mark_rose1

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DVxv&tag=

 

Link above is to a Feisol review you might find interesting. I've had this tripod a year since this review, and it's just as good now as it was then. Good luck!

We moved here about 6 months ago, and I found a book on Amazon that was perfect for discsovering the island--link below. Don't worry if you cannot get it before you go, as it will not be hard to find here once you arrive. Manoa Falls will probably not be too far from where you are staying (trailhead maybe a 15 minute drive from Waikiki), and is a beautful location (picture below).

 

Enjoy!

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0896103145/qid=1136614058/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0234430-8481415?n=507846&s=books&v=glance<div></div>

Why note the optically superb Canon EF 70-200/4L? It's a pure steal at less than $600. Combined with my 20D, that lens takes amazingly sharp shots, and on the near end is great for portraits. With extension tubes, you can also shoot macro with it.

You can always roll the firmware backwards if you kept the older firmware file. I had no problems loading 2.03 on my 20D or using it afterwards (so far, it's only been 2 days). I don't get the logic of waiting at all past public release; I think most problems are folks updating their firmware with a near-dead battery or not following the directions. Even if the firmware escaped testing and landed in our laps completely faulty, then roll it back.

Actually, I bought the 70-200/4L for my 20D about 6 months ago, and I use it with a very stable Feisol 3401 tripod and Kirk BH-3 ballhead. I do not have the tripod collar for the lens, so I just use the camera body mount for the combination. In all cases but one did I found this combination perfeclty stable. The camera mount is more than strong enough for the combination. And, although the lens is relatively light, the combination center of gravity is far ahead of the mount--not on the mount as it would be optimally.

 

In the one instance that was a problem, I was on a beach at sunrise trying to take pictures into a 30+mph wind. In this case, mounting the combination from the camera mount helped the wind destabilize things slightly. At 200mm zoomed out, I could *just* see a little wobble in time with the breeze. I tried to hang my camera bag from the tripod center post to help things, but it actually made things worse by swinging in the breeze from the hook! So, I pressed down on the tripod myself, and upped the ISO for a faster shutter speed, and it seemed to work.

 

I think if I had used the tripod collar for the lens instead, balanced on a more neutral center of gravity, it would have effected the combination less. The lens is just amazing, even wide open, easily the sharpest lens I have.

 

Long story short--I am going to buy the tripod mount ring for my 70-200/4L.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DVxv

 

The Feisol tripod line may have exactly what you need--please see the review I posted recently. Good luck!

 

Mark

I guess I am lucky--I have the same setup but with a Canon 20D and have no problems at all with zero flash compensation. I also found that it is possible to go *lower* than the vertical, level alignment of the flash head, by going one click below level downwards. Whenever the flash head was below level (bouncing slightly downward, in essence), I would get flash exposure issues, but not when it was correctly aligned. Maybe it's just my flash unit .... ?

After looking at the typical range of Gitzo & Bogen CF tripod

offerings, I bought a Feisol CT-3401 tripod last June. I also bought

a Kirk BH-3 ballhead for it, and the combination has been in active

use from day 1. Since the various tripod offerings had me so

conflicted for too long, I thought I would post this experience for

those in a similar tripod buying situation.

 

First, I am not a professional photographer, although I have sold some

of my work through the years. Call me an avid amateur with

professional aspirations. I wanted a stable tripod that was light

enough to hike with, throw over my shoulder for brief walks, and easy

to setup and use. Early on, I was captured by the allure of carbon

fiber, but taken aback by the Gitzo prices. I?ve heard the argument

that someone who spends so much on a camera and lenses should not shy

away from a quality support. I buy that argument, really. However,

like most of you, I work in a field other than photography and have a

family to support. Spending $1000+ on a tripod and ballhead made me

cringe, although lenses in this range seem to be a different matter.

The purists will scoff at those observations, but it is my honest

reaction.

