In all the years that I have been a photographer, it is not often that I change the brand of products I am using. You know how it is when you get used to something and it works well...it is hard to make a switch. But after many years of using Gitzo tripods and monopods, I am making the switch to Benro.
It is not that Gitzo products are not excellent, but they are really expensive, and with so many other high-quality offerings out there, it has gotten harder for me to recommend them when they are so much more expensive than other comparable products.
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| (Photo credit: Emma Cable) |
I tried to reach out to the people at Gitzo to find out why they were priced so much higher than the others, but never heard back from them. So I started to evaluate other companies that made higher-end tripods and monopods. I did some research online and also reached out to some of my photographer friends in the industry who I trusted the most. (Thanks to
Moose Peterson for recommending Benro so passionately.)
Numerous companies responded to me and sent me products to evaluate. My living room looked like B&H photo with tripods set up all over the place. I methodically went through and tested each tripod and monopod to test the following:
* Rigidity and Sturdiness
* Strength
* Weight
* Size
* Balance
I also took into account the prices for each item and the overall selection that each company had to offer. After a lot of testing, the one company that stood out was
Benro.
When testing the products, I consistently selected the
Benro tripods (without looking at the brand name to know which brand I was using). I feel that the quality of their products is at the same level as Gitzo (which is saying a lot) but with a price point that is more reasonable for the average photographer or photo enthusiast.
Right now I am using three of their tripods:
All of these products that I have chosen are made with Carbon Fiber, and feel solid as a rock. The overall quality is excellent, the movement of the hinges and legs feels smooth and solid, and they feel like they are built to last.
I know that Benro also makes tripod heads but I am sticking with the
Acratech ball heads, because I still feel that they are the best on the market. I know that they are expensive, but I love that the high-quality build of the Acratech heads and I also love their Swift Clamp for my camera straps.
I should mention that, even though I am sticking with the Acratech ballheads, I am using the Benro gimbal heads. They have two models which I am using right now. The first is the more substantial carbon fiber
GH5CMini, and the other gimbal head I tested is their collapsable gimbal head (seen above) for travel. Both are really nice!
In talking to the people at Benro, I am really excited about their innovations and future products, with so much cool stuff coming down the pipe.
I am proud to be a Benro Ambassador and super excited to use their products for my events in the Bay Area, on my photo tours, and at the upcoming Olympics. I look forward to seeing my image and name on their ambassador web page soon.
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