Re: [Leica] tripods was RRS QR plate

["Jeff S" <segawa@netone.com>]

- -----Original Message-----
From: David Morton <dmorton@journalist.co.uk>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Cc: dmorton@journalist.co.uk <dmorton@journalist.co.uk>
Date: Wednesday, May 13, 1998 6:37 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] tripods was RRS QR plate

>david place wrote:
>
>> Which model of the carbon-fiber gitzo are you using???
>> Has anyone out there [seriously] tried any of the benbo tripods ?????
>> Info would be appreciated, dp
>
David Place, I think I may have mentioned it elsewhere, but the tripod in
question is the #1228. I had very seriously eyed the #1348, but got an
outstanding deal on the 1228, which almost put it into the Bogen price
range, and in any event, I feel that the carbon fiber models are
substantially more rigid and better-damped then their aluminum counterparts,
and feel the smaller unit handles my MF gear well too. Only caveat is that
it is so light as to make ballasting with your camera bag a very good idea.

>A friend of mine refers to his Benbo as "the amorous octopus", which seems
>to sum up many of the weaknesses of the design on one concise and elegant
>phrase. :-)
>
I've looked at these tripods with some interest on a number of occasions.
They are kind of big and heavy for their rated capacities. The trick is to
grasp the center column (boom?) while allowing the legs to flop into
position, then lock it all down, taking some care that it's not leaning over
so far as to tip over. In actual practice, I've found that a more
conventional tripod with short center column works real well--just set it up
asymetrical, so that it's leaning over some, and never buy a tripod whose
legs only splay out to one too-tall position! I haven't had to resort to the
old trick of reversing the center column in years, and to be honest, I don't
miss that awkwardness one bit.