fredmiranda.com

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | General Gear-talk | Join Upload & Sell

3 4 end

Archive 2009 · Tripod heads

Tim Ernst
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #1 · Tripod heads

...After trying **EVERYTHING** out there to avoid the cost of the Arca-Swiss stuff, (and spending a lot more over time) I gave up. There is nothing better than the Z1 Ballhead - NOTHING - it is WELL WORTH the price. ...

Well, of course, there is the AS Cube (and its Korean counterpart from Photo Clam). Quite a bit better than the Z1 and priced accordingly.

Gitzo makes several really great ballheads too, and unlike their tripods the price is not the highest - probably why folks tend to ignore them. I've got seven or eight ballheads and seem to favor the Gitzos.

Jun 30, 2009 at 06:20 AM

Breitling65
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #2 · Tripod heads

Lars Johnsson wrote:
(I don't understand why you didn't include Markins in the poll. Especially when even including Benro)

I did this purpously for someone who like Benro very much

Jun 30, 2009 at 06:59 AM

JohnJ80
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #3 · Tripod heads

Breitling65 wrote:
I read lots of positive reviews about Benro products. However I am very skeptical about company cloning other products for cheap price. What would you suggest for lens like 300mm with Canon 1D body? Thanks!

Have you seen this teardown of a Benro ballhead?

http://www.tomwebsterphoto.com/Essays/Benro/benroks2.htm

I'm a big Markins fan. I have the M20 and a Q3T.

J.

Jul 01, 2009 at 04:59 PM

toddlambert
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #4 · Tripod heads

Acratech for me.... I love the damn thing.

I really don't see how it sits much higher than most other heads?

The weight is awesome, it's quick and very flexible. No creep and solid.

Jul 01, 2009 at 07:14 PM

Pixel Perfect
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #5 · Tripod heads

Markins M10 if you mean 300 f/4L IS, or M20 if you mean 300 f/2.8L IS. RRS BH-55 is too big and heavy for my liking. It'll take a 600 f/4L IS, but I'd be using a gimbal head anyway for the big glass. I have M20 since it's not much heavier or larger than the M10.

Jul 01, 2009 at 10:48 PM

Cliff L.
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #6 · Tripod heads

sixgun wrote:
After trying **EVERYTHING** out there to avoid the cost of the Arca-Swiss stuff, (and spending a lot more over time) I gave up. There is nothing better than the Z1 Ballhead - NOTHING - it is WELL WORTH the price.

I came to the same conclusion, after wasting a lot of money trying the alternatives. Nothing really compares to the Z1.

Jul 06, 2009 at 02:29 PM

bobbytan
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #7 · Tripod heads

I have used the old Arca Swiss B1 and Acratech V2. I am now a big fan of Markins and I opted for the M10 with the RRS lever-type clamp.

Jul 06, 2009 at 05:13 PM

44lefty
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #8 · Tripod heads

My TiltAll has a three way pan/tilt head, and is heavy enough to hold a 4X5.

Larry

Jul 07, 2009 at 09:53 AM

brad_s
Offline
• • •
[X]

p.2 #9 · Tripod heads

I love the RRS stuff. I use the BH-40 and BH-55. I have no experience with the other brands.

Jul 10, 2009 at 12:38 PM

garyroach
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #10 · Tripod heads

A BH-55 will work fine. But, for anything larger or heavier get a Wimberley.

Jul 11, 2009 at 10:00 AM

burnt_toast
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #11 · Tripod heads

bobbytan wrote:
I am now a big fan of Markins and I opted for the M10 with the RRS lever-type clamp.

<3 Markins

Jul 22, 2009 at 01:25 AM

SSISteve
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #12 · Tripod heads

I have had a Benro head for the last 2 years and have not had any problems with it. I mount a 300mm lens with a TC all of the time and it works fine. The answer to your question might depend on just how much you want to spend. If you can afford to spend $300 plus go for the Markins M20 or take alook at the Photo Clam heads. They have received very good reviews and you can see them at www.reallybigcameras.com

Steve

Jul 22, 2009 at 11:28 PM

tanglefoot47
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #13 · Tripod heads

The Arca Swiss Z1 is one of the nicest BH I have ever used. Smooth and locks on solid and is rated very high I believe it is 122 pounds

Jul 23, 2009 at 12:09 AM

jeev
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #14 · Tripod heads

That is true, No markins

, They make one of the finest ballheads... Should be top of the list....

+1 for Markins

loggerhead wrote:
Markin's missing from this list is a shame. I prefer the M20 over the RRS BH-55, but it's a personal thing. You'll find plenty of solid opinions on both.

