RRS Tripods

ben_r_ wrote in post #12092551
Decent point, however there are two other things to consider along those lines: 1) most who have dealt with Gitzo's customer service and warranty repair have had good experiences (at least that I have read), and 2) Do the RRS tripods come with a lifetime warranty like the Gitzos do?

I thought Gitzo reduced their waranty to 5 years now? My GT1541t I just bought specifically says 5 year warranty but if you register it online, you get a 10 year warranty.

Gitzo GT3530LS is the tripod i am considering

IMO, the TVC-33 is closest to a 5-series Gitzo. The prices are comparable, and by comparable I mean the exact same. The Gitzo is rated at 55lbs, whereas the RRS is just 50. So, for 5 pounds of weight on an extreme end load this is what you get:

The RRS is almost 2 pounds lighter.
The RRS extends to half a foot taller.
The RRS gets almost 2 inches lower.
The RRS has an integrated retention plates the likes of which are an added-cost option on the Gitzo.
The RRS is completely made in America.

IMO, the RRS is superior is nearly all matters that affect tripod performance. And in some cases by a considerable degree.

Now, if RRS can just solve their OEM bag offering I'd have almost no complaints.

PilotBrad wrote in post #12092451
What are you comparing? A Gitzo GT5541LS has a 55-lbs. max load and is about $825 @ B&H, the TVC-33 has a 50-lbs. rating and is $925. All other things being equal, I'll pay the extra $100 to know that I can pick up the phone and call a US manufacturer for support, rather than a US distributor of a foreign product... but that's me.

I do agree that $100 is just about worth the cost of dealing with RRS, they are a great company. But I'm looking at the TVC-24 and comparing it to the Gitzo 3541lS, which is a $250 dollar difference.

Kyles wrote in post #12092882
Gitzo GT3530LS is the tripod i am considering

Then you should be looking at the TVC-23, not the -33. As mentioned above, the -33 is compariable to the 5 series Gitzo.

MGW172 wrote in post #12092878
I thought Gitzo reduced their waranty to 5 years now? My GT1541t I just bought specifically says 5 year warranty buy if you register it online, you get a 10 year warranty.

From Gitzo's site. I don't recall either of my Gitzos saying a thing about lifetime warranties, but truth-be-told when dealing with products of this calibur I'm not worrying about the thing breaking. I leave those concerns to the lesser clones. If a manufacturing defect is present in my copy I'd feel confident I'd root it out in half a decade's time.

OEM bag offering ?

I have a feeling my question is going to embarrass me,

Indecent Exposure wrote in post #12092906
From Gitzo's site. I don't recall either of my Gitzos saying a thing about lifetime warranties, but truth-be-told when dealing with products of this calibur I'm not worrying about the thing breaking. I leave those concerns to the lesser clones. If a manufacturing defect is present in my copy I'd feel confident I'd root it out in half a decade's time.

Sure, I agree. Since we are comparing RRS to Gitzo, I'd say the warranty period for both is very sufficent

Kyles wrote in post #12092908
OEM bag offering ?

I have a feeling my question is going to embarrass me,

Just some nagging issues I have with RRS's TQB-80 quiver bag. Manfrotto's quiver seems superior in most ways, yet costs quite a bit less.

Everyone I talked to who does this shooting thing was using Gitzo tripods and RRS heads, it just happened that way. My own brother sold me his old tripod setup while telling me that I'll probably end up with a Gitzo/RRS. I asked more questions, put it off for six months and then did it. I don't ever expect to by replacing it, I cannot see where I could possibly have a need to do such a thing, it's simple, it works, very, very well.

Indecent Exposure wrote in post #12092955
Just some nagging issues I have with RRS's TQB-80 quiver bag. Manfrotto's quiver seems superior in most ways, yet costs quite a bit less.

i saw a photo of your tripod on another thread, beautiful tripod,

MGW172 wrote in post #12092870
The Gitzo is $660 and the TVC-24 is $910, so about $250 difference...

...I agree with the above comments that the Gitzo 5 series and the TVC-33 are very close in costs and spec, it's the pricing and specs of the TVC-24 I dont see comparing very well to the same specs of the Gitzo.

On this comparison I agree. I've been watching the RRS tripods for a few months and have a list of prices comparing the Gitzos to the RRS pods. A few months ago the Gitzo 3541 was $750, which closed the gap a little bit but recently there are lots of good deals to be had on the Gitzos.

When compared to the TVC-23, the premium paid for the TVC-24 tells me the upcoming TVC-34 will probably be somewhere north of $1,000. Sigh.

PilotBrad wrote in post #12093005
On this comparison I agree. I've been watching the RRS tripods for a few months and have a list of prices comparing the Gitzos to the RRS pods. A few months ago the Gitzo 3541 was $750, which closed the gap a little bit but recently there are lots of good deals to be had on the Gitzos.

When compared to the TVC-23, the TVC-24 seems to carry quite a premium for a 4-section pod, which tells me the upcoming TVC-34 will probably be somewhere north of $1,000 when released.

Yeah, after these recent Gitzo price drops it'll be difficult to compare them based solely on price. We may have passed the point where details like aluminum auto-ratcheting locks versus plastic non-ratcheting locks don't account for the difference. If money is a concern, and it probably should be, jumping on a Gitzo deal seems like a very good choice.

It seems that the carbon fiber RRS uses is causing the cost of their tripods to go up exponentially as leg sections are added. The TVC-34 is going to be second mortgage type money.

Has anyone found anything about the RRS tripods that is inferior to Gitzo quality?

Speaking for myself, I have not. I doubt anyone has.