Feisol CF 3402n tripod + CB-50H ball head review (imgs)

Feisol Carbon Fiber 3402n Tripod Review
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I recently purchased a feisol 3402N 4 section CF tripod. There are very
few detailed feisol reviews though the general reaction from people have
mostly been very positive. I found a review of the 3401 feisol, the larger
sibling to the 3402n. I however, wanted a tripod that could fold smaller
and was stable and bought the feisol 3402n. I also bought the Feisol CB-50H
ball head with pan control.

Purchase Details
===============
I bought it directly from the website - shipped from taiwan. Very fast
service - I had my stuff in a week, via USPS. However, when I read that
they scan the tracking label and email it to you - I received no such thing.
Infact, when I emailed them inbetween asking for status, I did not hear back.
So, my experience differs from what I read. Do note however, that the shipment
was received in perfect condition and fast.
Cost:
3402N - $165
CB-50H ballhead - $179
QP144750 QR plate - $29
Center column - $44
Shipping - $37
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TOTAL $454

They have a US distributor at http://www.thresholdco​ncepts.com/ if you
want to speak with people before buying. Buying the same package
from them will cost you $474 (their item cost is more, but
the tripod includes the center column and shipping is free).

PART I - 3402N TRIPOD REVIEW
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The carrying bag:
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The feisol case is large enough to fit the folded tripod with ball head
mounted as well as my Bogen 676B monopod. It carries well on my body.
http://www.pbase.com/a​rjunrc/image/54653026

thanks for the detailed review, excellent information.
The tripod sounds very good, straight forward design at a bargin price.
From your locking instructions it sounds as if the leg sections rotate freely within one another, necessitating your unlock/lock proceedure of bottom up/top down?
The extra downward extending center column is unusual, and adds a small extra weight for a questionable operational advanatage. If the column is in its normal upright position can this center column extension be used to gain extra height at the expense of stability? Can it be flipped over to extend further upwards?

The Ball head seems to have a few more issues that concern me: The similarity of the 3 knob shapes/sizes makes turning the wrong knob while looking through the viewfinder a potential risk. I presume it will hold weight well, as their web site link you gave for the ballhead specs attempts to demonstrate. However, the unconventional clamp is a concern. The locking clamp screw is not captive and can come off? I consider that a serious design issue as you will sooner or later lose some parts. The locking off center pins in the clamp will only work as designed with their plates, somewhat negating the atractiveness of Arca Swiss style plates. They may actually hang up on some of the Arca Swiss L brackets which are usually open underneath. Other A-S clamp/plate manufactures have gone to a system initiated by Wimberley of using limiting stops on the plate bottoms and channels on the clamps. The Kirk website shows this adjustment/safety feature well and this is particularily useful on lens plates where the lens foot is moved to center various lens/converter/camera combinations. The other manufactures don't publish their Arca Swiss plate/clamp specs, so Im not sure how incompatible the Friesol design is.
Mike K

Hi Mike,
to answer your queries:

From your locking instructions it sounds as if the leg sections rotate freely within one another, necessitating your unlock/lock proceedure of bottom up/top down?

Arjun> Yes, that is right.

The extra downward extending center column is unusual, and adds a small extra weight for a questionable operational advanatage. If the column is in its normal upright position can this center column extension be used to gain extra height at the expense of stability? Can it be flipped over to extend further upwards?

Arjun> I think I installed it the other way around - you are correct, it can (and should be reversed to add extra height. *grin* I feel stupid.

The Ball head seems to have a few more issues that concern me: The similarity of the 3 knob shapes/sizes makes turning the wrong knob while looking through the viewfinder a potential risk. I presume it will hold weight well, as

Arjun> Actually, the 3 knobs are quite different in size. It would be hard to make a mistake even in complete darkness - one can easily make out the difference between the three.


their web site link you gave for the ballhead specs attempts to demonstrate. However, the unconventional clamp is a concern. The locking clamp screw is not captive and can come off? I consider that a serious design issue as you will

Arjun> I need to correct myself. When you unscrew the clamp, it does not fall off easily. What happens is that one side of the clamp that moves in/out as you loosen/tighten the knob aligns itself to the rest of the clamp resting on two springs. The moving part of the clamp (attached to the knob) is not attached, but simply resting on the springs. So, if you unscrew too much, the clamp attached to the knob goes too far out and goes out of alignment with the rest of the clamp. You then need to re-align it. It is still attached to the clamp, but out of alignment. It is possible, however, to completely unscrew the long knob screw.
regds
arjun

Awesome review! I've been looking for a feisol + ball head review and you just sold me! I don't think they sell the CB-50H anymore, there is a CB-50D, though. Looks similar enough though.

Nice review. One comment: it looks like you have the QR plate mounted on the camera body 90 deg off. The "runners" should normally be parallel to the back of the camera. That makes it a LOT easier to mount the camera. Also, some QR plates are "anti-rotation" (important if you want to use the camera in portrait mode) and have a lip that fits around the camera body.

The QR clamp knob should normally be at the FRONT of the camera, to keep it out of your way. That also means that you're less likely to grab it by mistake. The arrangement of the knobs on the ballhead is unfortunate, as I (and many others) like to have the main locking knob on the left side, so that I don't have to take my right hand off the camera to use it. If you do that with this head, the pan lock knob will be in the front, which is not good. The Markins heads are one of the few that have the knobs the "left-hand" way.

Glad to see that you use the ballhead on the monopod! Too many people sneer at doing that--until they try to tilt the camera down (or up) or follow a moving object (in my case, horses in jumping and dressage). Not using a ballhead (or at least a tilt-head) forces you to put the monopod straight up and down, which is not the most stable position for it--it's better if the foot is slightly in front, so that the monopod leans back, or placed against the inside of one of your feet (placed ahead of the other), which allows for tracking.

That awesome and it's CF for that price!?! Wow. I can't seem to find it anywhere though. I know this is old...way old are they still around?

http://www.feisol.com/​english/feisolen.htm

Yup, found them and they went up. The cheapest CF model way up there!