Velbon Maxi Experience?

[trooper]

Is the lightweight Velbon Maxi a valid support for a MF rangefinder

such as a Bronica RF or Fuji 645? Everything I own is overkill for

these but I don't have easy access to shops in my locale and function

via mailorder almost exclusively. Keppler's back plane fumbling

aside, he's written such glowing testimonials on these that one has

the temptation to look past the Velbon name.....

[gene crumpler]

Craig;

 

I picked up one of these Velbron Maxi 343 last May. Works really well with my hasselblad and 150 lens. I'm printing sharp 16x20's from the Blad using mirror lock up and the selftimer. Should be fine for any other small MF camera. Easy to carry, short and light weight. I have the ball head model.

[adam_clarry1]

The Velbon MAXI is a great tripod just try and pick up the model with the quick shoe. If it is not out yet Gentec will be releasing it soon.

Manfrotto also has a compack model as well which is the tripod of my choice. I can use all my heads/plates.

 

cheers,

Adam Clarry

[ilkka]

I got interested as soon as it was announced and I looked one up in Japan. Sadly, I found it so flimsy that I just lost all interest in spending any money on it. The manufacturer says it is meant for 'digital', meaning small point and shoot digital cameras with no mirrors or other moving parts. For a small camera like that it should be okay. With lower than maximum extension I suppose it could be usable with a smallish leaf shutter camera like the Fuji or Bronica. My advice is for you to do try to take a look at it yourself before buying. At the very least, please ensure you have a solid return policy on mailorder. As soon as I saw it, I was not interested. Not even for my Fuji 645. I use a Gitzo 1026 in those times when I must have the smallest and lightest tripod that still works for its intended purpose, that is, as a support for camera.

[trooper]

I made an impulse decision and bought a Maxi via mailorder (eBay) that was quite inexpensive. It was lighter and more flexible than I had envisioned but I can see where it might be okay for some applications. When I put an RF645 Bronica on it, it felt like it was doing everything that it was capable of and then I flipped the camera on its side and found that the lightweight ballhead wasn't holding the weight securely. It was made of a composite/plastic material and I just had the feeling that it wasn't going to be very long-lived in my application. The response from the Hassy owner is logical and with some care, the little Maxi could add good jitter control for a system that doesn't require vertical/horizontal orientation duty. I ended up sending it back as I decided I should start in on researching other alternatives. I'll likely wait until I'm in civilization and actually handle things instead of guessing via mailorder.