Anything near equivalent to the Gitzo 1541T?

Sdiver2489 wrote in post #11994922
I didn't buy a ballhead yet either, that's why I am wondering which you show on that Benro tripod to get an idea of size.

Also with what you said about plates and QR...if I get a QR do I have to get a plate from the same vendor or is there something I should look for in the specs to make sure they are compatible? I could be wrong but I believe you just have to adjust QR's for the specific plate so if you used a number of them it would get annoying.

The ballheads in post #4 above are Markins Q3Ts.

Some vendors make lever clamps that are adjustable, others are more rigid in the kinds of plates they'll work well with. Some have better safety features than others. Acratech, Kirk, Markins, RRS and others all make quality clamps that are reliable. It's best to do your own due diligence to discover what you prefer.

For those still interested I went with the Pro Gold II Easy QR ballhead from Photoclam with a RRS 7D plate. Can't wait to try these out on the Benro C2680T. The size of this entire setup really has me excited as my current setup is a bit long for travel and hiking (25.6"). So we're talking a pretty drastic change in height here of at least 7" or so when all assembled.

Hopefully everything lives up to my expectations. I don't think I'll be disappointed that I didn't go Gitzo. Thanks everyone for all your help!

Sdiver2489 wrote in post #11998849
For those still interested I went with the Pro Gold II Easy QR ballhead from Photoclam with a RRS 7D plate. Can't wait to try these out on the Benro C2680T. The size of this entire setup really has me excited as my current setup is a bit long for travel and hiking (25.6"). So we're talking a pretty drastic change in height here of at least 7" or so when all assembled.

Hopefully everything lives up to my expectations. I don't think I'll be disappointed that I didn't go Gitzo. Thanks everyone for all your help!

nice congrats Sdiver did you pick the pro-gold from kerry?
I'm still waiting for the new pro-34, kerry said i'll have it by monday!

one question though - will the benro legs close properly with the pro gold attached since it has a 54mm panning base?

itsmejson wrote in post #11999064
nice congrats Sdiver did you pick the pro-gold from kerry?
I'm still waiting for the new pro-34, kerry said i'll have it by monday!

one question though - will the benro legs close properly with the pro gold attached since it has a 54mm panning base?

Yeah Kerry recommended that size for the setup I have. So you went for a new model in the pro gold line that has a 34mm ball?

I don't know if the legs will close properly...I assume so but I guess there is really no guarantee. I won't mind if they splay outward a little bit provided they still fit in the bag. With 6mm of difference from the smallest ballhead I wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference. In fact the bundled ballhead from benro in their kit has a 56mm panning base. That's fairly comforting.

Sdiver2489 wrote in post #11999318
Yeah Kerry recommended that size for the setup I have. So you went for a new model in the pro gold line that has a 34mm ball?

I don't know if the legs will close properly...I assume so but I guess there is really no guarantee. I won't mind if they splay outward a little bit provided they still fit in the bag. With 6mm of difference from the smallest ballhead I wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference. In fact the bundled ballhead from benro in their kit has a 56mm panning base. That's fairly comforting.

nice, so far i'm very pleased with kerry's communication.
no the pro-34 is a mix between the pc & gold series.

I was originally going to pick up a pc-33ns because of the panning base was 50mm, which is right for my 1541t. but then kerry emailed me letting me know photoclam came out with the 34ns which also has a 50mm panning base - so i went with that instead. here's a link w/ pictures

well that's good then, for me have the legs not fold over all the way would definitely bother me haha.

when you get your setup definitely take some pics and do a little mini review

Kerry gets an A+ for communication from me. Very easy to work with and provided me some really good information. He provided the facts and didn't unfavorably bias what he said to only the products he sells. In fact, that's why I got the RRS plate, because photoclam doesn't make a matching plate for the 7D.

I'll certainly do a mini-review of the tripod setup when I get everything. I'll even compare it to my "awesome" Dolica which was nicely abused in the salt water of Hawaii. It's now a carbon fiber and rust tripod . Actually it still works rather well..it'll make a nice beater tripod should I ever get the urge to go swimming with my camera again.

horusbennu c-1540t .... It's as good as the Gitzo. Seriously.

A ballhead with a 54mm base should be tolerable. Sounds like a terrific rig!

Why so much love for the Benro c268 vs the 258?

Maybe because the C2680T is a traveler that folds down to 450mm, whereas the C2580T is more of a regular Gitzo Mountaineer type of tripod that folds to a much larger 525mm?

Just got everything today and thought I would give a little update. My camera is actually with Canon right now so unfortunately I can't test it that much but here's some initial impressions:

1. The Benro is a very nice and well built tripod. In its case it looks like its about 7" shorter than my previous tripod.

2. You can tell you got a quality product from photoclam. The pro gold came in a very nice case and in a pouch inside that. I can't put my camera on it yet but i am impressed with how hard it can clamp.

3. This was brought up before. The pro gold is a little bigger than I thought it would be. Does it fit on the tripod folded up? Mostly. It folds back on itself just fine but the legs are slight splayed out when fully closed. It is interfering with the panning base of the ball head. The thicker legs on the Benro cause this(it hits on one of the larger twist clamps) and its possible that Gitzo would not have this issue. However, since it goes into its case fairly easily(and this is with the camera plate attached), I really don't have an issue with it. You probably wouldn't even notice it wasn't fully closed if it were hanging from a backpack.

Overall, everything seems very nice. Definitely worth the significant savings from the Gitzo. Not sure how the Markins Q3t and the pro gold II compare.

Which clamp did you get with the Pro Gold II? If you got the lever clamp, how do you like the operation?

MGW172 wrote in post #12041108
Which clamp did you get with the Pro Gold II? If you got the lever clamp, how do you like the operation?

I got the lever clamp. It works wonderfully. Not too hard to close, not too easy. I have no complaints about the lever.

Thanks. I just got the GT1541t, although I almost ordered the Benro based on this thread, and now I need a ballhead for it.

Sdiver2489 wrote in post #12039517
The pro gold is a little bigger than I thought it would be. Does it fit on the tripod folded up? Mostly. It folds back on itself just fine but the legs are slight splayed out when fully closed. It is interfering with the panning base of the ball head. The thicker legs on the Benro cause this(it hits on one of the larger twist clamps) and its possible that Gitzo would not have this issue.

Wondering if you stayed with the Photo Clam ballhead after a couple months use? I finally did the write-up on the Benro C2680T and now the 1541T is replaced with the 1542T the Benro is an even better choice. I've used it pretty hard and it's been great.