 

When I found the Feisol website, it seemed too good t be true. They

sold a tripod similar to the Gitzo 1228 in terms of size, weight and

carrying capacity, but at less than half the price;$185 plus shipping

to be exact! I was unsure about buying from far-away Taiwan, and how

the shipping would work. So, I read every Feisol review online that I

could find, and the consensus seemed to be fairly positive. I was

leery of buying a so-called ?no name? brand. I have Gitzo and Bogen

aluminum tripods, but find them either too big or heavy to

consistently carry around. If a tripod is too limiting in any way, be

it price, size or weight, then it is of no use when I leave it at home

as a result.

 

I decided to buy the Feisol & Kirk combination, and if the Feisol did

not work out, bite the bullet and buy the Gitzo. Upon shipping a day

later, I received an email with a scan of the shipping label and

expected arrival time. It literally arrived 2 days later?good job,

Feisol! Since I live in Honolulu, Hawaii, I was floored. Almost

nothing from the mainland ships here that quick, let alone from

Taiwan. I?ll break out my next observations out to ease reading.

 

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: light, light, light. It is the same weight as

the Gitzo CF tripods I have played with, but holding it in my hand, at

home, was a different thing. The finish is very nice, kind of a dull

CF look. The legs move out (rotate?) with the same stiffness that I

am used to with a quality tripod, as though there are oiled bearings

involved. The foam leg coverings are well placed and secure enough to

be of use. The leg locks work very well, almost as good as a Gitzo

version. The center post seemed a little on the flimsy side,

especially when raised, but thoughtfully included a hook on the bottom

to aid stability. The center post also unscrews in the middle to

leave a shorter length post with the same hook bottom. The legs will

flatten very easily via a thumb lever on each leg at the top, and

automatically return to normal when collapsed back in. The individual

leg segments extend and retract with a ?swoosh? sound similar to the

Gitzo CF tripods, fairly tight tolerances. The overall first

impression was that this is a very nice tripod, and not a cheap Gitzo

knock-off in any way (like $20 Rolex watches). I tested stability

with my 20D and 70-200/4L + 1.4x tele-extender mounted from the camera

body (tripod collar on lens not used), and when locked down, the

stability seemed every bit as good as anything else I?ve tried of the

same size.

 

After almost 3 months of use, here are my Pros & Cons.

 

PROS: very light, very stable (yes, it really is quite stable),

relatively inexpensive, easy to use, zero problems in 3 months, very

nice foam leg covers standard, useful tripod bag & leg tools included,

tall enough with a Kirk BH-3 ballhead & Canon 20D camera without the

vertical grip to reach eye level without any stooping for anyone about

5 foot 9 inches (plus or minus several inches, is my guess), quite

compact when collapsed down, and a useful center post hook that I wish

all tripods had.

 

CONS: Feisol should redo the center post on the next version; it

feels and acts not-so-solid but locks down acceptably in use, there

are no spikes or snow boots available for the feet ends, the top could

be more secure (rubber coating?) for the ballhead, warranty work is

only through the factory in Taiwan, and the leg lock collars are easy

to grip and use but not quite as easy as a Gitzo.

 

All in all, I am very glad I bought the Feisol and anticipate years of

excellent use from it. I?ve hiked with it, sunk it into the Pacific

Ocean surf, mud, dry sand, dirt, and grass without a concern or

problem, and it has performed beautifully. If I were a working pro

that used my tripod every single day, I might not buy the Feisol

mainly due to the warranty work needing to be done in Taiwan. If a

repair were needed, the time required might be excessive for a pro?s

purposes. For those of us who do not use our tripod on as frequent a

basis, even if heavily used on weekends and holidays, this tripod is

perfect! Is the Feisol as good as the Gitzo 1228? Perhaps not quite,

but lets say 95% as good for 35% of the cost! I would rate it higher

than any Bogen tripod I?ve used, including CF Bogen, or higher than

the Gitzo basalt series I briefly examined. The Kirk BH-3 ballhead

with the CT-3401 tripod makes for an awesomely light and very stable

duo. I really love the Kirk BH-3, it?s the smoothest & most secure

ballhead I?ve ever used, but that is for another review. For large

majority of us avid photographers, I think this is an easy choice.

