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Showing 1 of 27 conversations about:
climbrocks
124
Sep 23, 2016
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C_Elegans
11
Sep 24, 2016
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climbrocksThanks for your helpful insights, climbrocks! Much appreciated. As per your remarks, I wouldn't pay anything like 3LT prices at B&H, Amazon, et.al. ...and did not (see my other posts here). I do like the 3LT look a lot, though. The Tim is being returned to a 2nd tier 'outlet' seller, BTW, principally due to my disatisfaction with the Airhed 0 ball head. The Evo 2 Airhead 1 on my Jack and Brian seem fine: I like their much lighter weight, appearance, larger ARCA type clamp, and the somewhat slimmer profile (different alloy... more magnesium?) compared to similar competition in ball heads. I am keeping my eye out for a compact, later model Acratech.
I wonder if you have any reliable information on the Nest tripods? These seem to be very good overall and may handle well -- perhaps another step up, yet again -- out of the box and in light use... but there seem to be one or two concerns expressed about longer term durability with respect to the twist lock mechanism. I am presently looking for a lightweight "field" tripod with ~32mm diameter top sections and 4 sections max (preferably 3, if it can be configured to operate low enough for nature subjects and near-macro) in anticipation of the purchase of a Pentax K-1. The Pixel Shift feature on this camera will, I believe, mandate another step up in stability from that offered by the 28mm top section variety of tripod. There is also a similar 32mm x-section, newer model carbon fiber Dolica at around two hundred bucks (!) on Amazon you've probably noticed. Would you have any dependable observations on that one vs. the Nest? I would buy Gitzo in a heartbeat if I saw the kind of deal you got, but... I don't really require high levels of durability for my uses -- nature, landscape, cityscape -- and at my age ("late middle age", as I like to call it); but I do want dependability in light use, repeatability in action, fast handling, and effective vibration damping characteristics. New firmware for the K-1 just released provides electronic first curtain shutter operation in live view mode -- hoo-ray! That just lowered my requirements for internal damping by the tripod-head assembly a notch right there. Thank you for any assistance!
I wonder if you have any reliable information on the Nest tripods? These seem to be very good overall and may handle well -- perhaps another step up, yet again -- out of the box and in light use... but there seem to be one or two concerns expressed about longer term durability with respect to the twist lock mechanism. I am presently looking for a lightweight "field" tripod with ~32mm diameter top sections and 4 sections max (preferably 3, if it can be configured to operate low enough for nature subjects and near-macro) in anticipation of the purchase of a Pentax K-1. The Pixel Shift feature on this camera will, I believe, mandate another step up in stability from that offered by the 28mm top section variety of tripod. There is also a similar 32mm x-section, newer model carbon fiber Dolica at around two hundred bucks (!) on Amazon you've probably noticed. Would you have any dependable observations on that one vs. the Nest? I would buy Gitzo in a heartbeat if I saw the kind of deal you got, but... I don't really require high levels of durability for my uses -- nature, landscape, cityscape -- and at my age ("late middle age", as I like to call it); but I do want dependability in light use, repeatability in action, fast handling, and effective vibration damping characteristics. New firmware for the K-1 just released provides electronic first curtain shutter operation in live view mode -- hoo-ray! That just lowered my requirements for internal damping by the tripod-head assembly a notch right there. Thank you for any assistance!
climbrocks
124
Sep 26, 2016
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C_ElegansHi C_Elegans,
Thanks for the message. I had not heard of Nest until you pointed them out. You shouldn't be surprised since (a) I am not in the market for any more tripods since my Gitzo and my Chinese knock-off carbon fiber (and my aluminum Manfrotto and Slik* and other rebranded Chinese...) tripods are all doing quite fine and I therefore have no need to go tripod shopping, (b) my RRS ball heads and L brackets and macro rail (!!!) kick butt, and (c) sadly, tripod companies are a dime a dozen now, and it is really quite difficult to differentiate between quality and further knock-offs. (As I implied in my prior post, I do not like having played a role in the success of knock-offs--at some point, I believe it disincentivizes companies like Gitzo from putting more into R&D and putting all of their resources into marketing.)
The Nest tripods appear to be in the Dolica/Triopo/Siriu/whatever Chinese knock-off department (appears that Nest IS Dolica?). The twist locks are the issue for these, and, as I warned previously, probably don't "lock" like the Gitzo's and RRS's of the world--the legs come flying out if you pull too hard or unwind the locks too far and you have to get the little plastic pieces to fit back into the tubes. Honestly can't recall if I've done that on my Gitzo, but not gonna try. I think any of the above will work well but they won't be on the level of Gitzo or RRS for build quality, etc. That said, do you need an $800 CF tripod, w/o a ball head, camera-specific L plate, etc.? My guess is no. Get some better glass instead. Or, if you do macro, get a couple macro rails!!! (They'll make a bigger difference in your macro shots than any tripod.)
