I'd be grateful if someone could explain what these are and what they're used for.


Ron

Never heard that term before, but apparently it is the mechanism that locks the levelling bowl on better video tripods. Looks like some people replace the original knobs because they aren't compatible with the tripod legs they want to use. For example, see this and the user reviews

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/870812-REG/Sachtler_sk012b0366_Tie_Down_Knob_100mm.html//BI/2855/KBID/3801 (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/870812-REG/Sachtler_sk012b0366_Tie_Down_Knob_100mm.html//BI/2855/KBID/3801/BI/2855/KBID/3801/BI/2855/KBID/3801)

Then again, I could be completely wrong since I just did a quick search. :-)

I'd be grateful if someone could explain what these are and what they're used for.

Maybe they are referring to what many call Pulley Ratchet Tie Downs. Many of us use them when we need to secure a tripod, tied down solidly to a pipe dolly platform. Normally used by hooking them around or into holes on the tripod bowl then hooked at the lower end into holes or retaining loops on the dolly platform. I also use them if filming from scissor lifts and boat decks to really secure the tripod so that it doesn't move on the steel floor in the lift or move when filming from a boat deck when the boat bounces across swell or the wakes from other boats.

Chris Young

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175194480450?hash=item28ca679f42:g:BbcAAOSwIvFiKjLL

Thanks Boyd and Chris,

It is something along the lines of Boyd's reply I'm interested in,

Ron

A tie down is the knob like device that locks the video head in place.

https://www.sachtler.com/en/sachtler/tie-down-100-mm/c-26/p-1264

About 6:30 into this video you will see the tie down in use.

At the Bench: Exploring Sachtler's V18 & V20 Fluid Tripod Systems - YouTube

Enjoy.

No that’s the bowl tightener. Oddly in that video that red hook is for tie down and before the days of ratchet straps it would be a loop of rope and a bit of wood or tube that you twisted and lodged up against one of the legs to lock it. Very handy with heavy payloads and less than ideal leg spacing.

Hi folks.............

The knob thingy that screws onto the clamp bolt, the bolt that issues from the bottom of a half ball head base, is/ was known as a clamp knob. Never heard of it called a tie down.

It may make things easier if Ronald could enlighten us to where and in what context he came across the term "tie down" in relation to a pan/ tilt head and it's associated tripod.

Regards,

CS

I have had a pulley ratchet just like the one shown above for many years and use it to secure lumber/supplies when transporting them in my SUV. Like I said, I have never heard that term before, but if you do a search at B&H photo, there are quite a few products where "tie down" refers to the locking mechanism/handle on a tripod bowl. I never would have thought to call these "tie-downs" myself....

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search/BI/2855/KBID/3801 (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search/BI/2855/KBID/3801/BI/2855/KBID/3801/BI/2855/KBID/3801/BI/2855/KBID/3801/BI/2855/KBID/3801)

No that’s the bowl tightener. Oddly in that video that red hook is for tie down and before the days of ratchet straps it would be a loop of rope and a bit of wood or tube that you twisted and lodged up against one of the legs to lock it. Very handy with heavy payloads and less than ideal leg spacing.

Ian in the video refers to it as a tie down. Also, Sachtler in their parts list refers to it as a tie down. “Bowl tightner”?

It’s fine, probably just one of those Anglo-us anomalies. A knob is a knob. In the uk we would never call a knob a tie down, so f you asked one of the crew to tie down the tripod, you’d end up with a bit of cord going from top to bottom, attached to something solid, or even a heavy sandbag, dangling from a proper hook, or looped around the knob. I found ‘bowl levelling knob’ in one UK brand manual. I guess it doesn’t matter if the sense used is right. Pants or pants is a much more important difference and much more embarrassing.

Yep, it's the thingy(s) as shown in Boyd's BHP posting.

So an alternative to the standard locking knob that comes with your head? Maybe the standard a bit too long for use e.g. on a slider?


Ron

A knob is a knob. In the uk we would never call a knob a tie down

I don't think there's really a conflict here. Based on those B&H Photo products, they are using "tie-down" to refer to the whole mechanism that locks the tripod bowl. So a knob is still a knob... but it's a "tie-down knob". They also show a "tie-down bolt" and "tie-down bowl" on that same page. :-)