Feisol and/or Benro fibre tripods and heads??? Any good???

Hello everybody,

I'm looking for some recommendations and experiences on Feisol and Benro carbon fibre tripods.

I want to purchase one or maybe two different ones, but would rather carry a slightly heavier one around, if it will serve my needs.

I'm using mainly a Mamiya 7, sometimes a Pentax 67 and a SpeedGraphic with an Aero Ektar ( heavy combo).

For heads: I own a NPC Prohead, besides some other ones I don't use much, but would rather go for something more sturdy. Does anybody own a Benro KS or KV head? Are you happy with it? What about the Feisol ones?

Anybody using the mentioned tripod brands and what are your experiences. Did you buy directly from the maker? How did it work out for you....?! (I'm located in Europe)

Regards and thanks in advance,

Heinrich

I used a Feisol tripod borrowed from a friend with my 1947 Crown Graphic Special. Very good quality.

I used to use a Benro head on my Manfrotto 190. Replaced it within a week. horrible quality. I can't comment on Benro tripods as I have no experience.

For my Crown Graphic now I use the Manfrotto 190Pro with their 410 Geared Head. It's compact and stable enough. I've also used the same combo with an RB67 Pro-S /w/ 250mm lens.

thanks Brian for the info....!

HeinrichVoelkel said:

Hello everybody,

I'm looking for some recommendations and experiences on Feisol and Benro carbon fibre tripods.

I want to purchase one or maybe two different ones, but would rather carry a slightly heavier one around, if it will serve my needs.

I'm using mainly a Mamiya 7, sometimes a Pentax 67 and a SpeedGraphic with an Aero Ektar ( heavy combo).

For heads: I own a NPC Prohead, besides some other ones I don't use much, but would rather go for something more sturdy. Does anybody own a Benro KS or KV head? Are you happy with it? What about the Feisol ones?

Anybody using the mentioned tripod brands and what are your experiences. Did you buy directly from the maker? How did it work out for you....?! (I'm located in Europe)

Regards and thanks in advance,

Heinrich

Click to expand...

I have a set of Benro C-128 n6 Carbon Fiber (8-Layer) Tripod Legs. They are light weight, well built and work well with my 35mm and 645 cameras.

I also bought a Benro Ball Head and found that both the overall quality and functionality was unacceptable.

I am currently using a Markins Q-Ball (Q3 Emille) head on the Benro C-128 Legs. The Markins head is excellent IMO.

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Hello,

I have a Feisol 1431 coupled with a Markins M10 Ballhead, this setup is enough for My Bronica SQAi with the 180mm lens, or even the Nikon F100/D200+Grip+80-400 Combination.

I have the tripod since May. On the positive side, I can say that this tripod has a very good price/weight relationship, it's stable and I like the fact that you can buy it without the center column and shoot comfortably at ground level.

On the negative side, we have to be extra cautious when extending the tripod completely as the last section of the legs is quite thin and not that that stable. The leg angle is not as wide as the one of my old manfrotto 055, so when using the tripod without extending the 1'st leg section it's on uneven terrain may prove difficult. After 4 months of intense usage, the legs are starting to be more loose, so I'll have to tighten the screws to make them more stiff.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

-Rui

Tom, Rui, thank you both for your comments.