rgrenaderphoto wrote:
I am sorry, but unless you have seen and used RRS products, you have no idea what you are talking about. The quality of construction and engineering are unbelievable. You can trust your $4000 camera and lens to a cheap tripod, I am not about to.
You are absolutely correct. One of my skills is being a machinist. The first time I laid eyes on a
RRS piece back in 1990, I recognized the quality.
There are those whose style of photography has no requirement for this level of gear and yes, there are those out there that are overly frugal.
There is also a much broader selection of available hardware today that will fit most any budget.
RRS filled a niche that the photography world needed. There was no standard in QR plates yet and the Arca-Swiss mount was still in its infancy.
One must look back and remember that 30+ years ago there were very few players in the high quality tripod world.
Yes, prestige may play a part in it but the object was to protect your gear with a solid support.
Here is a shot given to me of my setup shooting an eclipse from the Palos Verdes Lighthouse back in January of 1992.
It is a poor quality, scanned, Instamatic print but it shows my Bogen 3051, then 9 years old. It cost $250 in 1984 and I still have it.
There are 3 camera systems mounted on the 'T" bar. 2 Canon New F1's with motors. One with a 300mm+2X & one on the back of a C5 Celestron.
The third camera, in the rear, is a Pentax 6x7 with a wide angle.
One end of the 'T' bar is secured to the fence railing using a Bogen Magic Arm with a Super Clamp. It is rock solid.