Bogen 3046 or 475/3036?

As near as I can tell, the only difference between these two is the

ability to spread the legs individually on the 475/3036. That's

been a usfull feature for my MF set up, but I'm wondering if it's

worth the $50 for LF use? Any comments. Also, any other pods to

consider in the same price range (185-225)?

 

thanks

 

PS The new bellows is on the camera!!!! Haven't exposed a sheet

yet, but my goodness, the picture on the ground glass alone is worth

the price of admission!

I have the 3036. For uneven surfaces, like landscape, it's absolutely worth it to be able to spread tripod legs independently. I find that the most useful feature of my tripod. Instead of having to fiddle with extending the legs at different lengths, just kick the leg out a little.

 

Sometimes, it's not possible set the tripod with evenly spaced legs because of obstructions on the ground.

 

On the other hand, if you know you will alsways be photographing on even surfaces, it's a little easier to have fixed legs that spread evenly. But, for my purposes, if I didn't have a tripod where I could independently place the legs, I would purchase something else.

I second Neil's endorsement of the 3036. In the type of field work I do it has been a definite advantage having the individually adjustable legs. I was on a rural highway embankment last week trying to get a shot. Had the leg angles been fixed i would have ended up with a very unstable arrangement. By spreading the uphill leg out to almost flat it was a very stable camera platform. Unfortunately the photographer was somewhat less stable, but I got the shot I wanted.

Thanks guys. I was leaning that way too. I found the 475(replacement for the 3036) new at KEH for $199 which is $9 bucks more than BH wanted for the 3046. It'll be here Monday.

 

Cheers,

I've got a Bogen 3036 Chinese made knockoff that so far I've found to be very good.

 

http://home.att.net/~alexwlau/DreamMaker/My_Products.htm

 

I paid $104 plus delivery for mine, so they've gone up a little. It's shorter than the original 3036, which was about 80" and the 475, which is around 70". The one I have is only 66", but that was fine with me because I didn't need the extra height. For those that do however, he's just come out with an 8 foot behemoth. But that one can't get as low to the ground because of the longer minimum ext.

 

They've also Bogen pistol grip knockoff that looks pretty good, and a professional video tripod that looks intriguing.

 

Alex Lau is good guy, who backs up his product. I lost the spike one of my tripod feet and it took him a while to get a replacement from his distributor, but three weeks latter it arrived no extra charge. I think he said that his distributor is an actual Bogen contractor, and they've come with their own line, that in some case include some enhancements.

 

The leveling feet on mine are nice, but they do have a tendency to want come off. The entire spike on mine coming off however was more of a freak accident, I think having more to do with the me constantly transporting it on the side my back.