I bought a refurb D500 from Roberts Camera in Indianapolis (refurbed by Nikon) that had 640 shutter activations; looked brand new! Camera has been flawless, and Roberts gives you an extra 90 days warranty added to the Nikon warranty. I bought a refurb D750 from Nikon that had over 12K activations, but the camera still looked brand new. I never had a problem with it, but did send it to Nikon for the shutter recall. They did not reset the shutter count when they replaced it. Been very happy with both cameras!

I love mine! It is my "go to" lens for landscapes and Milky Way photography. I purchased mine refurbished from Nikon, and it looked brand new. I have not had any motor noise issues!

While I would love to have a D850, I decided to go with the D750 and put that extra money into high quality glass, and am glad I did. I'm a believer that a good camera with great lenses is better than the best camera with mediocre glass. You might also consider going with refurbished gear from Nikon. I bought my D750, D500, and several lenses refurbished, and they were all just like new. Get on Nikon's mailing list and they will notify you when they have extra savings on refurb products. I bought my D500 and a lens from Roberts Camera and received an extra three months warranty over what Nikon gives on refurbished products; they are also great folks to do business with. Good luck!

I'm a Benro fan, too! I have one of their travel tripods, two monopods, and three ball heads; the ball head on these tripod pics is a Benro!

Thanks, Richard! That stuff doesn't bother me; I welcome all viewpoints! I know this is a great piece of gear, and will do everything I need it to do!

Thanks! I like the looks of a lot of their products, so I'll probably be purchasing more from them!

Thank you! I also like the fact they are made in the USA; being able to call and talk with owners/designers is a big plus, too!

Thank you, Gene!

Actually, I don't normally use it as seen here; I just mounted that camera/lens to show some scale. I usually use a gimbal or monopod with that camera/lens combo. I just happened to be at a wildlife refuge that day using my monopod so it was easy to slap it on this tripod; my gimbal was on another tripod. The reason I went with this 4 section was that it is tall, and for normal use, I never have to extend the bottom section; the height is there when I need to shoot at high angles without bending over, but I don't see any loss of stability when all legs are extended.

I would too if I already owned a Gitzo, but alas, I don't! Based on today's prices, I think they are competitively priced with the competition!

I had been shopping for a new carbon fiber tripod for a few months, and had a hard time deciding between Gitzo and RRS. I was about to place an order for a Gitzo when I ran across ProMediaGear. I liked what I saw on their website, but was disappointed that I couldn’t find very much in the way of reviews for their tripods. I called their office and talked to Tom, one of the owners of the company; he was very nice and answered all of my questions. After he told me that they had a thirty day return policy and that they even pay for return shipping, I felt I had nothing to lose. Later that day, I ordered a Pro-stix TR344L with a red anodized apex; it comes in black, also. When I received it, I was amazed at the quality of the machine work. The apex and the twist locks are machined aluminum. The apex also has a bubble level and three 1/4-20 accessory ports. On the bottom of the apex is a place to hook the included caribiner to hang a bag or something from it. One design feature I really like is that they use a method where you push out the leg angle lock from behind and push it back in when you have it at the desired angle. This works great with gloves on; I have another tripod that you have to pull the lock out from the front and I cannot grab it with gloves on. They also use 10X layer carbon fiber; I don’t know how much stronger this actually makes it, but everyone else uses only 6 or 8X. I know weight ratings don’t mean much, but this thing is rated at 60lbs., and I think it will hold more than that; it is stout and rock solid. They also include stainless steel spikes that Gitzo and RRS charge extra for. I also like how low to the ground this tripods gets. A friend of mine recently bought a Gitzo series 4 tripod, so I took mine over to his house to compare and make a decision to either keep or return my TR344L. His Gitzo is a nice tripod that has legs that are a little larger in diameter, but mine seems every bit as stable if not more so. I do prefer the machined aluminum over the cast apex that Gitzo uses. I didn’t do any kind of controlled comparisons, but all things considered, I decided to keep the ProMediaGear. I’m sure the others deserve the reputation they have, but I believe ProMediaGear is right up there with the best of them. I have nothing to gain by writing this and have no affiliation with ProMediaGear other than being a very satisfied customer, and I believe these guys deserve consideration when purchasing top quality photo gear. There website is…..http://www.promediagear.com

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I called Nikon today; they said to send it in! At least the warranty is good until next month!

SanDisk Extreme Pro!

Yes I did!

I looked in the slot with a flashlight and magnifying glass and the contacts look good and even. Thanks!