How to clean and maintain your Tripod

[@kevinmoore8780]

I started the video thinking I'd fast forward as why have a 9 minute video on cleaning a tripod. But I didn't fast forward. The video was clear and well organized. Showing me there is more to cleaning my tripod than I thought. I also liked your presentation and the fact that you did things like the section by the shore, outside by the tap etc. Many "how to" videos are all in one location with some steps done off camera and that one location can make the video dull. And while I thought the video might be long, you didn't add extraneous information or make jokes or tell stories so it was a clean narrative. Thank you.

[@mibreit-photo]

Thank you!

[@darrenhafford7791]

Great video, beautiful shots, gorgeous location and fantastic B-Roll. Well Done.🤠

[@cii1072]

Thanks for a very practical hands on video.

[@federicoflores4657]

Excellent tutorial Michael . Kind Regards from México.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Just what I needed to know. Well made video, many thanks for sharing. 🙂

[@ninjaexp8084]

good video Micheal keep it up

[@JonathanSimsPhoto]

Haha, as soon as the video cut to you at the table I was eyeing that coke... My tripod is still gunked from my last trip to the coast. Thanks for the tips Michael! I look forward to more.

[@behnammardani1994]

Thank you very much this is a very useful video

[@evverg9]

Love the videos! Very informative and entertaining

[@dslmaxe]

Nice maintenance video, Michael! I enjoyed watching it after returning from a forest morning walk and having some breakfast. :)

[@mibreit-photo]

Thanks :-) PS: Forest walks are always great. Guess I'll head out for a run now

[@dslmaxe]

Great! If you are in the mood, have a look at my two latest photograph from the woods. Would love to hear your professional comment: www.flickr.com/photos/153534027@N06/26976196777/in/dateposted-public/ www.flickr.com/photos/153534027@N06/41057555994/in/dateposted-public/

[@mibreit-photo]

wow, the first photo has a great atmosphere. Love the light spot within the otherwise darker surroundings.

[@dslmaxe]

Thanks michael, appreciate it!!

[@williamdavies6958]

Great video, can I suggest graphite spray from automobile shop instead of WD40, graphite is a dry lubricant. Also you can use carnauba wax on legs and plastic parts,this helps protect from salt water. Keep up the good work... love your vids

[@mibreit-photo]

William Davies thats some great advice. I will give it a try

[@DiegoMcCartney]

Wow I hadn’t thought about using coke or soda before. Man I’ve always been quite nervous about removing all parts of my tripod. Seems like your technique is spot on though.

[@mibreit-photo]

You can also use any drinks with citric acid, like some lemodades have. But all only works for flash rust. You will not be able to remove deeper rust with it. And with disassembling the tripod you only have to remember where all parts go ;-) My Induro ist quite easy to put together again

[@anlephoto7292]

Thank you so much for showing this.

[@mibreit-photo]

You're welcome :-)

[@RalphGoldsmith]

Informative video, great tip with the Coke. I'm always wary using lubricants on the tripod for the reason you mention (can cause sand to stick) and I'm also wary of using WD40 with the carbon fibre as I think it can cause some problems although it's OK if you can keep it away from the CF parts I guess.

[@mibreit-photo]

Yea I only put the WD40 onto the part where the locks are screwed on and this worked quite good in the past. I'm only use a few drops. I made all the errors I could with my first tripod already, having so much oil and grease on all parts that it was no longer possible to clean it well ;-)

[@jhunipha]

Hi 👋😊 Was sind denn das für geniale toe shoes die du am Strand im Wasser getragen hast ? Sowas ist ja eine fantastische Idee für Aktivitäten im Meer ich wusste nicht dass die sogar Wasser compatible sind. Super interessantes Video vielen Dank !!!!

[@mibreit-photo]

Hi, das sind Vibram 5-Finger Shoes. Sind ganz gut für Wassersport. Die haben auch spezielle Wasserschuhe. Ich habe die KSOs

[@b1a2d3e4]

very informative,how to dismantle vanguard alta pro tripod ?

[@mibreit-photo]

I don't know. I have a induro but most tripods should be similar

[@pquach00]

thanks for sharing

[@pauloricardoferreira2841]

Thanks, Michael, for sharing. Best regards from Rio de Janeiro-Brazil

[@Snowcatnz2]

Very informative Michael. Love the tip about the Coke, I always new it had some use other than rotting your guts LOL!!

