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I took my wife to an antigue show/flea market last weekend. One vendor had a large tripod that seemed out of place with the wooden knick knacks that she was selling. It was marked $10. I asked if that was correct and she said yes, so I snapped it up.
It is a Goldcoast GT-850 tripod. I believe it is intended to be used as a video tripod more than for still cameras, but, hey, for $10 how could I go wrong?
Here is one for sale on eBay:
GoldCoast GT-850 Twin Leg Fluid Action Professional Photo / Video Tripod | eBay
It seems rock solid and very steady. It has a three-way tilt/pan head with a proprietary quick release plate (which, fortunately, was included). It does have a 1/4-20 mounting screw, so I can use it as is.
Does anyone know anything about these tripods? B & H does not sell them, and I could not find a website for the manufacturer. Amazon doesn't have them, either. The only one I could find is the one I linked on eBay. There were a few other Goldcoast tripods, but they were different models.
Does anyone know if the video head can be removed? I looked, but couldn't find any obvious way. There is a round plate at the top of the center column and a slightly larger round plate that appears to be the base of the video head. I tried to unscrew the head from the column, but it wouldn't budge and I didn't want to force it.
I suspect that Goldcoast was one of those brands that was intended to be sold as a "house" brand at camera stores and at discount outlets, like K-Mart, Target or Walmart, but I really can't find any information on the brand.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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