Tripods Alloy VS Carbon Fiber

peter_n wrote in post #14357231
They're a bit expensive at $600 though I think, but then that price includes advertising & distribution costs in the US. When you source from China you eliminate those costs.

Induro price from B&H, Adorama, Amazon:
Induro CT213 CF legs ($387) + Induro BHD2 ball head ($180) = $567

Benro price from dc-stuffs on Ebay:
Benro C2570T CF legs ($345) + Benro B2 ball head ($128) = $473

If purchased separately, I would have no problem paying the extra $90 for the Induro gear to get modern styling and to deal with someone in the US should problems arise.

On the other hand, the same Ebay seller, dc-stuffs, also offers this combination in a kit (Benro C2570TB2) for $380. That's a huge $187 difference!

Yes the kit is a deal, no question. FWIW, I have bought Benro gear from dc and he's excellent. My Benro travel tripod arrived from him the day after he shipped it!

Sounds like you have this figured out - enjoy! However, (bear in mind this is only from about 30 minutes experience playing around in B&H) I think your money might be better spent on a different ballhead. Have you considered Photoclam or Markins ballheads? The cost of a good Photoclam is less than 25% more than the Induro ballhead mentioned above.

Markins ball heads are a little more than I'm looking to spend. I just started looking at Photo Clam a few days ago. The PC-36NS looks comparable to the Induro BHD2 for around the same price.

Mark B,

My Markins M10 has been worth every penny. I'd got so used to having to re align the shot when the camera moved every time I locked the head down, it felt wrong when the M10 did not budge.

Mark-B wrote in post #14354846
I can't imagine the extent of vibrations it would require to have a blurry image because you used an aluminum tripod instead of a carbon fiber one. Perhaps an earthquake?

Try using something longer than 28mm. When you've got 400mm on your tripod then you'll notice the difference.

Mark-B wrote in post #14357712
Markins ball heads are a little more than I'm looking to spend. I just started looking at Photo Clam a few days ago. The PC-36NS looks comparable to the Induro BHD2 for around the same price.

Most of the things I bought here were took much than I wanted to spend also One more defense of the markins - I have the Q3T and was amazed at how rock solid the head is with a 5D2, 2X III extendder, 70-200 - you can honestly put it an any angle and she holds strong.

peter_n wrote in post #14356351
Mark, you know Induro is manufactured by Benro, right? They badge engineer for the US market.

I asked about this today on the @MACgroup Twitter account. I specifically wanted to know why Benro products can be purchased from Chinese sellers at low prices on Ebay and Induro products can not. Whoever speaks for that account said Benro and Induro are separate companies, Benro does not manufacture Induro, and the only thing the two brands have in common is that they are both distributed by the MAC Group in the US.

I then posted to the @InduroTripods account and asked if they were manufactured or designed in the US and have not yet received a response.