*The Slik Sprint 150 Pro II Aluminum tripod is one of my absolute favorites and has been to 3 other continents with me. It weighs 2 lbs, holds 4.5 lbs, folds to 18.5 inches (a bit less, actually, if you take off the ball head or take out the center tube), and gets to 50 inches without extending the center column. Oh, and it costs 60 bucks!!! I often carry it around at night when traveling in sketchy spots (it looks like a club). No, you won't be taking photos of the stars in heavy winds or shooting cheetahs with a 400mm telephoto, but you'll be solid most of the rest of the time.
Thanks for the message. I had not heard of Nest until you pointed them out. You shouldn't be surprised since (a) I am not in the market for any more tripods since my Gitzo and my Chinese knock-off carbon fiber (and my aluminum Manfrotto and Slik* and other rebranded Chinese...) tripods are all doing quite fine and I therefore have no need to go tripod shopping, (b) my RRS ball heads and L brackets and macro rail (!!!) kick butt, and (c) sadly, tripod companies are a dime a dozen now, and it is really quite difficult to differentiate between quality and further knock-offs. (As I implied in my prior post, I do not like having played a role in the success of knock-offs--at some point, I believe it disincentivizes companies like Gitzo from putting more into R&D and putting all of their resources into marketing.)
The Nest tripods appear to be in the Dolica/Triopo/Siriu/whatever Chinese knock-off department (appears that Nest IS Dolica?). The twist locks are the issue for these, and, as I warned previously, probably don't "lock" like the Gitzo's and RRS's of the world--the legs come flying out if you pull too hard or unwind the locks too far and you have to get the little plastic pieces to fit back into the tubes. Honestly can't recall if I've done that on my Gitzo, but not gonna try. I think any of the above will work well but they won't be on the level of Gitzo or RRS for build quality, etc. That said, do you need an $800 CF tripod, w/o a ball head, camera-specific L plate, etc.? My guess is no. Get some better glass instead. Or, if you do macro, get a couple macro rails!!! (They'll make a bigger difference in your macro shots than any tripod.)
*The Slik Sprint 150 Pro II Aluminum tripod is one of my absolute favorites and has been to 3 other continents with me. It weighs 2 lbs, holds 4.5 lbs, folds to 18.5 inches (a bit less, actually, if you take off the ball head or take out the center tube), and gets to 50 inches without extending the center column. Oh, and it costs 60 bucks!!! I often carry it around at night when traveling in sketchy spots (it looks like a club). No, you won't be taking photos of the stars in heavy winds or shooting cheetahs with a 400mm telephoto, but you'll be solid most of the rest of the time.
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The reason these look like 3LT and MeFoto tripods is because they are (nearly) the exact same thing, just re-branded Chinese factory tripods, nothing more. Nobody is copying anyone, they're just slapping their own brands on them. If you order a large enough batch (i.e., change the molding beyond anything the factory already has), you can make modifications and have something unique; pay a bit more for more designs and better QC (which I believe 3LT does) and you get a marginally better product. Anyone who has paid up to $400 for a MeFoto or similar tripod is foolish; the exact same tripods can be had for less than $150 for a carbon fiber tripod with ballhead on eBay or Amazon. Sirui has caught on (to how many foolish people are out there) and has jacked up their prices; Triopo appears to be following suit. I can't recall the name of the last one I bought (precise same measurement of this drop) but they sent me the wrong one; when I complained, they sent me the right one and didn't ask for the other one to be returned (I've used it for parts). Bottom line: this is a decent price for a pretty good if somewhat short tripod. I personally don't use mine as much as my Gitzo Mountaineer.....and if you think I'm foolish for buying one of those, well, you clearly haven't handled a Gitzo (bomber!). And the fact that I got it for only 200 bucks off of Craigslist. There is a big difference between the top of the line tripods and the Chinese ones; I think the 3LT's fall somewhere in the middle (so not a huge difference) and the Fotopro's are definitely grouped in with the latter. (I'm happy to discuss my very negative views on outsourcing everything and losing IP to China separately.)
Speaking of which, word to the wise: do NOT pull strongly on the legs of these tripods when you lengthen them--they will come shooting out and the little plastic pieces can be a pain to put back together. Gitzo has stoppers, which is one reason they make that really cool swooshing sound when you open the legs...
Oh, and why carbon fiber instead of aluminum? It's not about weight at this size. It's about vibrations--CF vibrates less than Al, and when you're dealing with a tripod, well that's the point.