Sirui Tripods, anyone use one?

Dear Board,

I have some Christmas money to spend and I want to get a tripod.

Here is want it absolutely has to do:

It has to be tall enough for someone 6' 5"/195 cm tall
It must be capable of supporting a gripped 20D or 1DMK11 when used with a Sigma 150-500 lens, and a lower end gimbal mount like the Opteka or Coral Pix gimbals. I'm talking 9 LBS/4 kg total.
It must come with either replaceable spiked tips for the legs or have the ability to convert the rubber feet to spikes by screwing them out.

Here is what I would like it to do:

The ability to convert to a monopod is a definite advantage, as is a case for storage and transport.

With that list of requirements in mind and a budget of $ 500.00 - $ 600.00 all in which includes a money for a gimbal and a long 140-150 mm arca-swiss plate for the lens foot about the only tripod I can find that meets both the requirements and the "would likes" is the SIRUI M-3004X.

With that in mind I'd like to hear from people that have that particular model tripod. If no one owns it, then I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who can give an overall impression of their satisfaction with SIRUI tripods.

I am not looking for a tripod that will withstand the rigors of day to day use in all manners of conditions anywhere on the globe. I am looking for a tripod that will be adequate for my required conditions and useful for photographing birds and wildlife relatively close to home.

Anything anyone can offer about the tripod I am considering or a suitable alternative will be appreciated.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

I got the CF small SIRUI. I believe it folds down to 12 inched and 1.8 lbs it's my travel/Disney tri-pod. It seems build sturdy, I've had it about going on two years now.

kipliq wrote in post #16555538
I got the CF small SIRUI. I believe it folds down to 12 inched and 1.8 lbs it's my travel/Disney tri-pod. It seems build sturdy, I've had it about going on two years now.

Dear kipliq,

A vote for SIRUI having good quality and a happy customer is well worth knowing.

I'm hoping someone who uses a SIRUI product for heavier gear chimes in before I pull the trigger but my trigger finger is getting mighty itchy!

Regards,

Tim Murphy

http://www.amazon.com …on-Aluminum/dp/B004QC1EN0

That is the one I have and use a http://www.amazon.com …ohs_product?ie=​UTF8&psc=1

on it with a 7D and Sigma 150-500. Very nice and have no problems. Very steady.

Elfstop wrote in post #16555785
http://www.amazon.com …on-Aluminum/dp/B004QC1EN0

That is the one I have and use a http://www.amazon.com …ohs_product?ie=​UTF8&psc=1

on it with a 7D and Sigma 150-500. Very nice and have no problems. Very steady.

Dear Elfstop,

That's exactly the rig I am looking out only I am going to go with either the SIRUI K-30X or K-40X ball head because a certain NYC camera store has a swinging good deal on the package rig.

Care to share what plate you have on your Sigma 150-500 lens foot? I know I need something 140-150mm long.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

I have one of the R series that I use with an 800mm Nikkor mated to a 5D III on a Wimberley head. It's pretty solid and very well made.

jtmiv wrote in post #16555850
Dear Elfstop,

That's exactly the rig I am looking out only I am going to go with either the SIRUI K-30X or K-40X ball head because a certain NYC camera store has a swinging good deal on the package rig.

Care to share what plate you have on your Sigma 150-500 lens foot? I know I need something 140-150mm long.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

It's the one that came with the Sigma...similar to the arca-swiss. I would love to get that K-40x ball head...I think I would like it better than the gimbal.

I have the 3204 CF tripod and the k-20-x ball head . I also have a cheap belke gimbal head (ebay China) . I use a 50D gripped and Sigma 150-500 With no problems . I am 5' 11'' and the fiew finder is just rite with the centre all the way down .The only thing I did was to loctite (removable) the 6 allen bolts on the top of the legs because they seemed to get loose but a friend of mine with a big name brand trypod had to do the same .I'm in Canada so it gets all weather with no efects. Hope this helps.

Vince

ps ;the ball head is on way more than the gimbal head.
Vince

Vince(Chatham) wrote in post #16558173
I have the 3204 CF tripod and the k-20-x ball head . I also have a cheap belke gimbal head (ebay China) . I use a 50D gripped and Sigma 150-500 With no problems . I am 5' 11'' and the fiew finder is just rite with the centre all the way down .The only thing I did was to loctite (removable) the 6 allen bolts on the top of the legs because they seemed to get loose but a friend of mine with a big name brand trypod had to do the same .I'm in Canada so it gets all weather with no efects. Hope this helps.

