It ticks all the right boxes, except price

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Just furtling about on ebay, I spotted this tripod:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/406027406373

 

Engineering excellence can be assumed, and somebody bought it

… but are we well-into ‘diminishing returns’ here ??

 

MichaelG.

[Peter Cook 6Participant @petercook6]

Depends on the returns you are looking for. In engineering terms (stability, load bearing, weight, rigidity, etc. etc. etc.) probably well diminished. However if the return you are looking for is its contribution to your image on social media (Facebook, TikTok etc. etc.) then its possibly just mid range!!!

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I made a batch of long spikes for the bottom of a customers tripod, three for her and a couple of sets for some of her camera club friends. I made them cheaper than the over £100 a set the makers wanted. Tripod itself was about £1500 plus various mounts etc so that one in your link could well be considered a bargain. But she has won quite a few awards so must be worth it to her.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Even the ‘Similar items’ are at huge prices but perhaps for pro photographic companies it is justifiable cost. Just by me is my father’s old no-name tripod I remember we bought 55 years ago for 12 Cedis. We were in an African country that had just devalued by 50% so everything seemed cheap and he was thrilled for a few days until they revalued.

Just seen Peter’s post above. Is it the equivalent of the mandatory Kurt vice for machinist ‘tubers?

[peak4Participant @peak4]

It’s a fairly specialist tripod, comparatively light and fast to use, but still with a 30Kg capacity.
It would take a large(ish) video setup, and is also intended for shooting (with rifles, as well as cameras).
If you’re using a big lens, worth north of £13K, then a solid tripod is as much good insurance as anything.

https://www.zeiss.co.uk/photonics-and-optics/precision-shooting/products/pro-series-tripod-kits.html#features

To put it in perspective a bit, the ball head alone is £425, which seems good value compared to mine at new prices.
I got a good deal second hand off eBay for rather less than £500 (I think I paid about £120 at the time)
https://www.parkcameras.com/shop/acratech-gp-ballhead–standard-clamp-1155_9372124k

An even better deal was my Manfrotto 161, also off eBay; the previous owner bought it blind and confused his numbering. He expected a lightweight carbon fibre job for hillwalking, and was surprised when this arrived.
The beast weighs well over 8Kg with a head, and stands at my shoulder height when folded and about 2.7m fully extended.
The interesting bit was bringing it home on a motorcycle.
https://www.wexphotovideo.com/manfrotto-161mk2b-super-pro-tripod-black-10851/

For obvious reasons that lives at home; I use a second hand Giottos with the ball head when I’m out and about, though even that’s a bit big to lug around.

Modern cameras really do help with up to about 7 stops worth of image stabilisation, combining in-camera and in-lens IS; it’s remarkable that I’ve managed sharp photos at greater than 1 second exposure, so rarely carry a tripod these days.

Bill

[Bazyle]

On Bazyle Said:

…Is it the equivalent of the mandatory Kurt vice for machinist ‘tubers?

The cheek of it; my machine vice is a genuine Kurt but I have never posted on Utube and never will.

Julie

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

I guess the glib response is the standard “You get what you pay for”, but we all know too well that it is not quite that straightforward.  Invariably you have to pay for quality but, all too often, it is easy to fall into the trap of assuming you are getting quality if you pay a lot.  That’s when you have to know a bit about what you are buying and have a good idea of value.

At the end of the day, like it or not, and many don’t, you have to pay more for a quality item.  The simple laws of supply and demand will dictate what that price might be and therefore what you have to pay for what you want.  Unfortunately, in many cases, that price is frequently dictated by those with more money than sense!

At the end of the day we are all prepared to pay good money for something that we get enjoyment out of and appreciate the quality.  Julie obviously enjoys her Kurt vice and gets pleasure out of using a quality product, I have a Belstaff top of the range motorcycle jacket that most people would tell me I was mad for the amount of money I spent on it, but I simply enjoy wearing it.  We can’t take it with us, so enjoy it while we can.

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