Plastic tripod mount: big deal?

bfollett · Oct 17, 2006

I keep seeing recuring posts where someone states they would have considered camera XXX if it just had a metal tripod mount instead of plastic. Is that really that big a deal with today's plastics. I've been visiting this forum regularly for about a year and half now and I can't remember seeing one post where a user had a problem with their plastic tripod mount. I have the S2 and have used the tripod mount many times and have never felt it was in any danger of giving way. Maybe if it was a DSLR with a 5 pound lens extending a foot away from the camera, but I think the plastic mount is perfectly fine for these smaller cameras, even with a converter lens attached I'd bet.

Bob

zip37602 · Oct 17, 2006

No big deal. The plastic screw threads on my S2 will probably outlast the usefulness of the camera. Go well.

andycgw · Oct 17, 2006

...I stripped the original plastic tripod mount on my old Canon EOS 1000 35mm SLR, not because the camera was too heavy, but because I applied too much force to the mounting screw. The replacement part was metal.

Now for most users, a plastic tripod mount is little concern; to others, it's more important.
Andy

Conchita · Oct 17, 2006

It's a semi-big deal to me, because I hate having to waste the extra seconds it takes to be careful of the plastic when setting up for something like an insect macro, where the subject may not wait for me. I really wish canon didn't do this, but I do see that it's a total non-issue for their target market.

bdery · Oct 17, 2006

My Samsung film camera, with its plastic tripod mount, is still as good as new. I'll grant you that it didn't see as much action as most digital cameras, but it IS 15 years old. And I'd bet that today's plastic are much better.

As for my S2, it is OFTEN used with a tripod, and the thread looks perfect after more than a year.
--
bdery

Québec city, Canada
C A N O N S 2
C O O L P I X S Q
http://www.aperturehead.com/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=54

DanCee · Oct 17, 2006

They simply wants to reduce cost and weight. Aluminium is good enough to solve the weight, but still extra cost. I guess the break down rate for this item is so little worldwide, then they just keep using the plastic.

Conchita said:
It's a semi-big deal to me, because I hate having to waste the
extra seconds it takes to be careful of the plastic when setting up
for something like an insect macro, where the subject may not wait
for me. I really wish canon didn't do this, but I do see that it's
a total non-issue for their target market.

--
Denny - A620 A70 FinePixA110
http://majestixblue.fotopic.net/

Conchita · Oct 17, 2006

DanCee said:
I guess the break down rate for this item is so little worldwide, then they just keep using the plastic.

No doubt, but I'm sure that's at least partly because probably 96% of their customers never use it at all.

NNS · Oct 17, 2006

I would say that it depends on the amount of use the tripod gets.

Metal is better than plastic but the failure rate is probably more due to the average user never using a tripod.

Allan · Oct 17, 2006

I use a tripod a lot so yes, this is a big deal. If Sony and Panny can put it in the H5 and FZ7 respectively (both comparably priced cameras as the S3 IS), why can't Canon? The S1 IS had it, why did they take it out? This is why I am starting to dislike Canon because thery are slowly removing valuable features from all their P&S and non-DSLR cameras (such as RAW and articulating LCD screens, etc).

bfollett · Oct 17, 2006

I can understand being angry/disappointed with Canon for all the things they keep leaving off their newer cameras which were previously on the cameras they are replacing, (and supposedly upgrading), but I still can't imagine ever ruling out purchasing a point shoot camera simply because of a plastic tripod mount.

sharkync · Oct 17, 2006

If lenses can use plastic mounts, I don't see the problem with a plastic tripod mount. Just be careful with the attachment to the plate. I use a tripod quite a lot with the S3IS, and have never had a problem.
--
Good luck and keep shootin'

bdery · Oct 17, 2006

According to a friend of mine, who's a mechanical engineer, you can nowadays manufacture plastics that are harder AND more flexible than non-hardened aluminum. Metal = harder is often nothing more than an impression.
--
bdery

Québec city, Canada
C A N O N S 2
C O O L P I X S Q
http://www.aperturehead.com/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=54

richnlay · Oct 17, 2006

When it comes to metal threads, aluminum is probably the easiest to strip. I would say that the highly durable plastics nowadays are definitley as strong as aluminum.

mamallama · Oct 17, 2006

richnlay said:
When it comes to metal threads, aluminum is probably the easiest to
strip. I would say that the highly durable plastics nowadays are
definitley as strong as aluminum.

With the coarse thread (1/4 x 20) used for tripods you have to be drunk or someone with 5 thumbs to strip it. Yes, there are some modern plastics better suited for this application than soft metal like aluminum.

--mamallama

DanCee · Oct 17, 2006

Conchita said:
Conchita said:

I guess the break down rate for this item is so little worldwide, then they just keep using the plastic.

Click to expand...

No doubt, but I'm sure that's at least partly because probably 96%
of their customers never use it at all.

yup, that's also true.. or fix it themselves.

--
Denny - A620 A70 FinePixA110
http://majestixblue.fotopic.net/

Allan · Oct 17, 2006

If that's true, then that means Canon will be putting plasic tripod mounts in their DSLRs, too...

bdery said:
According to a friend of mine, who's a mechanical engineer, you can
nowadays manufacture plastics that are harder AND more flexible
than non-hardened aluminum. Metal = harder is often nothing more
than an impression.
--
bdery

Québec city, Canada
C A N O N S 2
C O O L P I X S Q
http://www.aperturehead.com/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=54

villebon · Oct 17, 2006

zip37602 said:
No big deal. The plastic screw threads on my S2 will probably
outlast the usefulness of the camera. Go well.

that says a lot about your camera...

Lee Jay · Oct 17, 2006

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=18492490

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)

Rob Bernhard · Oct 17, 2006

Just because you use a tripod a lot doesn't make you a materials engineer.

Rob Bernhard · Oct 17, 2006

Most people are not smart enough to know when change happens. They completely miss the changes in simple technology, like all the advances in plastics (just one example)

They'll buy cars with tons of plastic components, things that see far more stresses and wear than a tripod mount ever will.

Yet you put plastic in the mount on their camera, and they're claiming it's the end times.

These people should be ignored outright. They are clueless fools.

Plastic tripod mount: big deal?

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