it on to the cloth and then wipe over, take in any grime and dirt with it, to be honest. And then what you want to do is not leave that formula on your tripod too long. That's why I recommend you just spray it on the cloth and wipe it off over the top of the uh the tripod itself rather than spraying it directly onto the tripod. And by the amount of dirt coming off, you'll see what comes off the very first time you do it. Now, I did this maybe a week ago and you can see how much dirt has actually come off the tripod just with this one application of this stuff. So the other thing you really need to look out for is just keep an eye on leg tension. Now, over time, these, your legs will actually loosen off with wear and tear. It takes a long time for it to happen, but just pop a tool in, tighten these bolts up slightly and that'll keep it nicely under tension there. Now, if you keep on top of this and do this monthly and wash your tripods down like this, they're gonna last you many, many, many years. Ok, guys, hopefully this video has been really helpful for you. I've been Paul Thompson in for outdoor photography guide. See you on the next video soon.