First time with "nice" tripod, just a little worried...

[KOHR]

Hey everyone! I wound up picking up a new tripod from B&H about a week ago and it came in today. I got the some manfrotto (the exact type escapes me at the moment) sticks and a 503 HDV head, because I only had 500 bucks and needed something that could hold my XHA1 plus my LEX thats coming in soon. Prior to this, I've only rented out my high school's worthless tripods that never really get the job done, or I've just used my spider brace. Now that I've got this tripod, I've got a couple questions...

Is it normal to have a slight popping/clicking sound when tightening/loosening the drags? I also hear something like a ball moving around... is my tripod D.O.A?

Isn't the placement of the pan drag adjustment a little awkward? Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks!

 

[Tim Joy]

Yeah, I get the popping too. Yes the pan adjustment is in a cruel place. As long as it moves smoothly, no worries.

I guess that's all you can expect for $500 these days. I see why people diss this tripod all day, but you can get great shots with it regardless.

 

[dariomik]

If you had the extra $170 (@bh) maybe it would be better to invest it into the libec ls-38? Just a suggestion (never used 503 but played with ls38 and it feels sturdy, solid, high quality and really FLUID plus "Made in Japan"