Photography Equipment Thoughts
There are basically four types of purchasers out here - Professional, Serious Amateur, Experienced Amateur, Novice. Each has a different set of needs with regard to support. It is ridiculous in my opinion to say that one level of support system fits all four anymore than one camera body or lens series fits all four. I am not a proponent of buy the best with little regard to need and cost and never look back.
’ll spend only a brief period of time on the Professional level. It’s almost a given here that a professional’s equipment has to be first rate. Carbon fiber Gitzo tripods dominate this level and cost is high. There is a wide selection of ball mounts at this level with Kirk, Markins, Arca Swiss and Really Right Stuff as the serious contenders. It is safe to say that the purchase of a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod and a ball mount from one of the four above will handle things pretty nicely in the professional’s support department. I have both carbon fiber and aluminum Gitzo tripods and Arca Swiss and Markins ballmounts. I expect they will be passed on to future generations, as I am not a professional and don’t extract the full level of use from my equipment.
Below Professional things really open up. Many of the tripod/ball mount choices from name companies certainly can be useful at the professional level, however we now enter into tradeoffs between various aspects. It has been said here (more times than I can count) that out of three primary support aspects (light, stable, cheap) you can have any two, but not the third. While I am in general agreement I think this characterization needs to be broadened a bit to include a fourth aspect – durability. I think you can get any three of the four (which means it is possible to get a light and stable tripod cheaply, but accept that you will loose some degree of durability).
Below Professional we consider other materials and build quality tradeoffs. Tripod legs can be carbon fiber, but also aluminum, magnesium and wood. Tripod heads/spiders/yokes can be aluminum or magnesium alloy. Ball mounts are aluminum cased, but both Delrin and aluminum make up the balls. Plate systems vary from Arca Swiss type to Manfrotto variants to non standard or none of the above. In this arena we have not only name companies like Bogan/Manfrotto, Berlbach, Gitzo (Basalt, aluminum), but a whole slew of other traditional contenders (Slik, Velbon, etc.). As well we have all the knockoffs – Benro/Induro, Feisol, Weifeng, Dynatran, etc. The latter take the top of the line Gitzo and Bogen/Manfrotto tripods and ball mounts and by using less expensive materials or build/manufacturing techniques or manufacturing in places where labor is lower cost, put out a very similar product in appearance to the top line support equipment, but will most likely suffer in the durability aspect referenced above. In this arena the buyer needs to look closely at his/her needs and decide what tradeoffs are acceptable. There is great value in this area depending on one’s risk tolerance. Still there are some basics drivers that help wade through the offerings.
Posted under User Reviews