rw11 wrote:
I have never seen adequate testing to compare those two brands (or any others, really). DPreview seems to have the best tests, but nothing comes up to scientific standards (I\'m a scientist BTW). Both brands are very, very good.
I\'ve used RRS clamps, etc. since the company was started by a crusty old machinist with a paper mailed list of offerings. He sold to the current owners, who modernized things, improved customer support and expanded their product lines.. Production volumes are still low. There is nothing inherently strong about \"billet\" - if you want a strong part you buy one that is forged. Next, would be a quality pressure casting, and some wheels for race cars are now pressure cast. But I don\'t know if Gitzo uses that process for the hub. I have heard that people had some issue with Gitzo hubs years ago. Also, Gitzo was sold some years ago (French to Italian) and maybe those time periods coincide.
Gitzo is justly proud of their CF technology (for the legs) and it is unmatched in the industry AFAIK. Some anal-retentive individuals have bought Gitzo legs and put them on Markins hubs with no center post.
I\'ve used Gitzo for 30 years at least and have their earliest CF model. They have parts and repairs for everything and are a large company than RRS, and have been around for longer. OTOH, their importer seems discombobulated in dealing with customers. So, who has better customer service? I dunno.
If I were to add to my tripod collection, I guess I\'d get a new CF Gitzo. If prices were equal, then I don\'t know what I\'d do.
lets start off with the Gitzo Distribution. Gitzo is owned by the Vitec group PLC. their distribution is controlled by the Manfrotto group in the US which is owned by Vitec group PLC. they as a whole company farmed out their service dept to an outside vendor in AZ
the \"anal retentive individuals\" who have gone to the Markins hub did so on models like the mountaineer series to eliminate the center post and lighten their setup. no reason to do it on systematics as its already done.
forging has its points but in this situation not so much. i will take a good machine aluminum alloy part to a Mg alloy part in most cases and high pressure casting is what they do. doing the work in billet allows for changes to come faster because its done on software and then produced on a CNC machining tool. forging requires rework of the tooling as does HP casting for changes. small runs can less costly and highly controlled with minimal issues.
there are more quality sources for custom CF product today then there was when Gitzo got into it. proud as they are there are others who have the capability to produce equal to or exceeding their product by considerable margins these days. you just got to be willing to pay for it
rw11 wrote:
I have never seen adequate testing to compare those two brands (or any others, really). DPreview seems to have the best tests, but nothing comes up to scientific standards (I\'m a scientist BTW). Both brands are very, very good.
I\'ve used RRS clamps, etc. since the company was started by a crusty old machinist with a paper mailed list of offerings. He sold to the current owners, who modernized things, improved customer support and expanded their product lines.. Production volumes are still low. There is nothing inherently strong about \"billet\" - if you want a strong part you buy one that is forged. Next, would be a quality pressure casting, and some wheels for race cars are now pressure cast. But I don\'t know if Gitzo uses that process for the hub. I have heard that people had some issue with Gitzo hubs years ago. Also, Gitzo was sold some years ago (French to Italian) and maybe those time periods coincide.
Gitzo is justly proud of their CF technology (for the legs) and it is unmatched in the industry AFAIK. Some anal-retentive individuals have bought Gitzo legs and put them on Markins hubs with no center post.
I\'ve used Gitzo for 30 years at least and have their earliest CF model. They have parts and repairs for everything and are a large company than RRS, and have been around for longer. OTOH, their importer seems discombobulated in dealing with customers. So, who has better customer service? I dunno.
If I were to add to my tripod collection, I guess I\'d get a new CF Gitzo. If prices were equal, then I don\'t know what I\'d do.
lets start off with the Gitzo Distribution. Gitzo is owned by the Vitec group PLC. their distribution is controlled by the Manfrotto group in the US which is owned by Vitec group PLC. they as a whole company farmed out their service dept to an outside vendor in AZ
the \"anal retentive individuals\" who have gone to the Markins hub did so on models like the mountaineer series to eliminate the center post and lighten their setup. no reason to do it on systematics as its already done.
forging has its points but in this situation not so much. i will take a good machine aluminum alloy part to a Mg alloy part in most cases and high pressure casting is what they do. doing the work in billet allows for changes to come faster because its done on software and then produced on a CNC machining tool. forging requires rework of the tooling as does HP casting for changes. small runs can less costly and highly controlled with minimal issues.
there are more quality sources for custom CF product today then there was when Gitzo got into it. proud as they are there are others who have the capability to produce equal to or exceeding their product by considerable margins these days.
rw11 wrote:
I have never seen adequate testing to compare those two brands (or any others, really). DPreview seems to have the best tests, but nothing comes up to scientific standards (I\'m a scientist BTW). Both brands are very, very good.
