RobAmy wrote:
Wow. I can't believe some of the comments in this thread. Terrible really. I for one think they have great products and will continue to buy their products as long as they stay in the US. I am interested in their new video head, most likely will be out for 2018 NAB. They have a picture of it on their website.
They're staying in the US? I thought they were going to Utah.
RobAmy wrote:
Wow. I can't believe some of the comments in this thread. Terrible really. I for one think they have great products and will continue to buy their products as long as they stay in the US. I am interested in their new video head, most likely will be out for 2018 NAB. They have a picture of it on their website.
I'm guessing this response is pretty much aimed at me. If I'm wrong,... please disregard.
Did you not read my post beyond the first couple of words? Had you just that, you would have run across this sentence: Now if you're talking about their Ball Heads,... yeah you're right. LeoFoto pretty much sucked the DNA right out of the bone marrow of the BH-55 head. But their LN line of legs are straight Gitzo knockoffs! Making your last comment totally unnecessary!
i don't pick fights, i try give correct info. i talk about overall product. that's everything.
actually some of their tripods look somewhat better than most of the wanna be tripod lines from Asia. then the others use the same "DNA". gotta see them for real.
actually parts of the LN line are lifted from RRS too.
Leofoto is a mix n' match outfit. a "platypus" product line.
oh by the way, this was a simple informational thread till "the mob" turned it into a socio-political disruption.
sjms wrote:
i don't pick fights, i try give correct info. i talk about overall product. that's everything.
actually some of their tripods look somewhat better than most of the wanna be tripod lines from Asia. then the others use the same "DNA". gotta see them for real.
actually parts of the LN line are lifted from RRS too.
Leofoto is a mix n' match outfit. a "platypus" product line
Well comments like "I guess you know BS well" and "really now" do suggest an angry flavor of sarcasm. And there are few better ways to start a fight than with an opening volley of 'Angry Sarcasm'! Just a thought.
Are you saying the Leofoto's LN-404C and LN-364C models look better than a lot of knockoffs from China and Taiwan? If so,... I agree. I too wish I could eyeball these two tripods. You're still wrong,... neither the Leofoto LN-404C or LN-364C tripods have anything in common with RRS tripods,... save both Leofoto and RRS choose to use CNC machined parts from 6061 billet aluminium instead of cast magnesium parts. Their similarities stop there,... Leofoto's appearance and operation is based on the latest Gitzo tripods and RRS is not.
They're all mix-n-match in many ways,... Leofoto isn't doing anything new or that hasn't been done before. Did some research last night and discovered that ALL of the younger companies now producing premium legs (PMG, Jobu, RRS, etc) have copied from Gitzo. Gitzo was the first to employ the angle locking system widely used today. Initially, most premium tripods of yesteryear had you push a tab to disengage the angle stops located either on the underside of the apex or on the back of the legs themselves. Today, all premium tripods, and a lot that aren't, have their angle stops clearly visible on the top side of the apex at each leg joint, and the tabs that engage and disengage these angle stops are of the pull variety. Gitzo was the pioneer of this approach way back in their Vitec and Bogen days, well before Manfrotto bought them and PMG and RRS were even a thought. Hell, Gitzo was the first to even experiment with and use carbon fiber,... now everybody is using carbon fiber and Gitzo's approach to ratchet angle stops. You sure you wanna give PMG and RRS a total pass on 'the lack of original design' and 'being a mix-n-match and knockoff outfit'? They all do it in differing degrees! It's the nature of the animal.
Our goal as consumers should be to identify, which 'outfit' has the best implementation of a proven concept at the best price. Period! It's arguable that maybe,... just maybe, Leofoto has earned a seat at that table. That's all my point has ever been.
my interface between some other particular individual here has been going for some time when info like 50% more and such is thrown out and is fairly consistant i call a spade a spade.
PMG and RRS changed both the manufacturing process and improved design and RRS reduced size and weight too. in the end usability over all.
we'll continue this later as its off to work i go.
Think I've made my decision guys,... think I'm going to land on the PMG TR424L. It extends over my 6'3" head when fully extended (important), over a pound lighter than the Leofoto LN-404C and a little less than a pound heavier than the RRS 34L (nice), cheaper ($20,... B&H has a 10% discount until 03/03/18), beefier and taller than the TVC-34L (very important), buy the TRBU75 75mm leveling base and B&H promotion bundles the TRB75 75mm bowl (nice), and I get to buy a US made product. That's $1,170 for a set up that would have cost me $1,421 I had gone for a similar RRS 34L setup, and $1,560 if I had gone for a similar Gitzo GT5543XLS setup. Plus, Gitzo ain't even American, it's just as heavy as the Leofoto. I feel comfortable!