[@SanjayBorra]

Michael how do I remove a shim that is stuck way inside in the upper tripod leg

[@mibreit-photo]

Maybe Corrosion caused by Salt water. Thats tough, can you submerge the whole area in warm soap water for a while? Maybe that helps

[@Zeichentrick01]

Don't use WD 40, use silicone spray. To smooth out the threads I'm using silicone grease.

[@mibreit-photo]

The WD40 I use is a silicon spray. It's basically WD40 silicon spray. I say lubricant which might be a bit misleading ;-) cheers

[@Zeichentrick01]

Michael Breitung ah ok, yeah just saw the brand-name :)

[@ArronMurray]

Thank you

[@LukasZ92.]

super Video genau das habe ich gesucht nach meinem Urlaub in Teneriffa, wo die See viel rauer ist als in dem Video was du zeigst. kannst du eine Alternative zu dem Gitzo Fett empfehlen? am besten etwas was man lokal bekommt, weiß nicht wie die Viskosität von dem ist und was man alternativ verwenden könnte.

[@mibreit-photo]

Hab auch schon anderes fett ausm baumarkt probiert, war aber zu grob. Seitdem geb ich halt was mehr aus und nutze das gitzo. Gibt's bei Amazon

[@LukasZ92.]

habe jetzt das Gitzo Grease sowie WD40 Silikonspray, morgen wird dann geputzt :) habe das Manfrotto MT055xpro3 also ein Alu Stativ, und bei mir klemmen die Stativbeine schon total, also nicht die Teleskopauszüge, sondern an der Spinne wo die Beine befestigt sind, wo man diese Rasterungen hat, da bekomme ich gar keine andere Rasterung mehr hin, nur mit Gewalt. wieviel hast du von dem Gitzo verwendet, bzw. würdest du mir aufgrund meiner Erläuterung empfehlen?

[@LukasZ92.]

hab gestern dann 3 Stunden gereinigt in Summe :) das mit der Menge hat sich dann eh erübrigt, einfach von allem eine dünne Schicht, weniger ist beim Schmieren meistens mehr :) allerdings lässt sich das Stativ zu leicht ausklappen, also den Winkel der Stativbeine, normal wenn man es aufklappt, sollten die an der Position bleiben, bei mir aber nicht.... das war auch schon vor dem Putzen wegen dem ganzen Salzwasser. hast du da einen Tipp?

[@mibreit-photo]

@@LukasZ92. also bei mir kann ich einfach die schrauben in den Gelenken nachziehen

[@LukasZ92.]

ich glaube wir reden nicht vom gleichen, etwas schwer zu erklären, ich mein nicht die Auszüge mit den Klemmen (bei dir sind sie zum SChrauben) sondern da wo die Beine an der Spinne befestigt sind, wo man es auf- und zuklappen kann bzw. andere Winkel damit man einen tieferen Standpunkt hat, einstellen kann. und normal wenn man das stativ aufklappt, bleibt es offen, bei mir fällt es sofort wieder zu. womöglich etwas zu viel Gitzo Fett. aber wie schon geschrieben, das habe ich bei einem Bein schon länger, durch das putzen letztes Jahr mit Wasser, da habe ich es aber nicht komplett auseinander gebaut gehabt so wie jetzt.

[@PascalKross]

Uhm, I never cleaned my tripods... are there any long term damages from not cleaning? They work fine... Very professional video.

[@mibreit-photo]

Pascal Kross if it works you are fine. Always depends on the environment you are shooting in. I know mine gets hard to operate after a few days in the sand if I dont clean it;-)

[@macgroupparts7214]

Sand and saltwater damage is not a manufactures defect and could void the warrant, making your tripod "Beyond Repair". To keep tripod working within warranty period, It is best to clean occasionally like you would any other photography envelopment

[@MediterraneanBlood]

Good morning Michael, I started to follow you recently here on you tube but I already used to do it on Flickr before... anyway I really like your tutorials and I wanted to ask you the 1 million dollar question: "Can you make your passion a job?"... Well, to be more specific what I wanted to say is that I like landscapes photography but for what I see around here people make money just with stuff like wedding pictures or model/advertising pictures... Is there a way to earn money with the kind of pictures we love to take?

