Mini-review: Benro C128, KB-1 - Now with pics!
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:14 pmWell, I've had a few days to play with the new tripod and ballhead, here are some thoughts:
<b>Benro C128</b>
I went for the Carbon fibre C128 for a few reasons:
It's a 4-section tripod, which means it packs up a bit smaller than the tripod with 3 sections (the 127). This does mean a little more fiddling though, as you need to tighten/loosen 3 things per leg as opposed to 2.
The CF version is a tad lighter than the Al version, which was a big factor for me, as I wanted to carry it around on bushwalks. Costs a bit more though, unfortunately
The 1-series is one of the lighter Benros, but I am finding it to be quite adequate for my needs. It won't stand stock-still in the midst of a gale, but otherwise it seems to be quite solid. The Benro tripods all come with a hook at the bottom of the centre column which you can use to hang some extra weight to add to the stability.
The height fully extended is more than adequate for my needs (I am 5' 10", or about 178cm tall) once you add the ballhead and camera on top of the tripod.
The legs can be locked in one of 3 angle positions (independently), so you can decide if you want extension or stability.
The centre column slides up and down smoothly and is tightened with a twist-collar. It does not rotate, unfortunately even when locked, there is a tiny bit of play in the rotation, if that makes sense.
The leg sections are locked in place by twisty things. I'm still not quite sure whether I prefer them to clips or not. An annoying problem is that the leg sections rotate when not locked, so you have to be careful to hold onto the appropriate sections when trying to lock/unlock the twist locks.
<b>Benro KB-1 Ballhead</b>
Again, I went for one of the lighter ballheads (I understand that the KB-0 is the only KB series ballhead that is smaller) for size/weight reasons.
The KB-1 screws onto the top of the tripod nicely, although the rotation problem mentioned above makes it shift a tad when you go to rotate it using the panning on the ballhead.
There are 3 main control knobs on the ballhead. The first locks the panning (there are degree markings, which is handy for doing panos). The second locks the ball. When locked, it holds the position pretty well from what I can tell. The third knob controls the "looseness" of the ball - going from completely frictionless to decently stiff. I had my heaviest camera/lens combo mounted (Nikon D70s + Tokina 12-24 + Lens Hood + RRS L-Plate, about 1.3 kg worth), and it didn't seem to have any issues at any angles. I don't have any heavy lenses like the 70-200VR or 80-400VR, so didn't test with that amount of weight.
The ball will flop over horizontally to put the camera in a portrait orientation, but I personally prefer using an L-Plate so you can rotate the ballhead around the axis of the lens, plus it is more stable.
The panning base is smooth, but a little goopy and stiff - some on this forum have had success with taking it apart and regreasing it for better performance.
The Arca-Swiss connection is a snap to use, whether it is with the included quick-release plate, or an L-Plate. A single knob tightens and loosens, and it feels extremely solid - I would be confident using the AS system no matter what angle the camera is mounted on. You do have to remove a button that controls a retaining thingie that stops the standard QRP from sliding off the head, if you want to use an L-Plate, but that is easily done.
So in conclusion, the Benro tripods and heads are brilliant for the money. A couple of niggling annoyances, but overall very good. Just some thoughts for people considering the Benro range I'll update this post on the weekend with photos if I get time and could be bothered
<b>Benro C128</b>
I went for the Carbon fibre C128 for a few reasons:
It's a 4-section tripod, which means it packs up a bit smaller than the tripod with 3 sections (the 127). This does mean a little more fiddling though, as you need to tighten/loosen 3 things per leg as opposed to 2.
The CF version is a tad lighter than the Al version, which was a big factor for me, as I wanted to carry it around on bushwalks. Costs a bit more though, unfortunately
The 1-series is one of the lighter Benros, but I am finding it to be quite adequate for my needs. It won't stand stock-still in the midst of a gale, but otherwise it seems to be quite solid. The Benro tripods all come with a hook at the bottom of the centre column which you can use to hang some extra weight to add to the stability.
The height fully extended is more than adequate for my needs (I am 5' 10", or about 178cm tall) once you add the ballhead and camera on top of the tripod.
The legs can be locked in one of 3 angle positions (independently), so you can decide if you want extension or stability.
The centre column slides up and down smoothly and is tightened with a twist-collar. It does not rotate, unfortunately even when locked, there is a tiny bit of play in the rotation, if that makes sense.
The leg sections are locked in place by twisty things. I'm still not quite sure whether I prefer them to clips or not. An annoying problem is that the leg sections rotate when not locked, so you have to be careful to hold onto the appropriate sections when trying to lock/unlock the twist locks.
<b>Benro KB-1 Ballhead</b>
Again, I went for one of the lighter ballheads (I understand that the KB-0 is the only KB series ballhead that is smaller) for size/weight reasons.
The KB-1 screws onto the top of the tripod nicely, although the rotation problem mentioned above makes it shift a tad when you go to rotate it using the panning on the ballhead.
There are 3 main control knobs on the ballhead. The first locks the panning (there are degree markings, which is handy for doing panos). The second locks the ball. When locked, it holds the position pretty well from what I can tell. The third knob controls the "looseness" of the ball - going from completely frictionless to decently stiff. I had my heaviest camera/lens combo mounted (Nikon D70s + Tokina 12-24 + Lens Hood + RRS L-Plate, about 1.3 kg worth), and it didn't seem to have any issues at any angles. I don't have any heavy lenses like the 70-200VR or 80-400VR, so didn't test with that amount of weight.
The ball will flop over horizontally to put the camera in a portrait orientation, but I personally prefer using an L-Plate so you can rotate the ballhead around the axis of the lens, plus it is more stable.
The panning base is smooth, but a little goopy and stiff - some on this forum have had success with taking it apart and regreasing it for better performance.
The Arca-Swiss connection is a snap to use, whether it is with the included quick-release plate, or an L-Plate. A single knob tightens and loosens, and it feels extremely solid - I would be confident using the AS system no matter what angle the camera is mounted on. You do have to remove a button that controls a retaining thingie that stops the standard QRP from sliding off the head, if you want to use an L-Plate, but that is easily done.
So in conclusion, the Benro tripods and heads are brilliant for the money. A couple of niggling annoyances, but overall very good. Just some thoughts for people considering the Benro range
I'll update this post on the weekend with photos if I get time and could be bothered 
As to how appropriate it is... Birddog reckons that the most suitable ballhead for the 2 series legs is the 