Not happy with my RRS CF tripod.

[Gerard]

Yeah, it is sort of crazy one needs to do that to an $1,800 tripod. I suspect they may use thin carbon fiber tubes so they have some ringing or vibration going on when extended. Lightweight design compromised stability for a weight savings.

I went to their manufacturing and sales shop several years ago in San Luis Obispo, CA (They moved out of CA last summer to Utah.). I was planning to buy a Gitzo as they were selling those too. They pointed out all the flaws in the Gitzo as well as parts issues so I bought their brand. Didn't think a tripod would cost that much, but they generally work well with their L-plates on whatever camera.

Here's their old shop photo and why they moved: Another manufacturing company leaves SLO: 'Our employees can’t afford to buy a home'

What is SLO?

 

[Mike Wingate]

Place the camera on the tripod, nice and high, focus on set object, take the shot, lower all the legs. Take the shot. Place the camera body on the ground, convrete, rock preferable. Take the shot. Compare and contrast shots. Did the ground move for you?

 

[Mack]

What is SLO?

SLO is the abbreviation for San Luis Obispo. It's used everywhere in that town. They call it SLOw town too. No drive throughs are allowed anywhere, not McDonalds, banks, Starbucks, etc. They basically banned any engine idling at those places for their air quality. It's primarily a college town with Cal Poly and Cuesta College both there. House prices are very high given it's 45K population. Very hilly area too with a lot of bicyclists.

RRS stuff claims their move was due excessive CA regulations, taxes, and not being business friendly. Might be part of it, but the owner is a devoted Mormon so Utah may have some personal calling as to their move.

A photo of mine from their old manufacturing residence in SLO. Lower light-colored nearest portion of the building was their tripod showroom. A lot of their stuff was in glass display cases like jewelry in there. Solar panel covered parking is on the right. Someone made a lot of dough just selling tripods.

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Now if they'd address their ringing tripods, or have a fix.

 

[Mack]

I made one of those slings similar to the Vanguard one above. Attached it to the upper leg tightening collar via Velcro straps. It failed my finger-thump test even loaded with weights. I had hopes it would prevail, but no.

There was a slight improvement, but the wrist-weight added on each leg does a far better dampening job. I suspect the sling fails as it only stops maybe one direction of the vibes and not 90 degrees to the sides whereas the wrist-weight dampens the 360 degrees around the leg.

Putting my ear to the ball head I can hear the CF tubes ringing with the sling or without. Adding the wrist-weight is a distinct thump like striking a hardwood door verses a hollow core door. Very distinct sound with and without the wrist-weight.

 

[masayoshi]

How about wrapping with camo leg covers all the way?

 

[ralf-11]

some of the posters on this thread have very serious cases of tripodus nervosa

---> take 2 IBIS, and call me in the morning

 

[ToxicTabasco]

I've had many tripods over the years. And all had their pros and cons. And each camera system required a different approach to getting the optimal performance out of each tripod. Does take some time to figure out. In some shooting conditions, no matter how good the tripod is, there will be vibrations from the wind. IBIS can work in some conditions, and may not work well in others while on a tripod. Finding and knowing the limitations of gear in shooting conditions is the key to know what you can get away with. Sometimes, a higher ISO and faster shutter is needed even on a tripod.

 

[nwphil]

Tripod RRS TVC33s(mk1) with TA-3 leveling base and RRS B2-40-LR; Marquins ballhead Q-20 with RRS B2-AS-II-1/4-20 plate and TH-DVTL-40 round dovetail plate
Olympus EM-1mk2 with Olympus 600mm f4 pro
mounted on lens ring; tripod on concrete floor (garage), legs fully extended, rubber fett, and all locks and knobs double-checked and tightened
- distance to target....+/- 15 feet
focus manually with peaking on bolt head
So, not a scientific setup (LOL) - was just a quick session last night
was a bit dark a quite cold (below 26F), so did not fuss much - should have tried with lower iso, but ...oh well
F/8 1/10sec iso 6400 center weighted (pics might display the exiff as they are SOOC)
lens ibis was on...and I believe camera was set on ibis 2...

pic 37 thru 40
- no anti-shock
- with anti shock
- 2 seconds delay with anti shock
- 7 seconds delay with anti shock

pic 41 random

pic 42 thru 45
same as first 4 pics but taping one leg at same time as pressing shutter

- I can see the vibrations on 42 and 43, but to my eyes 44 and 45 seem to be ok
maybe there is indeed some issue with Mack's tripod or it's the setup?

 

[Mike Wingate]

Strange how the file sizes vary.

 

[nwphil]

indeed...
37- 9,293kb
38- 9,375kb
39- 9,431kb
40- 9,290kb
and then 9,494; 9,523; 9,304; 9,501 and 9,227 kb's

now, could it be because I uploaded them to google drive and then download to my work's latop?
there is also some mu-43 downsizing it seems
I will have to check later this evening at home if indeed the kb sizing matches

- lighting in the garage it's from two CFL's

 

[Clint]

... House prices are very high given it's 45K population. ...
RRS stuff claims their move was due excessive CA regulations, taxes, and not being business friendly. Might be part of it, but the owner is a devoted Mormon so Utah may have some personal calling as to their move. ...

