RRS Tripod

[MarkBarbieri]

I was looking through their catalog this morning and I saw that Really Right Stuff is selling their own line of tripods. The first model, TVC-33 Versa Tripod, is out. Like everything else they sell, it looks really really good and really really expensive.

It appears to be a competitor to the Gitzo 3xxx and 5xxx series tripods. It looks like they wanted to capture all of the good features of the Gitzo, address its problems (feet that twist off too easily, base plates that unscrew too easily), and upgrade a few aspects of the design (machined aluminum instead of cast magnesium, wider but thinner tubes, ratcheting angle stops, a much better weight hook, and offset leg joints).

It's a bit short (58" max height), but so am I, so that's not a killer for me. The only place where it would be issue is shooting on slopes.

I was in the market for a 5xxx series Gitzo this spring, so I'll be keeping an eye on reviews.

 

[boBQuincy]

If you are looking through the RRS catalog you must have been *really* good this year!
Everything I have bought from them has been really good, really right, and as you mentioned, really $$$. I feel it has all been a good value as it all works as expected.

I would expect their tripod to be the same. My plan has been to replace the cast pieces on my tripod with machined pieces some day but it is nice to see that RRS is offering that now!

 

[AndrewWG]

Ok, I gotta ask. Are RRS items really worth the money spent on them? This stuff is EXPENSIVE! Can they truly justify the prices they charge on them? I mean, in what way do I NEED RRS items?

I can buy a Saturn or a BMW but I get to work just the same no matter what I drive.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Ok, I gotta ask. Are RRS items really worth the money spent on them? This stuff is EXPENSIVE! Can they truly justify the prices they charge on them? I mean, in what way do I NEED RRS items?

I can buy a Saturn or a BMW but I get to work just the same no matter what I drive.

Value questions are always subjective. Is a DSLR worth the extra money compared with a P&S? It is to me, but it is not to someone that rarely takes pictures, shoots in auto mode, and is struggling financially.

For some RRS items, there are no significantly cheaper alternatives. I've comparison shopped for L-brackets and there aren't any cheaper options at any quality level.

I tried an inexpensive eBay panorama kit and found it so flexible as to be useless. I swear that I could handhold me camera better. The RRS rail that I bought is rock solid even with my 70-200mm f/2.8 lens on it.

So do you need a $925 tripod? No. No one even needs a tripod. Does it offer advantages over a $200 tripod. Yes. Are those advantages worth $725? It depends on the person. For me, I think that the answer is yes. For most people, the answer is no.

 

[boBQuincy]

Ok, I gotta ask. Are RRS items really worth the money spent on them? This stuff is EXPENSIVE! Can they truly justify the prices they charge on them? I mean, in what way do I NEED RRS items?

I can buy a Saturn or a BMW but I get to work just the same no matter what I drive.

It depends. I have a Velbon tripod which came with a Velbon head. The quick release is not worthy of using with a SLR, in portrait mode it has a hard time keeping the camera from rotating down. I replaced the head with the smallest RRS head and use their QR system, it is a *great* improvement! The inexpensive tripod now works properly although with the RRS ballhead it is not cheap anymore.

I drive a Pontiac minivan and get to work ok (if not in style) but the cheap panheads, ballheads, and QR just don't work (for me).

 

[disneyboy2003]

Ok, I gotta ask. Are RRS items really worth the money spent on them? This stuff is EXPENSIVE! Can they truly justify the prices they charge on them? I mean, in what way do I NEED RRS items?

I can buy a Saturn or a BMW but I get to work just the same no matter what I drive.

I went through the same thoughts myself a couple years ago. I had bought a cheap $30 (or $60?) aluminum tripod, thinking "a tripod's a tripod" and knowing nothing about what I was supposed to look for in a tripod.

When I started using it, I really hated it! It was sooooo hard to position & re-position my camera on the tripod. There were too many knobs to turn. First, adjust the camera on the x-axis, then adjust the camera on the y-axis, then adjust the camera on the z-axis, etc. Ugh! Plus, the cheap tripod really wasn't that stable, so it was pretty flimsy. So my tripod sat in the closet, and I was essentially tripod-less for a couple years.

Then one day, I decided to start reading about tripods. Several times, I read that it's actually *cheaper* to buy the right tripod early on. So if you were drooling over the Gitzo + RRS head combo, it's better & cheaper to do so.

The alternative would be to start your purchase with a cheap tripod (like I did). After a few months, you realize the cheap tripod is no good. So you come to the realization that you need a sturdier tripod, so you up your budget to a somewhat better, moderately-priced tripod. After several months, you still realize that this 2nd tripod isn't cuttin' it for you. So you finally come to the realization that you should spend the extra $$$ for a nice sturdy tripod & ball head--the one you should have bought earlier in the beginning.

It was initially a little painful and took a lot of convincing (look, honey, I can take better pictures of us! ), but in the end it was totally worth it!

I really liked RRS (Really Right Stuff) for their highly-highly-highly-recommended ball heads. Those ball heads are super-well built and very easy to use. I can re-adjust the camera on my tripod very easily with their ball heads, and I don't have to worry about the ball head accidentally slipping, falling, letting go of my camera, and breaking my camera (unless it was user error)! You can really see the quality in their ball heads (I'm no ball head expert, but even I was impressed at the quality of the ball head). Of course, if you buy into the RRS ball heads, you'll have to buy into all their quick-release camera body plates.

Hope that helps. Start saving up now!

 

[AndrewWG]

Ok, so they are worth it then. Personally, I can't even think of affording most of the stuff that they offer, but knowing that it is most likely worth it, gives me some good ideas should I ever get the money to afford the products. Thanks for the input on these.

 

[Gdad]

That looks very very nice. Just not sure I will ever be able to wrap my brain around the idea of spending a grand on a tripod. Spending that much on a 25 year old 35mm camera that can't even shoot in aperture priority- that I could see- so yeah- maybe it makes perfect sense.