Get a Feisol and invest the rest in a very nice ballhead. Highly

recommended.

 

I posted a gallery of Feisol tripod pictures at:

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/798358

 

I bought the tripod through the Feisol website at:

http://www.feisol.com/english/enconnect-n.htm

 

I hope this review will be of use to someone. Enjoy!

 

Mark

I have a Topload Zoom AW, and it will fit the 20D with battery grip and 70-200/4L with no problem--I think even the 70-200/2.8L IS version would still work. I don't have the 20D battery grip, but my former Minolta 800si and battery grip + 70-200 lens fit with room to spare. In fact, my 800si with two stacked lenses were in this case to the top of Mount Fuji and back. I like this case quite a lot when room is constrained (hiking, climbing, etc), but I still need my D/SLR.

I am primarily a film based photographer, avid amatuer. I've sold

things in the past, but I don't make my living with photography. I

would love to have a Cannon 1Ds and a full complement of Cannon "L"

IS lenses and such. However, 1) I cannot afford it, and 2) sometimes

I don't want to lug the large camera bag for my film setup. So, with

$800 burning a hole in my wallet, I got the Minolta A1 to replace a

semi-horrible JVC 3.3MP digital P&S. I've had 2 weeks with the A1,

and I've been shooting with it constantly--night and day.

 

Performance so far?

 

 

- Ergonomics & Subjectives: Outstanding--borders on small for

someone used to a large film based camera body, but I am getting

more and more used to it. Much nicer to hold than a small P&S. Body

is nicely contoured and feels very solid for its size. The buttons

and such operate smoothly. It feels like a quality piece of

equipment.

 

- Ease of Use: I've hardly looked at the instruction manual! Very

Easy.

 

- Features: Brilliant--does most that my professional level film

camera body does (and does not need mirror lock and other film based

features), and adds featues my film body camera will never have

(like contrast bracketing!!). I have not figured out hyperfocal

distances with this lens and strange aperatures--any suggestions?

The Anti-Shake works as well or perhaps a bit better than 1st Gen

Cannon Image Stabilization.

 

- Image Quality: Outstanding. Is there noise? Yes, there is, but it

is vastly better than my older digital. Incidentally, it's noticably

better than a G5 shot side by side (store). I think noise will be

inevitable to some degree with a CCD of this size extracting the

amount of data is captures for a camera of this size and cost. The

good news is that Neatimage cleaned it up very nicely when needed.

The end results were fantastic all around. Metering has been spot on

correct--mostly used evaluative. Auto Focus is slower than my film

bodies and hunts a little more in darker conditions. In medium to

bright light, AF is fast and decisive. To sum image quality up,

when I looked at my first shots in Photoshop critically, I was

amazed how great they looked--even with no editing. My film buying

volume just dropped significantly.

 

I've got a fair amount of experience scanning color slides, and I

have taken shots with this A1 that appear to be about the equal (or

perhaps better--I am hesitant to declare that yet) of my 2700dpi

Nikon film scanner scanning high-quality color slide film (like

Provia & Velvia). Some outdoor shots are fairly contrasty, but can

be nicely adjusted--unlike a film camera. Oh by the way, film

scanners can introduce their own noise too (nothing is free).

 

I actually felt good enough with it after two days to take some

shots for a local threatre preparing a new performance--the shots

they'll use in the program and for publicity. Guess what? With my

Minolta accessory flash mounted, it performed beautifully! And, I

had no film to get developed and scan; I dropped off the CD with the

pictures the next morning for the local newpaper!

 

All in all: Will it replace my film camera for 'serious' work? No,

not 100%, but it actually will complement/supplement it more than I

had expected with this image quality and ease of shooting. After

all, this is a sub-$800 digital camera!

 

I've found myself snapping away with it and having a GREAT time with

the instant gratification and experimentation. This is fun

photography! I will continue to play with it and for ways to

maximize image quality. For now, it looks like a real keeper!