Jul 23, 2009 at 10:31 AM

tanglefoot47
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #15 · Tripod heads

I agree the Markins are one of the nicest imo they are also very smooth and lock tight

Jul 23, 2009 at 04:46 PM

csm
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #16 · Tripod heads

Agree, Markins should be on the list...most likely the 'other' are largely Markins.

Jul 23, 2009 at 04:54 PM

dalite
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #17 · Tripod heads

If you want more support as well as free movement, then a Wimberley would be great.

Jim
_____________

Wish I had the $$$ for the Wimberley setup (sigh)

Jul 24, 2009 at 04:43 PM

jamesf99
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #18 · Tripod heads

Breitling65 wrote:
I read lots of positive reviews about Benro products.

Benro? Positive reviews? Really? Was it from Benro employees?

Jul 25, 2009 at 06:59 AM

justruss
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #19 · Tripod heads

jamesf99 wrote:
Benro? Positive reviews? Really? Was it from Benro employees?

I wouldn't touch any Benro/Induro product unless there was nothing else available. I'd buy gitzo, Bogen/manfrotto, Slik, or "Uncle Bob's tripod gear" before I'd buy anything from that company, but I know we all have to make choices.

Compare tripod specs and they never measure up, but they do charge 80%-90% of what "real" products cost. Regarding the heads, they're cheap pot-metal construction on the inside and best avoided. IMO, everything you see about the company and their products is a facade...

I've had lots of tripod heads from different mfgs over the...Show more →

The rabid anti-Benro thing is a bit bizarre. A single, old review of a single product from a single product line, and all of a sudden the company makes totally inferior products and will never improve?

All of their heads are "pot metal' on the inside, and everything about the company is a facade?

Give me a break.

There are plenty of very good reviews of Benro products. And, in fact, when I went to B&H looking for a lightweight, compact, stable tripod, guess what brand they directed me to? Benro. What about when I told them that the difference in price between the Benro and the Gitzo didn't matter, and that I had almost decided on the Gitzo (which I was holding)... they still pointed me to Benro.

And when I bought the Benro, and had questions about replacement parts and buying accessories for the tripod, guess who responded to my emails quickly-- and engaged in a nice back and forth discussion: the Mac Group Benro product manager.

After all that, I'm not going to recommend the Benro head in this case, while it would probably be fine. I think you should check out a Photo Clam, which are rated for very heavy weights, have had great reviews, and seem like a wonderful product.

The needless bashing of a product that one hasn't used, or the bashing of a whole brand and all future models based on a single model, is childish. I mean, there aren't stories about Gitzos failing in horrendous ways (like legs breaking, loose screws, etc)...

Jul 25, 2009 at 12:56 PM

Smiert Spionam
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #20 · Tripod heads

It's not rabid, and plenty of us have used them. They make cosmetic copies of Gitzos and other tripods, but have well-documented flaws in their engineering and materials. Of course anything can break, and Gitzo has made errors, but their problems with the Systematic's plate aren't an engineering failure -- they were shipping tripods with an adjustable part that wasn't fully tightened down. That's a long way from Benro's woes. The latest thread about them here is an "upgrade" that required a trip to a machine shop to stabilize a wobbly tripod mount.

I think the biggest reason that Benro gets so much criticism is that they seem fundamentally to be a dishonest company in at least two ways: First, they aggressively relabel their products to sell them at every price level, and not every quality level. You can pay anywhere from $50 to $200+ for the same head, but it's the same damn thing. Second, rather than develop their own distinctive designs, they poach from the established brands, and seem to intentionally promote confusion between their fakes and the originals. I'm honestly surprised they haven't been the target of multiple intellectual property lawsuits.

Fundamentally, the insides don't match up to the outsides. No matter how dressed up they are by US consumer marketing, they come from the same organizational business culture that flavors toothpaste with antifreeze because it's a nickel cheaper per ton. Corner-cutting, cheap, dishonest, and unethical.

As I've said repeatedly, there may be situations where a lower-priced product might perform just fine. That's understandable. I'm really, really cheap, and like to save money where I can. I have owned -- and often recommend -- honest, affordable alternatives, like Manfrotto. They might not be the lightest and slickest, but you don't get cheated.

I'm sure that a store's profit margin on Benro is considerably higher than on Gitzo, and there may well be salesman spiffs to sweeten the incentive, too. I've never assumed that a sales clerk's reasons for selling a product are consistent with my reasons for buying it.

This whole debate is tiresome, and not really worth the energy of replying. Other people can look at the same information and come to different conclusions. Those who are critical of Benro, though, have their legitimate reasons. They're not crazy, "elitist," or rabid.

Jul 25, 2009 at 05:33 PM

1 2 3 4 end
FM Forums \| General Gear-talk \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 3 4 end