About to buy a Horrus Bennu carbon fiber tripod...any reason I shouldn't?

Hi guys,

So I've never had a truly good tripod...all I have back in Canada is a $100 generic tripod I picked up for $40 that does the job 95% of the time with a lame pan head on it. Here in Korea I have a tiny travel tripod that does okay...but it's only a foot tall, so that's limiting, plus it has a cheap pan head on it.

Well, today I haggled a photo shop owner down to around $170 for a Horrus Bennu C-2540TM with the LX-3 head. I think the head's rated for 10kg, the legs are rated for 13kg, but the most they'll ever hold is likely around 2kg (5D2 + 16-35L II or 5D2 + Tamron 70-300 VC USD), so I really don't need anything beefier.

The legs fold backward to collapse as small as possible (big deal for me, as I travel a lot) and the thing is suuuper light. I like the twist lock legs vs. the snap ones.

One of the legs detaches to act as a monopod, which is kind of neat!

The head is a ball-head with an Arca-Swiss style plate...I like that...plus, I can always upgrade if I want to.

Finally, it comes with a carry strap for the tripod plus a padded bag, which is a nice touch!

Frankly, for the price, I don't think I could get a better light travel tripod. I don't use tripods much, and I'm not going to put a 1D with a super-telephoto on it, so I don't need/want anything big and beefy...

Am I making the right choice?

Cheerio,
T

I've had a Gitzo 1542T, Benro 2680t, and HorrusBennu c-2540tm.

Build quality of the HorrusBennu was by far the worst of the three. The Gitzo and Benro are nearly neck and neck as far as build quality goes IMO. I liked the slightly larger footprint of the Gitzo, but prefer the thicker leg diameters in each section of the Benro. I ended up keeping the Benro, but have no problem recommending the Gitzo. Can't say the same for the HorrusBennu.

Right...I know you don't like the tripod, but did you ever actually use it?

I get the impression that you unboxed it, didn't like it and moved on...

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1126118

There seem to be plenty of people out there who have used HB and been happy with them...

I took it out twice. It didn't instill much confidence in me, so I ditched it. IIRC, the footprint was even smaller than my Benro's. The rubber grips on the anti-twist locks peeled off after every use. PITA.

I will admit that it never failed on me, but I'd rather not risk getting to that point. I'll shed the extra $$ for the Benro and peace of mind.

v35skyline wrote in post #15045072
I've had a Gitzo 1542T, Benro 2680t, and HorrusBennu c-2540tm.

Build quality of the HorrusBennu was by far the worst of the three. The Gitzo and Benro are nearly neck and neck as far as build quality goes IMO. I liked the slightly larger footprint of the Gitzo, but prefer the thicker leg diameters in each section of the Benro. I ended up keeping the Benro, but have no problem recommending the Gitzo. Can't say the same for the HorrusBennu.

I just ordered Benro C2680 just waiting to be deliver from China. I walways wanted to have Gitzo but cant afford so ordered benro i hop i will be happy and it will hold weight of my D800 + 70-200mm f.2.8

I received My Benro C2680TB. its really very light weight and solid iam so pleased with this tripod so far no regrets.

I'm glad we had this discussion.

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1154722

Armitage wrote in post #15049529
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1154722

I appreciate the link, but that looks like a different tripod (not just the name, I realize that they make multiple tripods with different names), but the head, plate, feet, leg locks, etc all look different...

BTW, I bought the Horus Bennu today (got a discount because he accidentally ordered the red one, so I took the minty-mint black legs he had there, and threw the all-new bag, head, etc in)...I'm taking it to China in a few hours...will let everyone know how it fares

LowriderS10 wrote in post #15049547
I appreciate the link, but that looks like a different tripod (not just the name, I realize that they make multiple tripods with different names), but the head, plate, feet, leg locks, etc all look different...

BTW, I bought the Horus Bennu today (got a discount because he accidentally ordered the red one, so I took the minty-mint black legs he had there, and threw the all-new bag, head, etc in)...I'm taking it to China in a few hours...will let everyone know how it fares

I was just linking a review of a Benro. Also there is discussion about HB in that thread as well.

I just came back from my Beijing trip, where I used the tripod extensively (and had it around my neck for anywhere from 12 to 18 hours a day of walking around)...very happy with my purchase...will do a more in-depth review later.

I've been more than happy with my carbon horusbennu. I don't have the exact model you got but I was still very impressed with it and haven't seen anything better yet in the same price range. I'm sure there are better legs out there but when comparing to gitzo I think it's worth keeping in mind how huge of a price difference there is.

w00t...the tripod never got unpacked from my backpack...after the test run on a 5 day trip to China I'm back in Korea for 2 days to work, and this weekend (tomorrow) I'm off to Japan. Going to a little island, so hoping to get some decent long exposure water shots at night...once I'm back from that trip I'll toss up a review of the thing

Took it to Japan for 2 days. Worked perfectly