The remark about their religions belief is uncalled for!
Your statement "RRS stuff claims their move was due excessive CA regulations, taxes, and not being business friendly." is simply absurd.

Now if they'd address their ringing tripods, or have a fix.

And yet you have not mentioned any step to trouble shoot the problem nor about calling or email RRS.

Bryan and then Joe have run one of the best and most customer friendly business in the US, and have beat the odds by keeping manufacturing in the US. And they have supported the 4/3s and m4/3s owners where most other companies don't even consider products for us.

Such companies do not deserve such a disservice as your ill-founded remark.

 

[Mack]

The remark about their religions belief is uncalled for!
Your statement "RRS stuff claims their move was due excessive CA regulations, taxes, and not being business friendly." is simply absurd.

And yet you have not mentioned any step to trouble shoot the problem nor about calling or email RRS.

Bryan and then Joe have run one of the best and most customer friendly business in the US, and have beat the odds by keeping manufacturing in the US. And they have supported the 4/3s and m4/3s owners where most other companies don't even consider products for us.

Such companies do not deserve such a disservice as your ill-founded remark.

Clint, read post #19. It is the SLO newspaper's interview with Joe Johnson about the reasons for his move to Utah as CA is unfriendly to business in general. The video above mentions a portion of the article's comments by Joe at around 40 seconds. If you had a business in CA you'd know the number of agencies involved who inspect, fine, require permits, pay more fees, taxes, etc. It's not a secret. I deal with it all the time with high-priced film permits and Acord paperwork alone. It's not a wonder Hollywood has gone to Victoria, Canada and Georgia. Permits can take months here and the state has so many state agencies who get into the permit part with their hands out.

As to his religion, I know several Mormons who would love to move to Utah out of CA. One has a garage in his family for over 50 years and is really fed up with inspections and regulations and may move there too. It's not a shot directed at their religion as I don't really care, but just a fact that many would like to be near their temple and home state.

And yes, I have had issue with their products in the recent past and have contacted them a month ago with a couple of emails from their new Utah headquarters. Turn around time is awful (weeks) for something minor so I fixed it myself. Plus, they've upgraded one part as I have two of them and can see the changes in the newer one. Fixing the old one would require me to buy another new one (i.e. Their clamp.). I believe they are also upgrading all their tripods to the Mark II series soon too which also has some rubber in the leg sections primarily for dirt. Don't know if they've made changes to the CF walls or anything else.

In my opinion the tripod is just prone to ringing and vibration given its weight. The fix is to add more mass to quench it, and they have nothing to fix that in their catalog. The joints flex as one animations designer pointed out today as well as the flex of the tubes when extended. The wall thickness is thin. Put some lead pipe in place of the CF tube and it likely would not ring or vibrate at all. I wish they produced just a two-section leg rather than three as the three-sections aren't that stable for me. I wouldn't buy a four-section leg ever. The wooden ones usually only have one extension or two sections which might be a reason for their stability too. One guy mention to pull the lower two legs out and shove a poplar dowel into the upper leg section and see if it stabilizes it better and reduces ringing and vibration. There is a protrusion on that upper leg clamp that keeps the legs from turning which poses a problem though.

RRS is planning to come out with a more stable tripod similar to most video tripods: http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/TMC Designed to reduce torsion twist as with the current line as well as leg spreaders. Some fluid heads too were shown at NAB in their booth in Las Vegas. Prices will likely be along the lines of the Sachtel and Cartoni tripods (~$4K+).

 

[Mike Wingate]

I bought a 3 section MT055CXPRO3 Carbon Fiber Tripod to reduce flex and have stiffer tubes, plus the spike pack.

 

[Mack]

This seems to be the best so far for dampening the CF leg vibration I have. Three 10" long sandbags with four 2.5" tubes as part of the piece and two 14" long Velcro straps to secure it above and below the upper leg joint. Each one of the three bags holds a little more than a quart of sand. Tap on them now and you get a solid thump and not the ringing.

I tried to locate some lead shot from local gun stores for more mass, but seems CA has banned it. No steel shot in any of them either so sand had to do.

The sling underneath was another attempt but it failed for side-to-side torsional vibes. Now I know why the video tripods have six upper attachment points, two for each of the three legs. I might make another (larger) one as it does seem to be a good idea to hold sundry stuff.

Camouflage print design is just for the birds.

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[Mike Wingate]

The tripod legs do not look spread out enough.

 

[Mack]

The tripod legs do not look spread out enough.

That's because the sling thing was meant to be on the upper leg locks before the sandbag attack. Positioned up there, they were fully out. That's why I mentioned I may make a larger one and might put it lower to hold sundry stuff like meters or lenses.

 

[Mike Wingate]

Extend the straps.

 

[ralf-11]

The remark about their religious beliefs is completely apropos. Some will seek to buy from like-minded people; others will eschew buying from someone who is intolerant.

The same holds true for buying from companies that advertise "Made in the USA"; who recycle; etc. etc.


Either way it is completely appropriate, whether you personally like it or not.