patriot wrote:
There's a write up over at LL of someone taking Induro legs to Antartica ... given the conditions, not a bad showing for Induro.
That was actually Michael Reichman (the owner of LL) himself. He's among the most famous landscape photographers and printing experts alive today.
Also, FWIW, I sold my Gitzo after buying two Induros... a C313 and a CX213. They've been in heavy and constant use for about 1.5 years. I shoot quite a bit of backcountry rock climbing and my tripods get humped over talus fields, hauled and lowered on fixed lines up/down 200 foot cliffs, etc.
Jonathan H wrote:
That was actually Michael Reichman (the owner of LL) himself. He's among the most famous landscape photographers and printing experts alive today.
Careful there Jonathan . . . I got flamed once for quoting Reichman on his experience with Induro . . . something to the effect that he accepts advertising . . .
In any event, glad to hear from yet others with positive views of Induro/Benro tripods.
The detractors usually bemoan the lack of innovation by Benro/Induro while chiding them for being completely copy-cats. Well, unless Gitzo has something like this recently released Betnro C-2621/C-1691 tripod/convertible monopod, I think their complaints will hold less water in the coming years as the Chinese companies continue to learn and improve.
I was looking for a separate travel CF tripod and monopod. I think this Benro combo is a fantastic idea whose time has come!
It seems like a good idea, but I'm not sure I'd want a ball head on top of a monopod. Simpler solutions may be preferable. See the RRS web site for examples...
JayNathanson wrote:
It seems like a good idea, but I'm not sure I'd want a ball head on top of a monopod. Simpler solutions may be preferable. See the RRS web site for examples...
I agree that other solutions may be preferable. I've been using a pistol grip ballhead on my monopod for years. Try a Manfrotto 3265 ballhead on it and you will be pleasantly surprised. Disclaimer: I use both the 33265 and the Dynatran knockoff, and both work equally well.
I think that many of us were amused when Benro first came to the market using the exact model numbers and external apperances of the Gitzo tripods. They did the same with their ballheads, which I think were a combination of Gitzo, Kirk, and Arca Swiss counterfeits as I remember. It left a bad taste in your mouth for such a blatent counterfeit in both appearance and model name. Like people, companies can change, so hopefully that is all in the past. Competition is beneficial to all purchasers of the equipment, as long as it is honest.
Oh, and if I recall correctly, those leg segment failures with the legs coming out of the top bracket were Gitzo tripods, not Feisol. I'm sure someone will research it and correct me if I am mistaken.
JayNathanson wrote:
It seems like a good idea, but I'm not sure I'd want a ball head on top of a monopod. Simpler solutions may be preferable. See the RRS web site for examples...
I wouldn't put a ballhead on a monopod either, and that's not what what I was intimating.Rather, the concept that one of the legs could be easily removed and used as a monopod is rather convenient.
I'm sure someone will research it and correct me if I am mistaken.