nma wrote:
We just don't know if your concern about the top joint is theoretical or a deal-breaker. We do know that mine has not failed in 3 years use. We do know that Feisol service is exemplary, with kudos posted on the web. We do know that Gitzo service is sadly lacking, with nightmare reports on the web. What do we know about Benro service and reliability?
The Feisol top joint issue for me is a continuing concern; I really wouldn't like it to happen so I would classify it as a deal breaker for me. Having said that, there hasn't been such a report in quite a while now, so as I said above it may well be that Feisol has used a different adhesive and/or redesigned the internals of the connection. Still I just don't fancy that very short collar. Your experience may be the norm but just like with Gitzo there is more than one report of issues in this part of the tripod on FM. I think that the introduction of the aluminum tripod base is a step forward for them and it's interesting to see the price they're charging for this construction against other manufacturers. I agree that that the reports of Feisol service have been very good.
I'd like to qualify the Gitzo service issue though: Repair service is now covered by a company called CRIS which is based in Chandler, AZ. They are very responsive and reports of their work have been excellent. OTOH spare parts service is handled by Manfrotto Distribution of Upper Saddle River, NJ. They are very bad and appear to have a couldn't-care-less attitude.
There are numerous reports of spare parts problems with Manfrotto Distribution. My own experience recently was a four month elapsed time between the order of spare parts for a current systematic and the fulfillment with the parts coming in bit by bit. This is terrible of course but it is apparently normal in the US, whereas in Europe Gitzo service is stellar. Interestingly, CRIS sent Manfrotto an email telling them to keep me informed on the status of my order and CC'd me, but that didn't happen. Instead I got a terse email from Manfrotto about a week after the last part was delivered to me.
How do I weigh this? Well I like my Gitzo systematic very much and intend to keep using it, and I don't have any desire to replace it with anything else, Gitzo or otherwise. However I've ordered a complete set of parts for the leg sections, just in case. So to put it bluntly, in the US Gitzo repair service is great, and Gitzo spare parts service sucks. I don't want to replace my systematic so I'm dealing with it. To be honest, this should be a deal breaker for anyone contemplating a new Gitzo tripod, especially if they're a professional. I'm a rank amateur and this is just a hobby for me.
WRT Benro service, I can only speak to my own experience, so it's a sample of one. I got my Benro tripods from mainland China and get service through my dealer in Guangdong which is just north of HK. When I've wanted spares or new parts he's been very helpful and reliable and has shipped quickly. He also helped another forum user in Kazakhstan at my request, sending him some spare parts that were unavailable in Astana even though the guy was not a customer.
If a Benro tripod breaks it has a 5 year warranty; you pay shipping to Guangdong and it is serviced and returned at no charge. My Benro Traveler is now about to enter it's 4th year of use so I have about 2 years to go on that one. My Benro Versatile is about 4 months old so lots of time on that. So my experience and mine only, is that Benro service is good. I have no idea what Benro USA is like for service, but I wouldn't deal with them anyway because they don't sell Benro's best tripods.
Luckily, because Benro tripods are Gitzo copies, some parts are interchangeable. I use Benro parts on my Gitzo systematic and Gitzo parts on both my Benro Traveler and Versatile tripods. I'm pretty happy with what I have and intend to buy these two brands again in the future if I need to, however I would only buy a Gitzo systematic and not their other models.
i am interested in the combo of gitzo traveller series 2 GT2542T and RRS BH-40. Does anyone of you have a personal experience of this combo? I know that the tripod can be folded reversely, will the ballhead gets in the way, not making it collapsed nicely? i know that markins designed Q3 specifically for traveller series, i'm debating between the two - RRS and Markins. Any comment is appreciated!
I do not have personal experience of a Gitzo 2542T with a RRS BH-40 head. However as a matter of principle, most travel tripods like the 2542T require a ballhead with an outside diameter of <=50mm if the legs are to fold back parallel to the center column. This OD includes both the panning base and the ball housing.
The RRS BH-40 has an OD of 53mm both for the panning base and the ball housing so it is possible that the legs won't fold back parallel to the center column. You would need to have that verified by a member who's tried the combo but I doubt it will work.
The Markins Q3 is unsuitable as it has a panning base diameter of 56mm. However the Markins Q3T has a panning base diameter of 50mm and a ball housing diameter of 48mm so perhaps you meant this model, as it was specifically designed (and redesigned) for travel tripods. The Q3T will work on the 2542T.
The Markins Q3T is a quality ballhead; very smooth in use and really well made and finished. One thing you should know about the head is that the panning lock knob (and they call it a "lock" knob in the manual) doesn't actually lock the panning action. It's designed as a brake and not a lock, so most of these ballheads can't lock the pan. You occasionally hear of a user who can but that's almost certainly a tolerance issue. If you need to lock the panning down tight this is not the ballhead for you.
