Really right Stuff X100s base/grip vs Ebay knockoffs

[Larry Berman]

They're called knockoffs for a reason. How would you like it if you spend thousands on a trip and had someone come along and copied your photographs and sold them? The reason why the china versions are so cheap is because they have about $180 invested in R & D, unlike RRS who spends the time and money to create no compromise products.

photographers are always complaining about unauthorized use of their images. Try treating other companies like you want to be treated.

 

[Michael Kaufman]

They're called knockoffs for a reason.

Larry,

You are a little late to this discussion, but it would still behove you to read the whole thing before commenting on it. We've already discussed this knockoff thing for a while.

If you would like to discuss what R&D you think went into the development of this product, I would be very glad to read your opinions. Its a hunk of metal with the inverse of an X100 on one side and an Arca mount on the other side. Its got a standard L-Plate on one side and a standard grip in front. I don't support intellectual espionage any more then the next guy, bit given the simplicity of this product, I don't imagine RRS had to do much R&D either.

So to clarify my previous position statement - stealing people's ideas - bad. Buying the best product, wherever it happens to come from - good, with the general idea that I will often pay more to reward an inventor of a product. In this case, I don't think there was much inventing going on, and as it turned out, I don't think RSS did anything to justify their 6 times higher price (now almost seven times higher).

 

[deednets]

I personally find it hard to like your attitude, but you keep on getting the big thumbs up here from some people on this little threat so possibly just a waste of time expressing my opinion aye?

You can express your opinion, but I have trouble being too supportive of you since your opinion seems to be that only local people deserve to be in business. As if the people selling stuff in China don't also need money to survive. Are they less human and less worthy because they live in another country?

Trying to decide who is a better person based on geography might be too complicated in this globally connected age. I don't know the people at RRS, and I don't know the people in China, so perhaps instead of just supporting the one who lives closest to me, it makes sense to support the people who are offering the thing I want to buy the most at the price that is the most attractive to me.

In any case, this is getting really off topic. My original post was only about the quality of the item, not the quality of the people selling the item. That question has been answered for me. The quality of the item is very high.

 

[baabbott]

I'm not trying to "stir the turd" here, just wondering if this is really a knockoff of RRS. It seems more like just another company making a grip to fit a camera. I mean RRS and Kirk both make some similar products and I don't think one is 'ripping off' the other.