The 3-legged search

A few weeks ago I spotted a super find at a local neighborhood garage sale. It was a Davidson Star D tripod for $4. It's an old tripod, but the head on it has a smooth movement that is perfect for film and rivals a good several hundred dollar purchase. Okay maybe not several hundred, but it's no cheapy. Unfortunately one of the legs is broken. Also the other problem was that my Canon HV20 needed a special screw to be mounted on it, so off to Kenmore Camera I went.

I love Kenmore Camera! They're just awesome people. I like Glazers and all, but there's a different vibe that's more at-home and down to earth in Kenmore. I mean, they're not going to bake me a pie or anything, but they seem to actively enjoy photography and it really shows by how helpful, knowledgeable and laid back their staff is.

So it's all the more amusing that when I went in to ask about my Davidson the other day, I found a really helpful guy....who didn't even work there!

A bunch of company reps from Canon were showing off the latest digital camera equipment and I just happened to have asked one of them a question not realizing he was with Canon. He proceeded to go out of his way to help me find the proper screw I needed. I had brought my HV20 in and tested it on the Davidson, but the whole thing just seemed wobbly. I wanted to spend as little as possible on my gear and I love the idea of using something completely modern and new (HV20) with an older solid piece like the Davidson, but it just wasn't happening.

So.. I ended up walking out with a somewhat reasonably priced Bogen-Manfrotto head and tripod.

The Davidson is now up for grabs to anyone who wants it. The one broken leg is fine, it just only extends to the half height point, not full height, but maybe it could be repaired.