[@mibreit-photo]

Hello, I have to be honest, I'm not full-time and just do landscape photography besides my main job. I earn money from it and considering the reduced time I spent, if I'd go full-time I think I could somehow live from it. But it would be quite hard and I'd certainly earn less than in my day-job. Moreover I think the pressure of having to earn money with landscape photography would reduce much of the joy of it for me. But everybody is different, so ultimately you have to figure it out. And you have to be prepared to hustle, you have to be prepared to spend around 70-80 % of the time in the office, because that's where you make the money in the end -> writing emails, talking to cusomers, advertising your art, doing seo for your homepage, writing articles, preparing photos for agencies etc. If that's ok for you you earn the flexibility to go out and shoot whenever you want, you make your own schedule. I think the best thing one can do today is start to earn some money next to a secure main job. With time you can reduce your main job. That's what I'm currently starting to do. This time you can then spent for photography and just gradually do the shift. This way you know exactly how much money you make with photography vs. your day job and if that's ok for you. Also you have to diversify. It's hard to live from taking landscape photos alone. So get into writing for magazines, do tutorials, do workshops, sell prints, sell licenses, maybe do some real-estate photography if you have connections and so on. Build a social media following... That's just my two cents. PS: if you have a day job you hate, than the decision might be different and you'd want to get out of it as soon as possible. In this case taking the risk and going full-time might be worthwhile

[@MediterraneanBlood]

Michael Breitung thank you for your answer. It is very exhaustive and it'll make me reflect a lot. The problem is that at the moment I'm still looking for a regular job that's why I was thinking to make this hobby my job... but I've got a wife and a baby boy to raise and actually it's better to look for something more stable and eventually later think about this... thank you again and have a nice day.

[@williamerickson4849]

I had an annoying squeak on some of the cam locks on my Oben tripod. I tried to spray a small amount of WD-40 into the possible sneaking areas of a few cam locks but it made the squeaks much worse! Yikes!! Any suggestions?

[@mibreit-photo]

The wd40 I use is a Silikon Spray. Also I use tiny amounts of Grease in some areas. Be carefull with the wd40 Oil though

[@jheelan]

Mine is completely gripped from cleaning of sand and saltwater with water😅😅 cost me like 500$ and it's a night mare for maintenance.

[@ANDYD655]

Ive just been cleaning my Benro Tripod and cannot remove two of the feet. Ive tried using grips and wd40 but they will not loosen. Any suggestions?

[@mibreit-photo]

Might be coroded. Did you have it in salt water often? Maybe let it soak a while, the salt might loosen a bit

[@ANDYD655]

@@mibreit-photo yeah its been in salt water often. I always clean the tripod afterwards but I've never removed the feet. I've tried soaking it but it didn't work. I guess I will just have to use it as it is now. Thanks anyway.

[@macgroupparts7214]

Great video! Same Grease use on the hinges should be used on threads at end of leg tubes and locks.I'm not sure the WD40 spray will run if exposed to high temperatures. Using a sticky temperature specific silicon grease on threads/hinges will make operation smoother and more consistent. Napa Auto parts makes a grease which is close to what Induro used and can be found here www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7651351?keywordInput=silglyde. This grease has a greater temperature range than factory grease, and works on tripod hinges, column locking nut, and threads of leg tubes/locks. All other advice Is spot on! Thank you for making this video!

[@mibreit-photo]

Thanks for the advice. The WD40 I use is actually a Silicon Spray of that brand. It's a little misleading in the video I admit. But what you say about the temperature resistance could be true. I need to check that and might try some others. cheers

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

What about cleaning a ball head?

[@mibreit-photo]

Better try and keep it clean. Never had the need to clean my RRS Ballhead. When it falls into the sand I directly remove the sand. And it didn't fall into salt water till now ;-)

[@jonathanpoon7024]

網上嘅所謂教學真係唔可以盡信呀！信返原廠建議啦！

[@nevvanclarke9225]

You never want to drink coke again lol 😂.... I shoot a lot in salt water too ...tripods last me a year ....then throw it out get another one ☝️ I’ve wondered if tripod legs could fold out and not be screws or clips ....in other words designed better Video was great 👍