I\'ve used RRS clamps, etc. since the company was started by a crusty old machinist with a paper mailed list of offerings. He sold to the current owners, who modernized things, improved customer support and expanded their product lines.. Production volumes are still low. There is nothing inherently strong about \"billet\" - if you want a strong part you buy one that is forged. Next, would be a quality pressure casting, and some wheels for race cars are now pressure cast. But I don\'t know if Gitzo uses that process for the hub. I have heard that people had some issue with Gitzo hubs years ago. Also, Gitzo was sold some years ago (French to Italian) and maybe those time periods coincide.
Gitzo is justly proud of their CF technology (for the legs) and it is unmatched in the industry AFAIK. Some anal-retentive individuals have bought Gitzo legs and put them on Markins hubs with no center post.
I\'ve used Gitzo for 30 years at least and have their earliest CF model. They have parts and repairs for everything and are a large company than RRS, and have been around for longer. OTOH, their importer seems discombobulated in dealing with customers. So, who has better customer service? I dunno.
If I were to add to my tripod collection, I guess I\'d get a new CF Gitzo. If prices were equal, then I don\'t know what I\'d do.
lets start off with the Gitzo Distribution. Gitzo is owned by the Vitec group PLC. their distribution is controlled by the Manfrotto group in the US which is owned by Vitec group PLC. they as a whole company farmed out their service dept to an outside vendor in AZ
the \"anal retentive individuals\" who have gone to the Markins hub did so on models like the mountaineer series to eliminate the center post and lighten their setup. no reason to do it on systematics as its already done.
forging has its points but in this situation not so much. i will take a good machine aluminum alloy part to a Mg alloy part in most cases and high pressure casting is what they do. doing the work in billet allows for changes to come faster because its done on software and then produced on a CNC machining tool. forging requires rework of the tooling as does HP casting. the runs are less costly and highly controlled with minimal issues.
there are more quality sources for custom CF product today then there was when Gitzo got into it. proud as they are there are others who have the capability to produce equal to or exceeding their product by considerable margins these days.
rw11 wrote:
I have never seen adequate testing to compare those two brands (or any others, really). DPreview seems to have the best tests, but nothing comes up to scientific standards (I\'m a scientist BTW). Both brands are very, very good.
I\'ve used RRS clamps, etc. since the company was started by a crusty old machinist with a paper mailed list of offerings. He sold to the current owners, who modernized things, improved customer support and expanded their product lines.. Production volumes are still low. There is nothing inherently strong about \"billet\" - if you want a strong part you buy one that is forged. Next, would be a quality pressure casting, and some wheels for race cars are now pressure cast. But I don\'t know if Gitzo uses that process for the hub. I have heard that people had some issue with Gitzo hubs years ago. Also, Gitzo was sold some years ago (French to Italian) and maybe those time periods coincide.
Gitzo is justly proud of their CF technology (for the legs) and it is unmatched in the industry AFAIK. Some anal-retentive individuals have bought Gitzo legs and put them on Markins hubs with no center post.
I\'ve used Gitzo for 30 years at least and have their earliest CF model. They have parts and repairs for everything and are a large company than RRS, and have been around for longer. OTOH, their importer seems discombobulated in dealing with customers. So, who has better customer service? I dunno.
If I were to add to my tripod collection, I guess I\'d get a new CF Gitzo. If prices were equal, then I don\'t know what I\'d do.
lets start off with the Gitzo Distribution. Gitzo is owned by the Vitec group PLC. their distribution is controlled by the Manfrotto group in the US which is owned by Vitec group PLC. they as a whole company farmed out their service dept to an outside vendor in AZ
the \"anal retentive individuals\" who have gone to the Markins hub did so on models like the mountaineer series to eliminate the center post and lighten their setup. no reason to do it on systematics as its already done.
forging has its points but in this situation not so much. i will take a good machine aluminum alloy part to a Mg alloy part in most cases and high pressure casting is what they do.
there are more quality sources for custom CF product today then there was when Gitzo got into it. proud as they are there are others who have the capability to produce equal to or exceeding their product by considerable margins these days.
rw11 wrote:
I have never seen adequate testing to compare those two brands (or any others, really). DPreview seems to have the best tests, but nothing comes up to scientific standards (I\'m a scientist BTW). Both brands are very, very good.