I've used three of these Q3T heads and I live in New England; it gets cold in the winter. The ballhead locks up in sustained cold and you can't use it. Last winter mine locked up at 1ºF (-17ºC) which really isn't all that cold. I replaced mine with a different brand head, but if you live in a warm climate this just won't be an issue at all. Markins make high quality ballheads but they can be a bit finicky in use sometimes.
I have used my Markins Q3 in -40 Celcius and the head has never locked up on me. In that temperature though, the humidity is non-existent, so that may have something to do with it as well. Were you going from a humid house to oudoor use at that temperature Peter? Just a thought....
I'm wondering why some people don't like the Gitzo ballhead that comes with GT 2542T which is the GK2580TQR series 2. Some vendors sell the kit at $900 which is the price of GT 2542T by itself.
Hardcore wrote:
Were you going from a humid house to oudoor use at that temperature Peter? Just a thought....
Corey this is really OT but the phrase I used up in post p.2 #4 is "sustained cold". There was no in & out of a house or tent, it was outside all the time. I had two with me because I've had other issues with the head. FWIW this is what I noted at the time about the experience: "3 days in the cold. Lowest consistent temp was 5°F. the average cold was around 13°F. AFAIK the temp never went below zero°F. As soon as the head got cold the main knob felt very heavily damped - it was hard to turn. Weird. 3rd day the ball locked & I managed to unlock it immediately by loosening the friction. The ball then was binding and the range of motion was highly restricted. Decided I can't trust it in the cold."
I've read that some have not had problems in the cold with their heads and others have. It could be simply sample variation but Markins heads strike me as a quality product so you wouldn't expect too much variance. Anyway I changed the ballhead out and kept one Q3T as a backup.
amulyadi wrote:
I'm wondering why some people don't like the Gitzo ballhead that comes with GT 2542T which is the GK2580TQR series 2.
They're not highly rated by many, I've never used one myself but I think their max load specs aren't that great and I think (but I'm not sure) that the clamp isn't an Arca-Swiss type clamp either. Also the clamp may be made of magnesium alloy which is a bad idea. Depending on the design of the clamp it would be a prime suspect for fracturing in severe cold (not an issue for you I know, but it is for others and that perhaps limits the resale opportunities).
I had an offset Gitzo ballhead once. I think they are beautiful and I loved the large knob. Unfortunately, it tended to slip just a bit while you were tightening it down so that your composition changed slightly. If it comes free with the tripod though, why not give it a shot? The standard Gitzo ballhead probably works better than the offset one that I had. If you don't like, sell it.
Interesting. Have you tried giving the ball a shot of WD-40? I use that periodically to keep the head nice and fluid.
peter_n wrote:
Corey this is really OT but the phrase I used up in post p.2 #4 is "sustained cold". There was no in & out of a house or tent, it was outside all the time. I had two with me because I've had other issues with the head. FWIW this is what I noted at the time about the experience: "3 days in the cold. Lowest consistent temp was 5°F. the average cold was around 13°F. AFAIK the temp never went below zero°F. As soon as the head got cold the main knob felt very heavily damped - it was hard to turn. Weird. 3rd day the ball locked & I managed to unlock it immediately by loosening the friction. The ball then was binding and the range of motion was highly restricted. Decided I can't trust it in the cold."
I've read that some have not had problems in the cold with their heads and others have. It could be simply sample variation but Markins heads strike me as a quality product so you wouldn't expect too much variance. Anyway I changed the ballhead out and kept one Q3T as a backup.
They're not highly rated by many, I've never used one myself but I think their max load specs aren't that great and I think (but I'm not sure) that the clamp isn't an Arca-Swiss type clamp either. Also the clamp may be made of magnesium alloy which is a bad idea. Depending on the design of the clamp it would be a prime suspect for fracturing in severe cold (not an issue for you I know, but it is for others and that perhaps limits the resale opportunities). ...Show more →
No I never tried WD-40, actually I don't have any of the stuff. I had other issues with the ballheads too but I keep one of them as a backup (I used to have three).
Sep 12, 2013 at 09:56 AM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
amulyadi wrote:
I'm wondering why some people don't like the Gitzo ballhead that comes with GT 2542T which is the GK2580TQR series 2. Some vendors sell the kit at $900 which is the price of GT 2542T by itself.
I belive it's because they don't have Arca-Swiss style QR and plates. Some of the Gitzo heads are very nice. I really liked the GH3781QR head when I tried it. And I own the Gitzo Systematic GH5380SQR head. That head is more stabil and stronger with big lenses than my AS Z1 or RRS BH-55 heads. I don't like their off-centre heads.
So to put it bluntly, in the US Gitzo repair service is great, and Gitzo spare parts service sucks. I don't want to replace my systematic so I'm dealing with it. To be honest, this should be a deal breaker for anyone contemplating a new Gitzo tripod, especially if they're a professional. I'm a rank amateur and this is just a hobby for me.