Before you buy a Benro - READ THIS!

[Matt. K]

http://www.tomwebsterphoto.com/Essays/B ... nroks2.htm

[Glen]

Thanks Matt

[Geoff]

Touch wood I haven't had any thing bad happen at all (quite the contrary) with my benro tripod/ballhead.

That said I haven't tested it with such a huge lens/setup as this dude did.

Food for thought though none the less Matt. Thanks.

[losfp]

Wow, that certainly does sound like a lemon.

My Benro KB-1 has problems, but only minor ones - and nothing like this particular specimen!

Having said that, I will stick to my usual statements - good value for the price.

[Laurie]

hmm.

I just bought the Benro C-298 & KB-3 ballhead

i hope i dont have any problems with them, ever!
i thought that if i buy an excellent tripod and ballhead i would never have to buy another one.

I think the Benro tripod & head are excellent and gave them a good working over this weekend.

dunno why this guy would use a knock-off on obviously very heavy and expensive equipment.

that said, if my camera broke from falling off the KB-3 i would be PISSED

[Alpha_7]

Hmmm, I'm still very happy with my purchase, and it even when someone accidentally knocked it over from full height onto the hard concrete, I thought it would be damaged, but the only damage was superficial to the paint, not to the workings of the ball head.

[MATT]

Matt, where was this info 8 days ago when I purchased the kb-2 from Poon?

I have to agree with some of the stuff, as the KB-2 wont hold up my d200/grip/80-200 mounted in portrait mode. Maybe a bit better if I had a later model with a lens collar.Also didnt like the sb-800 on top either when in portrait mode.

But yes buyer beware. Like the web page said most people(including me) couldn't be bothered sending to china for warranty or repair.


Cheers Thanks for making my day.

MATT

[Glen]

Just for reference here, many have spoken of the weight this guy put on the ballhead. The 1DS MK11 is heavy, but the lens, which levers its weight is not. For those unfamiliar, the 70-200 f4 Canon is 705 grams,, a Nikon 17-55 is 755 grams.

[Geoff]

Good point Glen.

[losfp]

I haven't had any problems with my Benro KB1 and large-ish lenses.

Here's mine with a couple of lenses...

1) D70s, 70-210 (~600g) - mounted on L-Plate

2) D70s, 80-200/2.8 - mounted on lens plate





I might go home tonight and see how it fares with the D200 w/ battery grip!!

[Paul]

That's a fair point Glen, however his views on the materials, quality & design are valid.
Quite concerning if your a Benro owner, however it may only really affect heavy duty users and not the many light users that frequent this forum.
Time will tell if its money well spent.

[Reschsmooth]

My solution was to find a wife who had paid for a manfrotto tripod and head well before she met me (hence, no cost to me!)


P

[Greg B]

I have the KB-2, and no problems in 18 months or so.

Having said that, I am conscious of the fact that I bought a ball head for maybe one quarter of the cost (or even less) of the top line stuff, and we have to be realistic.

Tom Webster didn't use the lens collar to mount on the ballhead, and that does throw a lot of weight outside the centre of gravity.

I think that with moderately careful use (and that would include mounting via the collar on larger lenses), the Benro can give good service.

[Alpha_7]

Also, I'm always careful when trying to use the head in portrait orientation, infact I'd rather use a L-plate and keep the weight above the head, then put it all on the side. That said if you are careful I've had the D70 and 80-200 on the side fine

[Yi-P]

Someone has to test it with the D2X + 200-400VR +SB800

[Laurie]

Someone has to test it with the D2X + 200-400VR +SB800

send the gear my way and ill give it a go for you

[gstark]

Tom Webster didn't use the lens collar to mount on the ballhead, and that does throw a lot of weight outside the centre of gravity.

I see that as being a very important point, almost to the point of abuse of the product in question. The collar is there to provide a balanced CoG.

Go beyond that, and it's not simply a matter of the weight of the rig, but the leverage that gets expressed by the the whole setup needs to be accounted for.

That changes the whole ballgame, and all bets must surely be off.