"Yay.. now I don’t have to pay CA tax if I order directly from them"
Well, actually you do. It's called Use Tax and it's required and has been for decades. Those of us who hold Ca Resale Certs know all about it but now the rest of you have to declare on your state income tax forms. You *might* get away with not paying the tax for awhile but you might not and then be forced to pay back taxes, penalties and interest. Personally I just declared about $800 in Use Tax for lenses ordered from B&H and Adorama in December. I prefer to buy in state and avoid the hassle of remembering to do that but sometimes it's not possible.
elkhornsun wrote:
In terms of quality of life no sane person would choose Utah over the Central California coast. People in SLO county are hours from Big Sur, Yosemite, Mineral King, Death Valley, Lake Tahoe, and civic areas like San Francisco. Compare that to Salt Lake City and the difference is extremely stark.
that is laughable, but everyone is different Sure the politics here suck, but I am a 30 minute drive from world class resorts, 13 National Parks are within an 8 hour drive. You can camp anywhere you want in a lot of Utah. That is not possible in many states. Wind Rivers are 3 hours from my door to trailhead. San Juans are 6 hours...
But what do I know. I grew up in Huntington Beach, lived in Oregon for 21 years and now in Utah for almost 3...
I don't know... I am a Utah native and I have lived in much better places. I am back in Utah now, but kind of want to leave already and I just got back here. It is just so crowded nowadays.
Now you have lots of traffic, expensive housing prices, and I have to share all the ski resorts and parks with a ton of people that have an affinity for not being kind to the environment. It really is California 2.0 here now but with worse air pollution.
I have lived in Cali, my entire mom's side is from there, so I have a pretty good gauge to go off of. At least in Cali it is so big that you really can avoid the crowds. It feels like 80% of the Wasatch Front heads south on the weekends and some places like Moab are becoming a year round zoo. Basically if it is interesting like in the Uintas or Southern Utah, it is a magnet for Utah locals.
runamuck wrote:
Look for the price increase as they begin tithing to the Mormon church. Will they call for simultaneous marriage to several RRS tripods?
what? you don't think they haven't for been supporting their church for all these years?
EricJrSax wrote:
Think I've made my decision guys,... think I'm going to land on the PMG TR424L. It extends over my 6'3" head when fully extended (important), over a pound lighter than the Leofoto LN-404C and a little less than a pound heavier than the RRS 34L (nice), cheaper ($20,... B&H has a 10% discount until 03/03/18), beefier and taller than the TVC-34L (very important), buy the TRBU75 75mm leveling base and B&H promotion bundles the TRB75 75mm bowl (nice), and I get to buy a US made product. That's $1,170 for a set up that would have cost me $1,421 I had gone for a similar RRS 34L setup, and $1,560 if I had gone for a similar Gitzo GT5543XLS setup. Plus, Gitzo ain't even American, it's just as heavy as the Leofoto. I feel comfortable!...Show more →
as long as you feel comfortable that's the most important factor.
Peter Figen wrote:
"Yay.. now I don’t have to pay CA tax if I order directly from them"
Well, actually you do. It's called Use Tax and it's required and has been for decades.
When you bring a car into California, you have xx number of days to register/license it in California. At one time almost every Porsche in north California had an Oregon plate. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) noticed this. They were losing a lot of money—so they started a Rat-Out Your Neighbor program that paid a sizable reward to those who reported out-of-state plates. The problem went away, and no more Oregon plates on expensive cars
The point of this story is that someone could turn you in for not paying use tax
c.d.embrey wrote:
When you bring a car into California, you have xx number of days to register/license it in California. At one time almost every Porsche in north California had an Oregon plate. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) noticed this. They were losing a lot of money—so they started a Rat-Out Your Neighbor program that paid a sizable reward to those who reported out-of-state plates. The problem went away, and no more Oregon plates on expensive cars
The point of this story is that someone could turn you in for not paying use tax
Let that be a warning to everyone. Never park your camera (or other photo equipment) in your driveway, where it's in full view of the neighbors.
sjms wrote:
as long as you feel comfortable that's the most important factor.
Well,... I think I am. Hope I'll be. Paying double for the PMG of what I would have paid for the Leofoto is something I'm ok with. While the Leofoto specs well, it is an unknown with absolutely no support that I could find, and nearly zero customer reviews or recent activity on the reviews I was able to stumble across. I did discover that they are very popular with gun shooters tho,... apparently they modify them and mount special heads that are able to clamp down high power sniper rifles. But very little chatter about the Leofoto in the photography world. Interesting! Last week, B&H abruptly stopped carrying ALL Leofoto products,... I mean it was like overnight.