I\'ve used RRS clamps, etc. since the company was started by a crusty old machinist with a paper mailed list of offerings. He sold to the current owners, who modernized things, improved customer support and expanded their product lines.. Production volumes are still low. There is nothing inherently strong about \"billet\" - if you want a strong part you buy one that is forged. Next, would be a quality pressure casting, and some wheels for race cars are now pressure cast. But I don\'t know if Gitzo uses that process for the hub. I have heard that people had some issue with Gitzo hubs years ago. Also, Gitzo was sold some years ago (French to Italian) and maybe those time periods coincide.
Gitzo is justly proud of their CF technology (for the legs) and it is unmatched in the industry AFAIK. Some anal-retentive individuals have bought Gitzo legs and put them on Markins hubs with no center post.
I\'ve used Gitzo for 30 years at least and have their earliest CF model. They have parts and repairs for everything and are a large company than RRS, and have been around for longer. OTOH, their importer seems discombobulated in dealing with customers. So, who has better customer service? I dunno.
If I were to add to my tripod collection, I guess I\'d get a new CF Gitzo. If prices were equal, then I don\'t know what I\'d do.
lets start off with the Gitzo Distribution. Gitzo is own and operated by the Vitec group PLC. there distribution is controlled by the Manfrotto group in the US which is owned and operated by Vitec group PLC. they as a whole company farmed out their service dept to an outside vendor in AZ
the \"anal retentive individuals\" who have gone to the Markins hub did so on models like the mountaineer series to eliminate the center post and lighten their setup. no reason to do it on systematics as its already done.
forging has its points but in this situation not so much. i will take a good machine aluminum alloy part to a Mg alloy part in most cases and high pressure casting is what they do.
there are more quality sources for custom CF product today then there was when Gitzo got into it. proud as they are there are others who have the capability to produce equal to or exceeding their product.
rw11 wrote:
I have never seen adequate testing to compare those two brands (or any others, really). DPreview seems to have the best tests, but nothing comes up to scientific standards (I\'m a scientist BTW). Both brands are very, very good.
I\'ve used RRS clamps, etc. since the company was started by a crusty old machinist with a paper mailed list of offerings. He sold to the current owners, who modernized things, improved customer support and expanded their product lines.. Production volumes are still low. There is nothing inherently strong about \"billet\" - if you want a strong part you buy one that is forged. Next, would be a quality pressure casting, and some wheels for race cars are now pressure cast. But I don\'t know if Gitzo uses that process for the hub. I have heard that people had some issue with Gitzo hubs years ago. Also, Gitzo was sold some years ago (French to Italian) and maybe those time periods coincide.
Gitzo is justly proud of their CF technology (for the legs) and it is unmatched in the industry AFAIK. Some anal-retentive individuals have bought Gitzo legs and put them on Markins hubs with no center post.
I\'ve used Gitzo for 30 years at least and have their earliest CF model. They have parts and repairs for everything and are a large company than RRS, and have been around for longer. OTOH, their importer seems discombobulated in dealing with customers. So, who has better customer service? I dunno.
If I were to add to my tripod collection, I guess I\'d get a new CF Gitzo. If prices were equal, then I don\'t know what I\'d do.
lets start off with the Gitzo Distribution. Gitzo is own and operated by the Vitec group PLC. there distribution is controlled by the Manfrotto group in the US which is owned and operated by Vitec group PLC. they as a whole company farmed out their service dept to an outside vendor in AZ
the \"anal retentive individuals\" who have gone to the Markins hub did so on models like the mountaineer series to eliminate the center post and lighten there setup. no reason to do it on systematics as its already done.
forging has its points but in this situation not so much. i will take a good machine aluminum alloy part to a Mg alloy part in most cases and high pressure casting is what they do.
there are more quality sources for custom CF product today then there was when Gitzo got into it. proud as they are there are others who have the capability to produce equal to or exceeding their product.
Sep 29, 2014 at 05:09 PM
Previous versions of sjms's message #12605724 « RRS vs. Gitzo Tripod »