[Matt. K]

I have to agree as I have had no problems with my Benro ballhead. I tend to treat it very gently though. However, if I had seen this post before my purchase then I would have probably not purchased it. As an example I have seen a Benro ballhead over tightened and the knurled knob popped off, revealing a very poor extending screw construction. I would advise those who have these heads to continue enjoying them (they do work very well), but treat them gently and don't overload or over tighten any of the locks. Given this care they should perform well and for a long period of time. We live and learn.

[DaveB]

Tom's a fairly level-headed guy, and his analysis of the head he received seems quite fair. BTW, when I first saw one, the KB-2's action and lack of solidity didn't impress me, and that was just using a short lens. The KJ line seemed like an interesting one, but that's only from looking at the Benro pages. I haven't heard from anyone who's actually used one.

As for putting the 1D MkII + 70-200/4 on via the body mount and failing to get it to lock, that's really not a lot of weight. Not for the sort of head that Benro describes it as.
As a quick test I just got out a 1D MkI with 100-400mm (the lens is definitely heavier, and I put it at full extension!). I mounted this on an Arca-Swiss B-1 (which I bought 2nd-hand because I couldn't justify the funds for an RRS BH-55) and with a gentle turn of the lock knob had NO trouble locking it down with no creep at all.

Of course, putting the centre of gravity off to the side is not recommended because of the effect it can have on the system's ability to dampen vibrations, but any decent head of this class (e.g. A-S B-1, Kirk BH-1, Markins M10/M20, RRS BH-55) should be able to lock it down easily. This is the class that the KS-2 seems to be trying to be in, but it looks like it failed miserably.

As Matt says, the key is to understand the limitations of your gear. Maybe the Benro heads are cheaper for a reason?
I have a little Feisol CF tripod (these are made in Taiwan) which I'm very happy with, but I don't think of it as comparing in any way to my big tripod.

[marc]

For all you guys there's allways BUNNINGS for that strong, slow-cure epoxy glue!

[Glen]

Marc, spoken as only a Kirk BH3 owner can

[wendellt]

i've got the smalles carbon fibree benro tripod with 3 sections
i dont know what model it is but the main components look good
and sturdy the problem i have is just the small details like the plastic washer that sits inside the tripod mount to tighten the hold where the centre column goes through

first time i got the tripod i took the centre column off which is a normal thing to do

the assembled tripod was 2cm longer than the longest diagonal width of the pelican case - darn
by removing the centre column and placing both in the case i got them both in there

as soon as i put the tripoid back together that plastic washer inadvertantly fell out, since then i've lost it, so now the centre column doesn't snuggly fit into the tripod anymore it's loose even when screwed tight
so i think that bit is a lemon

i'm assuming here when they engineered the thing they knew people would want to remove the centre column on a regular basis

I never got to use it

fortunate enough it only cost me $213 bucks so i guess you get what you pay for, opposed to the expensive gitzo version which costs $1000

if anyone knows how to fix this problem let me know i'll compensate you well

when i get home ill post a picture its simple problem

[Heath Bennett]

I've used a benro C-328 with a KB-2 with 300/2.8 AFS+1.7TC and D2x with RRS bracket no trouble at all. The stats said it can hold 10kgs, and this setup would be at most 6kg.

EDIT - after reading further, perhaps I should be more gentle with it. I always tighten it extermely hard, perhaps I am lucky to have had no probs).

[Kyle]

I have a KS-2... Touch wood I have not had any problems whatsoever with mine...

I rarely use it in portrait mode. It held a d200/BG/70-200vr perfectly when I put it to use recently

[moggy]

I wish the guy could have told us what he REALLY thought of the Benro! My KB-2 with a D70s and 80-200 hanging off it have given me no trouble whatsoever and in fact my Benro tripod has been excellent. There again I don't use my gear in a professional "tools of the trade" way either, strictly amateur.

[losfp]

After picking up my brand new 70-200VR tonight, I decided that the cleverest thing I could do is to hang it off my Benro KB1 and see if it comes crashing to the floor

So, D200, battery grip, RRS L-Plate, 70-200VR and SB800 (so should be about the same or even a bit more than the 1D Mk II + 70-200/4 combo), mounted ridiculously via the L-Plate as described in the article.