Vince

Dear Vince,

Thanks for your answer. You are using a similar camera the same lens so it's good to hear from users with practical experience with the gear.

I am going to look at some tripods locally here tomorrow at some camera stores. If I buy I'll report back on what I bought and why.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

For what your looking at doing I'd go with the R line. I picked up a 4203L and have been quite happy with it. The "systematic" style columnless R line will be much more stable than the travel tripod linked earlier. Hear is my post from the thread I started when I bought mine:

Scatterbrained wrote in post #16347317
Picked up a new tripod and decided to try and get some shots of it. A while back I had made up my mind to get a new tripod and narrowed it down to either the Gitzo series 5 or the RRS TVC 34L. Unfortunately that bizarre circumstance we refer to as life decided to interrupt those plans. Part of the tripod budget went elsewhere and I ended up looking for a cheaper alternative.

It had to be tall; strong, light, support a large format camera and geared head, and still fit what remained of my budget. I looked at Feisol, and a few others but kept coming back to this tripod, even though I couldn't find any information on it outside of what was on their website. The only review I found of it was from a guy who bought it and took a picture of it with his camera on it. No real "field testing".

I ended up buying it from NatureScapes on Amazon figuring if it sucked I could send it back. So far I would say it doesn't suck. This thing is pretty stout. With the legs fully extended I can grab the apex/spider and do pull ups from it. Granted it's only rated for 44lbs. . . . . . . . . . . The leg locks feel nice and smooth with a light action (relative to my other tripod) but I wonder a bit about the feet. While they feel great and work quite well, the spikes are built into the feet and are extended and retracted by twisting the feet. I only wonder how well that system will hold up to the sandy mud of the local creek. Beyond that I'm quite happy with it so far.

How will it hold up in the long run? I don't know. Hopefully I'll be able to get through the six year warranty period without actually needing it.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/tltichy/1009501​1686/
Sirui R 4203L Feet by tltichy, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/tltichy/1008152​6855/
Sirui R 4203 L by tltichy, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/tltichy/1009186​0895/
Sirui R 4203 L Full Length by tltichy, on Flickr

For anyone wondering, here is a shot of the tripod, with my aluminum Giottos underneath. Bear in mind I'm about 5'7"....and yes, my head looks amazingly huge. It's all perspective distortion, I swear!:o

IMAGE LINK: http://s103.photobucke​t.com …0968_zps55c6aa6​3.jpg.html

Followed by my Amazon review after using it for a while:

This tripod is an excellent deal for the money. I purchased it specifically to have a tripod that could both handle heavy loads and loads at odd angles. I use it with a large format monorail camera on a geared head and the tripod is rock solid. Even with well over 20lbs hanging sideways from the top of the tripod it doesn't flex a bit. Granted I always have a sandbag hanging from the counterweight hook.

While it's not in the same league as an RRS TVC-34, it's still a very stout, well finished product. Fit and finish are quite good, and the leg locks are smooth with a solid feel that lets you know they've clamped down without feeling like you've got to torque on them. There's an initial "pop" when you release the leg locks that can be disconcerting at first, but you get used to it.

The tripod is rated for 44lbs, and it can certainly handle the weight. I weight 180lbs and the tripod will support my body weight hanging from the spider/apex. That was the first thing I did after opening the tripod; set it up and then pull myself up by the apex.

The leg locks are a lever/button design rather than the pull out/push in types that tend to be so prevalent. While this may initially seem like a great idea, the legs are quite stiff and you will need both hands away from the apex to adjust them. Having to keep one hand at the top of the leg makes adjustments more cumbersome. If the legs weren't so stiff it wouldn't be an issue. Granted you can likely loosen them up a bit, but for the time being I prefer to leave all the hardware torqued to spec.

The counterweight hook, despite looking a bit frail, seems to be holding up admirably. I usually have a 10-15lb sandbag hanging from the hook with no stress or deformation evident. While a solid hook similar to Gitzo would be a nice touch, this one seems to be doing it's job just fine.

My only other complaint is that they didn't see fit to put a foam grip on the third leg. It just feels like an oversight to me and I'd prefer to have the foam on all three legs. Beyond that I'm quite happy with the tripod and wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. Knowing what I know now makes me wish I hadn't hesitated so long before buying it in the first place.

While I haven't mounted up the 600mm to it yet, my monorail camera weighs a good deal more and the weight isn't balanced like a gimbal head yet the tripod has no problems with it.

Thanks for your review. I've been contemplating a change from the aging Bogen/Manfroto 3236 I have. This looks like a nice consideration.