Not going to trust Benros for a long time to come...

Headshotzx wrote in post #10597949
I was looking for tripods, so I made sure I tested everything. They were tightened till I had trouble loosening them without getting more grip from a handkerchief wrapped around the legs, and yet one leg still decided to go down as I applied pressure at the top of the head. Tried on a Benro Travel Angel CF 2 series and on a normal CF tripod.

Went over to another store after that and got myself a Manfrotto 190CX3...

that's wierd. these were the newest and current models, right? not NOS (new old stock)?

i don't think that either side of the gitzo/benro rumor will ever be put to rest unless benro comes out and shows the blueprints that gitzo handed them. the rumor definitely doesn't hurt benro. if i was gitzo, there'd be no way i'd let people think they could buy my design in a cheaper form from china. even if it was true. so either way, i think they'd refute it.

mhazlett wrote in post #10598031
Sorry Headshotzx! I apologize for using your thread to argue it out with a fellow POTNer. Don't worry it won't happen again!

It's okay (:

klr.b wrote in post #10598317
that's wierd. these were the newest and current models, right? not NOS (new old stock)?

i don't think that either side of the gitzo/benro rumor will ever be put to rest unless benro comes out and shows the blueprints that gitzo handed them. the rumor definitely doesn't hurt benro. if i was gitzo, there'd be no way i'd let people think they could buy my design in a cheaper form from china. even if it was true. so either way, i think they'd refute it.

Indeed they were current models. The ones with their version of "G lock".

Of the knockoffs, it seems that Benro has had the biggest and ongoing issues with consistent quality control. Because it's hard to evaluate the performance of a tripod, that would lead me to look at other alternatives. Of the knockoffs, I'd be looking at Feisol first. The choice of Manfrotto is good, another company with consistent high quality.

J.

Dunno, my Benro A-269 has functioned flawlessly thus far even with weights of a 7D and a 70-200 + 580EXII <knocks on wood>. Sorry that happened to you Headshotzx. I will say that I saw that happen once at a Benro store demo and made me think twice (until I sampled a Gitzo and saw the same thing). But I always press down after extending the legs fully and tighten the locks to its fullest. I think that's where many get into trouble. If anyone truly believes in the 1/4 turn claim and the rapid deployment, I think you may find yourself in a similar situation. Tighten, test and retighten and test, if necc.

I realize that in some cases, you just don't have that time to pressure test before you set it down or you may have bought it under the guise of a 5-6 sec deployment (which btw, I have never seen under real conditions even with a Gitzo). Nothing to say about that. I find that at the times when I've seen it happen to people, it's usually on the smallest section of a 5 section unit. I haven't seen it on a 4-section yet, but maybe that's just the limit of my personal experience.

He's describing a different scenario - the locks are carefully tightened and when pushed on, they slip. That is an issue of a product defect and not user error.

J.

I still can't understand what caused the issue, but my Benro and Induro pods have been flawless and solid.

JJD.Photography wrote in post #10589534
I have a Benro c/f tripod and have noticed one section will retract every now and then. I am going to mark the section that collapses next time.

The FIRST time my tripod has a leg retract on its own WILL be the last. I'll run it thru my band saw and mail it back to the manufacturer in pieces.

JohnJ80 wrote in post #10600164
He's describing a different scenario - the locks are carefully tightened and when pushed on, they slip. That is an issue of a product defect and not user error.

J.

+1

I'm a new Gitzo owner, but I have already gotten used to the twist locks (former 190XPRO owner) and how much easier and compact it is to collapse/set up the tripod. I do tend to double check the locks by pushing some weight on the base before letting go (I have OCD on re-checking things though)

Sorry to hear about your mishap OP. I had read reports like these from quite a few sources on Benro, hence why I was happy to outlay more cash on a more proven product in Gitzo. I'm not advocating that it has a 100% failure rate, but when you rely on a company (Benro) that closely resembles imitation competitor products for the sake of "value for money" you surely tend to have doubts no?

I can see that there are plenty of happy Benro users though, so please don't take my post as an offence.