Sony A7x lounge

I've only shot one time with mine. Great lens just not my focal length but I know I'm aging and the day will come when I wish I had it so I'm keeping.

jocau wrote in post #17848104
For real quality ballheads I would only consider Arca-Swiss and RRS.

Well, ive never used RRS or ArcaSwiss but i could not imagine something having more quality than the sirui k30x ballhead. It really is well made and after almost 2 years of heavy usage it still works like new. I would never shell out the money RRS is asking for their equippment. Like 200$ for an L bracket! Are they nuts? Got mine for 11$ and works perfectly fine...

Has anyone in here ever shot the Canon 70-300L and the Sony 70-400 II?

Im asking because i need an adapter for my 70-300L to use it on my A7R2. Now i was asking myself if the 70-400 ver2 can hold up in quality with the 70-300L as i could sell the canon (my last canon lens) in favor of getting 100mm more on the long end and get the sony adapter instead. I missed out on a deal for the metabones and would be saving 200$ in getting a sony adapter instead. Costs me like 500$ after all but to me it would be worth it if the lens comes close on performance.

However, at most i will be waiting for february anyway as i want to see if sony announces a +200mm lens. But still i was wondering

Any ideas?

davidfarina wrote in post #17848135
Well, ive never used RRS or ArcaSwiss but i could not imagine something having more quality than the sirui k30x ballhead. It really is well made and after almost 2 years of heavy usage it still works like new. I would never shell out the money RRS is asking for their equippment. Like 200$ for an L bracket! Are they nuts? Got mine for 11$ and works perfectly fine...

Yeah $175 for the L Bracket is crazy! But, I also worry about $11 for one. I can't help but worry about the human cost behind astonishingly ultra-cheap things like that. I don't know, of course, but it just gives me the appearance of the difference between the cost of something made by 1st world free people who have a good life and something made by 3rd world enslaved people doomed to endure long hours of cruel labor for precious little pay. Maybe I'm over-sensitive from looking at the news too much.

I realize I live in a world where the vast majority of people just simply don't give a ____ about the human cost behind their stuff. And, as I type this on my slave-labor built Apple iPad, I grudgingly acknowledge that it's impossible/impractical to really do anything about it. $11 for an L Bracket? Is that even possible without something being terribly wrong at a human level? I could be way off base here: tell me why my fear isn't reasonable, I'm listening.

David Arbogast wrote in post #17848152
Yeah $175 for the L Bracket is crazy! But, I also worry about $11 for one. I can't help but worry about the human cost behind astonishingly ultra-cheap things like that. I don't know, of course, but it just gives me the appearance of the difference between the cost of something made by 1st world free people who have a good life and something made by 3rd world enslaved people doomed to endure long hours of cruel labor for precious little pay. Maybe I'm over-sensitive from looking at the news too much.

I realize I live in a world where the vast majority of people just simply don't give a ____ about the human cost behind their stuff. And, as I type this on my slave-labor built Apple iPad, I grudgingly acknowledge that it's impossible/impractical to really do anything about it. $11 for an L Bracket? Is that even possible without something being terribly wrong at a human level? I could be way off base here: tell me why my fear isn't reasonable, I'm listening.

Possibly it is way wrong. But as well it is not right to charge 175$ for one...

It was sent from china with free shipping and no box. Just the plain bracket with an allan key in an envelope, so i guess it comes directly out of the factory. Quality looks good and it fits perfectly. But yeah, very possible that suffering humans made my piece of aluminium. But then again, many (myself included) own iphones. Production cost is like 40$ and they sell it to us for more than 10 times more. Same situation in the factories i guess..

davidfarina wrote in post #17848162
Possibly it is way wrong. But as well it is not right to charge 175$ for one...

It was sent from china with free shipping and no box. Just the plain bracket with an allan key in an envelope, so i guess it comes directly out of the factory. Quality looks good and it fits perfectly. But yeah, very possible that suffering humans made my piece of aluminium. But then again, many (myself included) own iphones. Production cost is like 40$ and they sell it to us for more than 10 times more. Same situation in the factories i guess..

