Tripods

...

What amazes me is the great difference in steadiness when I compare set up
tripods in a camera store. Some are really unsteady and others are much
firmerI think I would make sure the one I was interested in was steady
before I bought it. (Although the $113 price for that carbon fiber pod is so
cheap that you can hardly go wrong by taking a chance.)

It's a nice adage, but I do get a free lunch every once in a while and I
have a surprisingly good ball head that I paid $50 for new (different
manufacturer). However, the price for just the tripod legs is $113, not
exactly free. Realistically, the carbon fiber component of this tripod is
probably 9 tubes in three sizes. What does that part of the tripod add to
the cost of production? Years ago, anything CF was expensive. Now there are
plenty of inexpensive items with CF components. Surely the cost of
manufacturing CF stuff has come down. Why hasn't the cost of CF tripods come
down? What exactly is so expensive about manufacturing the tripod if not CF
tubes? The rest is just some machined metal parts. Is this a manufacturer
that sees a way to market similar products at a significantly reduced price
thanks to the cheaper availability of the same components, is it just a
bunch of cheap crap or is it somewhere in between: a decent quality product
but not the best?

Just some thoughts and general questions. One thing I did notice when I
looked around that site some is that they have a taller aluminum tripod that
actually weighs less than the CF one.

Oh, and did a quick search and see that I can buy all the CF tubes needed to
make a tripod this height for about $75 retail. Surely a tripod manufacturer
can get the tubes for a fourth of that price. Of course, this also begs the
question about aluminum tripod prices too assuming that aluminum tubes are
as dirt cheap as I imagine they must be.

Eric Miller
#

That pretty well sums up my experience with that exact CF92 tripod. But
it's only a good value if you have a clear understand what you are and
are not buying.

I use it with a Markins Q3 head when I want to reduce my carry weight
for occasional field and tourist use. This ain't a bargain Gitzo; its
finish and finish are inline with the price you pay. I don't demand
(nor would I expect) it to stand up to the day-to-day rigors of
professional use.

I don't have one of their tripod heads, but they seem to be very
similar to the Benro heads offered regularly on eBay.

--
Michael Benveniste --
Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $250. Use this email
address only to submit mail for evaluation.

TANSTAAFL ... you gets whats youse pays for.

They seem astonishingly cheap for carbon fibre.