Tightened both tension and loocking knobs with a firm twist (no real extra effort behind it). Nope, no movement at all. Put some pressure on the end of the lens. Still nothing. Tried various angles. Still nothing. This is supposed to have a lower rated weight limit than the KS-2, but I didn't have any problems.

My guess is that I got a pretty good sample (despite problems with the rubber rings snapping off), and Tom Webster got a lousy one.

[Alpha_7]

Des congrats on the new lens.. So its going away with your overseas I take it ?

And thanks for putting your new baby on the line to test your KB-1 (Btw where did you get the ball head from?)

[losfp]

Craig, same place as usual, about a year ago

Yes, I am going to drag it (plus a 1.7TC) to Alaska/Canada in July. Fun times!

[StewSquires]

Hi all,

Saw that some postings from this group made it onto POTN middle of last year. Saw this thread and wanted to pass on that I too have completed a teardown of a Benro KB-2 ball mount, and had some spirited interaction with Mr. Webster concerning our differences of not only the quality of what we found, but our equipment purchase philosophies.

That thread is here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/sho ... p?t=284431

Hopefully some of the information will be useful for those of you considering a Benro ball mount.

Sadly our discussions faltered toward the end (my fault I am sure), but still a good discussion.

I am an amateur only, but do enjoy the hobby.

And I spent a marvelous week in Adelaide back in '92. Have not been able to return since, but The Dish is a favorite movie and hope to return just to see that up close and in person.

Stew
Canon 20D, Sigma 10-20EXDG, 17-85EFS, 70-300DO, Questar 700
Canon PS G7
Toyo 45AX
Wehman 8x10
Lots of 645 and 67 MF stuff
Benro KB-2(2), Benro C328CF, Benro M128 CF
Manfrotto 3246, 3221, 410, 3063, Wimberley Full Head

[Oneputt]

My KB 2 does not have even one of the plastic grips on the knobs left. They all split and fell off. Trying to order a RRS head from the USA but they are constantly out of stock.

[Glen]

Stew, welcome and thanks for your informative post.

Oneputt, many have said that a phonecall gets a positive response from RRS when the website says out. I find 9-11am quite a good time to call the states at the moment, especially RRS as that is 3-5pm.

[sirhc55]

out.

’owt’

[Glen]

[Steffen]

My KB 2 does not have even one of the plastic grips on the knobs left. They all split and fell off. Trying to order a RRS head from the USA but they are constantly out of stock.

The three rubber rings on my KB-2 are still intact, but I've lost *all* of the rings on my C-227 tripod...

I find myself drooling over the BH-55 site too, ever more often

Cheers
Steffen.

[stetner]

My KB 2 does not have even one of the plastic grips on the knobs left. They all split and fell off. Trying to order a RRS head from the USA but they are constantly out of stock.

Hi Oneputt,

I had the same situation when I ordered mine. I logged in, put together a 'shopping cart' with what I wanted, then found I could not submit due to backorder. I then emailed

info@reallyrightstuff.com

stating I wanted the order placed. Got an email back in a day saying they had submitted the order and requested my CC details. Not being a parinoid type, I emailed them my details. They would not say when it would ship, but the order was shipped 5 days later (I got the BH-55 Pro).

I am sure you could also phone them with your card details if you are concerned about credit card fraud. ( I am not, the guy who takes your card at the restaurant could just as easily swipe your details! )

[glamy]

I am also having problems with my Benro K2 and like Oneput placed an order for a BH55 Pro only to be told it was out of stock. I'll give them a cal .. The Markins 20 looks good as well

[sirhc55]

I am also having problems with my Benro K2 and like Oneput placed an order for a BH55 Pro only to be told it was out of stock. I'll give them a cal .. The Markins 20 looks good as well

I can highly recommend the Markins M20 - when I ordered from Korea (on a Friday) I received confirmation of the order (on Monday) letting me know that it would be posted that coming Thursday. I actually received it on the Thursday morning - 6 days from go to woe!!

[Oneputt]

I did eventually get my BH55 Pro and it was well worth the wait

[Andyt]

I did eventually get my BH55 Pro and it was well worth the wait

Hope you don't make my mistake,

It was a week before I realized that the supplied cover was NOT a stubby holder!

[Oneputt]

They do look a bit like that don't they?