Agree on all counts there David. Thanks for your thoughts.

davidfarina wrote in post #17848093
Flimsy? What model exactly did you use, was it a ballhead? My k-30x ballhead is super nice. Has a smooth dampened wheel and is very sturdy once locked.

Together with the feisol ct-3442 tournament rapid carbon fiber tripod it makes a very affordable, high quality and leightweight/portable tripod setup.

Sorry I meant the tripod. I'd have to look up the exact model. I currently use the fiesol ct3442 and love it

One is a well machined product with the highest quality materials, including a high strength bolt, the other is likely a cast product with lower quality metal and chrome plated bolt.

The difference is quite clear between the products, however the end game is holding up a camera that's fairly small, with a few pounds of torque at most.

The generic is a well thought out product, and does the job fine.

jocau wrote in post #17848104
For real quality ballheads I would only consider Arca-Swiss and RRS.

Fir quality cameras I would only consider hasselblad.....

Union Station Kansas City
Minolta Maxxum 28-135mm f4.0-4.5
Canon 90 EX camera right
Triggered by yn622 c TX

I'm not condoning bad moral practices at all but a mass produced cast item costing £12 seems ok to me for all it is. I use an ipod, ipad and a macbook (google illegal indonisian tin) and saw a horrible documentary recently that opened my eyes to what's going on. I still use the products though so perhaps I'm a hypocrite

davidfarina wrote in post #17848135
Well, ive never used RRS or ArcaSwiss but i could not imagine something having more quality than the sirui k30x ballhead. It really is well made and after almost 2 years of heavy usage it still works like new. I would never shell out the money RRS is asking for their equippment. Like 200$ for an L bracket! Are they nuts? Got mine for 11$ and works perfectly fine...

I have used one of their brackets on every body I have owned...I just like the perfect fit, the markings for center of sensor and in the end...the resale value. I have the PCL pano head and absolutely love it. It stays on all the time, I never take it off. Their ballheads are really nice as are their tripods, but they are out of my price range.

xpfloyd wrote in post #17848256
I'm not condoning bad moral practices at all but a mass produced cast item costing £12 seems ok to me for all it is. I use an ipod, ipad and a macbook (google illegal indonisian tin) and saw a horrible documentary recently that opened my eyes to what's going on. I still use the products though so perhaps I'm a hypocrite

I agree. And we all are Eddie - we all own products that come very bad practices. My concern about the $11 bracket is exactly that I don't believe that is a mass-produced item. For sure mass production lowers costs tremendously. But, while there are jillions of ipads and iphones, etc. how large is the actual market for form-fitted L-brackets for a7 II, a7R II, and a7S IIs? That can't be a big market; not even close. And, unlike Apple products (or other major retailers), there isn't even a parent company to hold accountable. You're basically buying an L-bracket via the Internet out of what amounts to the trunk of some shady guy's car on the street. No accountability in that chain whatever. That, I think, is where my anxiety lies the most.

And I hope I won't be misunderstood - because I am absolutely not fault-finding with anyone here who has purchased an $11 L Bracket. I very may well do the same. I just can't help but feel a measure of anxiety about it.

Finally I do apologize to everyone for expressing my anxieties here - this isn't the right place to talk politics. But I did want to share why I struggle with a buying decision like this for reasons that aren't necessarily performance-based.

What do you all think of the Mindshift Gear 180 Rotation backpacks? Dumb gimmick or brilliant problem solver? I am trying to imagine myself using it. Seems like a nice way of carrying gear on your back, but very easy to access. But, it's hard to guess whether it would be a more annoying than good. Thoughts?

I am looking for a way to carry a minimal gear pack (camera with lens mounted, tripod, filters, lens pens, bike locks, etc.) that I can comfortably bike and hike with.

Don't know too much about that bag but my vote goes to the Fstop bags. They have a Loka light backpack which would be perfect for you. I own an earlier bigger version and it's a very well made bag.

http://shop.fstopgear.​com …t/ultralight/lo​ka-ul.html