Hi,
Gitzo two-way tilt and panoramic head, model G 1371.
I've had one of these for a very long time, and hardy ever use it. The reason is two-fold: the Gitzo tripod to which it is attached is too damned heavy for me these days, and worse yet, even trying to use the combination at home is a headache due to the two-way tilting panoramic head, which is so stiff on the tilts that it makes framing very hard to get right.
My question is: has anyone else used this head, found the same problem of stiffness, and if so, how did you overcome it?
Of course, there ¡s a great temptation to apply lubricating oil between the friction faces, but then I worry that it could prove terminal, in that tightening would then become impossible and the attached camera would slowly slide away from its setting under its own weight.
Any ideas as to how to fix this thing? It was bought new, and was always stiff. As with so much here, there were no local dealers and I had to buy by post from Madrid or Barcelona - I think it was Madrid. That made me very reluctant to send it back...
Rob C
