For travel, and it depends on the nature of your travel, I prefer lower value items. I can easily leave my Benro in a hotel room - it'd be no great loss.
so far and it has been a really long time measured in decades. I haven't had any lodging problems. I never have them make up the room daily. the gear is out of sight out of mind. which keeps prying eyes out. if someone is into the room they had access then.
sjms wrote:
no polymer friction pad. just straight dead flat top with a reversible stud for the head of your choice which i'd keep it in the BH30 or 40 size max. threads on and perfect flat to flat interface. from the bottom there is a small lock stud that threads upward using a Allen wrench. plain and simple. no different from any other.
For some reason it doesn't show in the photo. I wonder if a red Q3T would hold on.
the Markins base is 50mm in diameter vs the 40mm of the BH30. there would some circular overhang which would still be quite usable. I can put a BH40 on it and thats even larger in diameter at 53mm.
I'm not sure about the color red though.
I still prefer having the TQC14 to begin with. knowing at anytime I can have it either way when needed w/relative ease.
just a little update to the ultralight tripod setup. last week i went to B&H to look at legsets for my daughter and this is what i discovered. i could only find one brand that came close to the TQC/TFC tripod. that was Gitzo and still not there in the equivalent sizing. but then i kind of knew that after going to Photo Plus especially the past 3 years. the rest of the batch (all the popular names) i looked at and carefully higher in leg flex over all to the point a would not consider them viable for my use. they just go a bit too far in trying to be light and in the end losing in structure. i spent over a hour trying to find something close. my daughter was willing to compromise on a bit of the weight and is ending up with a Induro GTT204M2 kit setup which includes a reasonable head and even the short column.
WestTexas Sky wrote:
I have had a Feisol 3401 since 2008. It's a nice tripod at a very good price. But it's not built as good as either of my Gitzo tripods.
Based on my experience with Gitzo it's literally impossible that an even more poorly made product could still be operational after 8 years. Now I'm wondering if my Gitzo was a counterfeit or something. So you're telling me the cast aluminum apex hasn't cracked in half when you looked at it wrong on even one of these three tripods??
Which model of leg coat? I just got the tqc 14 and the lens coat recommended ones are only 7" long and look dumb..
sjms wrote:
got the conversion kit yesterday after getting back from a trip. looked over the parts and tools and estimated about 25 minutes including reading, including with comprehension to do the whole job. slept on it. pulled everything out today and 15 minutes later it was finished.
new total weight: 3lb 6.4oz w/BH-30 and leg pads from Lenscoat
total base useful height: 50.5" w/BH-30 to top of clamp
total height to eyepoint of a D500: ~54.25"
now, it is a full machined alloy spider assy with no friction pad. since there is no pad it does have a locking screw for your head. I would have preferred the pad as all the rest of the RRS products have it. oh well.
it is lighter and it is sturdy. i'll leave it on for the time being and see if i'll need the CP on it after a bit.
for those who think its too short there are choices to be made. weight? folded length? rigidity? travelability? and overall usability. that, of course is each individuals to make. the taller you make it all those questions become accountable.
I also don't call anything likes this a "dream". it is a good and viable option though.
life has its compromises. I do like to minimize them though. in this case I have options rather then compromise.
since I had a TQC-14 the $55 spent on the conversion should turn out to be a a really good deal. how many companies allow that?...Show more →
