Chris Court wrote: Frogfish wrote:
…I guess you are likely referring to the G2 leveler in their lineup (you can find it by going to Geared Heads via the other link below) and even that only bears a passing resemblance to the Arca Swiss (as in as much as any of that style of leveller does - it's a bit like saying a ballhead resembles another ballhead just because it's a ballhead).
Yes, that's the one I was referring to. Certainly seems to bear more than just a passing resemblance to the AS L60, from what I can see…
Note, I'm no Sinophobe, but blatant copying like this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
C
My point was Chris that a leveller has to perform certain functions and remain compact, so the design isn't going to vary much across any design; see the RRS shown in Peter's post which is again very very similar to the A-S 60.
Ditto Geared Heads, they all tend to look very similar with the trend to become lighter and more compact from say the early Manfrotto 410 (a large and heavy beast). There are obvious cosmetic differences but still as with e.g. cars, they are all cars, there isn't much leeway for reinventing the wheel, just the cosmetics (allowing for the fact cars are far more complex).
This route is well worn on FM but the fact is that in every industry manufacturers, of any nationality, will make just enough changes to a design to pass scrutiny (clearly in China that wasn't the case before but they are really clamping down on the previously rampant IP theft - it's very visible both on the streets, on Taobao and in the courts, though with 4 times the number of companies that are in the USA it's clearly a long road ahead and very difficult to police).
That said with the impressive progression of R&D in China it's clearly no longer a one way street, we are going to see design ideas flip back and forth and that can only be good for the consumer.
BTW the Leofoto ballheads seem to be really well made, beautifully engineered curves and materials makes them sexy to handle (at least from the ball-heads I've seen in China and the one I possess). Longevity obviously isn't possible to state at this time.
Chris Court wrote: Frogfish wrote:
…I guess you are likely referring to the G2 leveler in their lineup (you can find it by going to Geared Heads via the other link below) and even that only bears a passing resemblance to the Arca Swiss (as in as much as any of that style of leveller does - it's a bit like saying a ballhead resembles another ballhead just because it's a ballhead).
Yes, that's the one I was referring to. Certainly seems to bear more than just a passing resemblance to the AS L60, from what I can see…
Note, I'm no Sinophobe, but blatant copying like this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
C
My point was Chris that a leveller has to perform certain functions and remain compact, so the design isn't going to vary much across any design; see the RRS shown in Peter's post which is again very very similar to the A-S 60.
Ditto Geared Heads, they all tend to look very similar with the trend to become lighter and more compact from say the early Manfrotto 410 (a large and heavy beast). There are obvious cosmetic differences but still as with e.g. cars, they are all cars, there isn't much leeway for reinventing the wheel, just the cosmetics (allowing for the fact cars are far more complex).
This route is well worn on FM but the fact is that in every industry manufacturers, of any nationality, will make just enough changes to a design to pass scrutiny (clearly in China that wasn't the case before but they are really clamping down on the previously rampant IP theft - it's very visible both on the streets and on Taobao, though with 4 times the number of companies that are in the USA it's clearly a long road ahead and difficult to police).
That said with the impressive progression of R&D in China it's clearly no longer a one way street, we are going to see design ideas flip back and forth and that can only be good for the consumer.
BTW the Leofoto ballheads seem to be really well made, beautifully engineered curves and materials makes them sexy to handle (at least from the ball-heads I've seen in China and the one I possess). Longevity obviously isn't possible to state at this time.
Chris Court wrote: Frogfish wrote:
…I guess you are likely referring to the G2 leveler in their lineup (you can find it by going to Geared Heads via the other link below) and even that only bears a passing resemblance to the Arca Swiss (as in as much as any of that style of leveller does - it's a bit like saying a ballhead resembles another ballhead just because it's a ballhead).
Yes, that's the one I was referring to. Certainly seems to bear more than just a passing resemblance to the AS L60, from what I can see…
Note, I'm no Sinophobe, but blatant copying like this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
C
My point was Chris that a leveller has to perform certain functions and remain compact, so the design isn't going to vary much across any design; see the RRS shown in Peter's post which is again very very similar to the A-S 60.
Ditto Geared Heads, they all tend to look very similar with the trend to become lighter and more compact from say the early Manfrotto 410 (a large and heavy beast). There are obvious cosmetic differences but still as in cars are all cars, there isn't much leeway for reinventing the wheel.
This route is well worn on FM but the fact is that in every industry manufacturers, of any nationality, will make just enough changes to a design to pass scrutiny (clearly in China that wasn't the case before but they are really clamping down on the previously rampant IP theft - it's very visible both on the streets and on Taobao, though with 4 times the number of companies that are in the USA it's clearly a long road ahead and difficult to police).
That said with the impressive progression of R&D in China it's clearly no longer a one way street, we are going to see design ideas flip back and forth and that can only be good for the consumer.
BTW the Leofoto ballheads seem to be really well made, beautifully engineered curves and materials makes them sexy to handle (at least from the ball-heads I've seen in China and the one I possess). Longevity obviously isn't possible to state at this time.
Chris Court wrote: Frogfish wrote:
…I guess you are likely referring to the G2 leveler in their lineup (you can find it by going to Geared Heads via the other link below) and even that only bears a passing resemblance to the Arca Swiss (as in as much as any of that style of leveller does - it's a bit like saying a ballhead resembles another ballhead just because it's a ballhead).
Yes, that's the one I was referring to. Certainly seems to bear more than just a passing resemblance to the AS L60, from what I can see…
Note, I'm no Sinophobe, but blatant copying like this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
C
My point was Chris that a leveller has to perform certain functions and remain compact, so the design isn't going to vary much across any design; see the RRS shown in Peter's post which is again very very similar to the A-S 60.
Ditto Geared Heads, they all tend to look very similar with the trend to become lighter and more compact from say the early Manfrotto 410 (a large and heavy beast). There are obvious cosmetic differences but still as in cars are all cars, there isn't much leeway for reinventing the wheel.
BTW the Leofoto ballheads seem to be really well made, beautifully engineered curves and materials makes them sexy to handle (at least from the ball-heads I've seen in China and the one I possess).
Chris Court wrote: Frogfish wrote:
…I guess you are likely referring to the G2 leveler in their lineup (you can find it by going to Geared Heads via the other link below) and even that only bears a passing resemblance to the Arca Swiss (as in as much as any of that style of leveller does - it's a bit like saying a ballhead resembles another ballhead just because it's a ballhead).
Yes, that's the one I was referring to. Certainly seems to bear more than just a passing resemblance to the AS L60, from what I can see…
Note, I'm no Sinophobe, but blatant copying like this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
C
My point was Chris that a leveller has to perform certain functions and remain compact, so the design isn't going to vary much across any design; see the RRS shown in Peter's post which is again very very similar to the A-S 60.
Ditto Geared Heads, they all tend to look very similar with the trend to become lighter and more compact from say the early Manfrotto 410 (a large and heavy beast). There are obvious cosmetic differences but still as in cars are all cars, there isn't much leeway for reinventing the wheel.
BTW the Leofoto ballheads seem to be really well made, beautifully engineered curves and materials makes them sexy to handle (at least from the ball-heads I've seen in China).
May 07, 2020 at 01:54 AM
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