Toronto Photography Meetup Group

That's what I thought but the screw threads for the leg is the same diameter as the leg itself. The leg screws off and the tripod mounting base also screws off and then screws onto the leg. Unfortunately the monopod height was too short for me. Good for someone around 5'2" maybe.

Weird.
I was in Downtown Camera over lunch.

Sirui is a brand that they've just got in - carbon fibre and "gitzo-esque"

That said, when I quizzed Stanley on who the distributor was he said "one man show" - so I've been trying to do research on them:
http://www.zssirui.com/index.php?lang=en

Don't bother expecting English much beyond the first page but maybe, if some of our Chinese (I THINK this is Mandarin but I could be wrong) reading members could maybe translate.

Anywho, they're priced reasonably, they feel "good" and they're "light" like Gitzos but I'm suspect because, well, I've never heard of them and the reviews are sparse at best.

They use the Arca Swiss plates but, again, I know nothing about them.

Just another option though,
Cheers,
Dave

Thanks Dave, THAT's the brand of tripods I saw. Looking at their site, there are so many models, it's crazy.

Well.. I can say that the legs were about $315 OR CHEAPER @ Downtown Camera - that's the thing that sort of made me think "hmmm.... I wonder if these things are any good???"

Stan, as usual, was pushing the sale but I know him well enough that I brushed him off and told him I wanted to do research.

I just can't find squat on these things so they're really an unknown element and for $315, I want at least SOME well known feedback. Otherwise I'll pony up more than 2x that for a Gitzo.

Cheers,
Dave

Yeah, the price was attractive as well as the weight. I've already got a Manfrotto 055CXPro3 but the smaller one would make for a great travel tripod.

Hey James, The Gitzo like mine with the horizontal column option is the 2531EX (http://www.gitzo.com/cms/site/gitzo/tri ... e=GT2531EX). This will be the last one you EVER need to buy! Your wife would be very pleased to hear that

I was also in downtown cAmera thus evening looking at these new tripods. I was speaking with James as I normally do and we did s few load tests with both the sirui and the equilivent gitzo and the price difference of over three times was not worth it at all from what I was feeling. Appearantly the company started out as just a manufacturer for other brands and has now decided to start their own line so this makes me believe that they have taken the best bits for all the tripods they have manufactured previously and just copied them. I was testing out their largest model that downtown camera had which was abletk extend to about 70" and the thing was rock solid even with the fully extended cetnre column. I have yet to view the website for all the specs yet but they do look promising.

The one thing I would say was that I already know he specs are not correct for the ball beads. The smallest one was supposedly rated at a max load of over 30 lbs which just seemed seriously false. Me and James and DT think it is just a beginning launch translation error they haven't caught yet. They also seemed to be a bit small on the camera plate clamping area. They may get better with time but for now I will be sticking with my trusted manfrotto heads.

Quick update. I ended up buying the Benro A-198 M8 tripod legs. It met all my needs. I've only used it on a few occasions so far but I'm sure we are going to be good friends. Loving it.

http://www.vistek.ca/store/ProPhotoTrip ... expod.aspx

I didn't buying it from Vistek .. lol .. and mine's black, not silver. It perfectly complements my KS-0 ball head - which is also sturdy and fabulous.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/KS-0-Proffessional-C ... 23023ab591

It llooks like a nice rig. Does it have the explorer center column similar to the Manfrotto 190 and Gitzo explorers or is the center column limited to vertical movement?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snWplwyYVh0

vertical, horizontal and every angle in between

I've been using Benro's set of legs for the last 4 years.
While it has served me well, there are a few things I'm not that happy about:
- the twistable extension locks are not very friendly. Starting from I always forget which direction I need to turn them to lock, but it's me. I had a few cases where the sand "locked" the twists in the open position. I couldn't make them turn, and I have not so small hands. Also, they froze on me on a few occasions.
- the removable plates could use a better quality metal. Sliding in/out significantly wore the plates.

May be in the latest models, those problems have been addressed by Benro.

While on the tripod topic, does anybody have any experience or comments regarding the Vanguard brand tripods?
http://www.vanguardworld.com/index.php/ ... level.html

I've just recognized, that carbon fiber models always come with twistable locks. Unfortunately.