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BillyBobSenna
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Works as a
Automotive Engineer
Has a website at
www.billgulkerphotography.com
Joined on
Jan 19, 2014
About me:
Automotive engineer with a focus on aero-acoustic vehicle development. In addition, I am a lifelong motorsports photography enthusiast. |
Have your say
Have your say: Best product of 2020
- Canon EOS R533.0%
- Canon RF 70-200 F4L IS USM8.2%
- Fujifilm X-T423.4%
- Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm F1.2 S12.5%
- Sony FE 20mm F1.8G10.3%
- Sony FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM12.5%
Total voters: 1,930
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I guess its time to switch to digital. I hear the Nikon D70 is a good starter camera for digital.
Booooooooo!
DualSystemGuy: Looks much to large for a travel tripod IMO and it's actually a bit on the heavy side at 3lbs.
I've owned most major brands of tripods/ballheads over the years including 'value' brands, RRS, and 'cheap' Amazon carbon fiber units and there is absolutely nothing about RRS that justifies the insane price premium. If you took the labels off you'd think they came out of the same factory. They are good products, but they are no different than what you can buy for half the price or less in most cases.
I'm still using a Feisol CF tripod I bought for about $300 15 years ago ($383 in today's dollars) and it is lighter with a better load capacity than this brand new RRS unit, and it collapses smaller. Still looks and functions the same as it did the day I got it.
Absolutely no reason to spend that much money on a tripod in my opinion/experience. You simply aren't getting anything more for your money after a certain point.
@carton How do you know that there is not a diminishing return on improved stiffness? I would think there is a point where increased stiffness makes no perceivable difference. I have never seen photos from 2 different tripods where you can see a difference. I understand there are really cheap tripods that don't stand up to wind conditions however I think there is a point where increase stiffness makes no difference.
DualSystemGuy: Looks much to large for a travel tripod IMO and it's actually a bit on the heavy side at 3lbs.
I've owned most major brands of tripods/ballheads over the years including 'value' brands, RRS, and 'cheap' Amazon carbon fiber units and there is absolutely nothing about RRS that justifies the insane price premium. If you took the labels off you'd think they came out of the same factory. They are good products, but they are no different than what you can buy for half the price or less in most cases.
I'm still using a Feisol CF tripod I bought for about $300 15 years ago ($383 in today's dollars) and it is lighter with a better load capacity than this brand new RRS unit, and it collapses smaller. Still looks and functions the same as it did the day I got it.
Absolutely no reason to spend that much money on a tripod in my opinion/experience. You simply aren't getting anything more for your money after a certain point.
Thank goodness they ranked the tripods based on the "harmonic mean of the stiffness measured at full height in the pitch and yaw directions." Can you image how much better your photos would look like if mounted on a RRS tripod?
DualSystemGuy: Looks much to large for a travel tripod IMO and it's actually a bit on the heavy side at 3lbs.
I've owned most major brands of tripods/ballheads over the years including 'value' brands, RRS, and 'cheap' Amazon carbon fiber units and there is absolutely nothing about RRS that justifies the insane price premium. If you took the labels off you'd think they came out of the same factory. They are good products, but they are no different than what you can buy for half the price or less in most cases.
I'm still using a Feisol CF tripod I bought for about $300 15 years ago ($383 in today's dollars) and it is lighter with a better load capacity than this brand new RRS unit, and it collapses smaller. Still looks and functions the same as it did the day I got it.
Absolutely no reason to spend that much money on a tripod in my opinion/experience. You simply aren't getting anything more for your money after a certain point.
There are some photographers that simply will not settle for anything less than the very best regardless of price. If they bought a Feisol, they would go crazy asking themselves why they didn't get the RRS. Right or wrong, RRS has a reputation of being the very best.
Looks beautiful and I'm sure there will be lots of photographers that willing to pay for nothing but the best.
BillyBobSenna: Canon has a strong future and Nikons is not certain.
I hope they stick around however they need to make money to justify their existence.
Canon has a strong future and Nikons is not certain.
BillyBobSenna: Nothing new here. We live in a global economy and all businesses must optimize costs to survive. Good designs and manufacturing practices should allow a product to be built anywhere with zero impact to quality.
@jxh, while there are jobs leaving the country, there are jobs getting created in the country. There are thousands of non-US citizens in the USA working great engineering jobs because there are no US citizens with the skills to work them. If you have a computer science or Electrical engineering degree in the USA you should be able find many good paying jobs.
BillyBobSenna: Nothing new here. We live in a global economy and all businesses must optimize costs to survive. Good designs and manufacturing practices should allow a product to be built anywhere with zero impact to quality.
@ Huntin4photos The under employed will need to make more sacrifice and acquire skills that will ultimately pay off and allow them to have more buying power. We live a great free society where everyone has a chance to succeed to the highest levels.
BillyBobSenna: Nothing new here. We live in a global economy and all businesses must optimize costs to survive. Good designs and manufacturing practices should allow a product to be built anywhere with zero impact to quality.
@ Huntin4photos, jxh, & Pixel8888 - I hear what you are saying and if Nikon is using child labor, that would not be acceptable. I would love it if people would recognize products that were made in our home country and were willing to pay extra. Unfortunately, there are not enough people willing to pay extra so it comes down to being aggressive at controlling cost (including outsourcing), voting in politicians that are aggressive with trade policies, or go out of business and have nothing.
Nothing new here. We live in a global economy and all businesses must optimize costs to survive. Good designs and manufacturing practices should allow a product to be built anywhere with zero impact to quality.
Sunpak makes some very nice tripods for under $30. My guess is you couldn't see the difference in the resulting photos.
Looks like a Hollywood studio to me.
All we need is a good internet and delivery service and we can stay in our homes indefinitely.
Very impressive shelf life for this product. Original designers and programmers should be proud. Still a useful app for many photographers.
Debankur Mukherjee: For ages I have failed miserably to understand and analyse how Apple sells a very standard product at such exorbitant price.
Because for many people, Apple has created an emotional connection between the phone and the person. People interface with their iPhone most of their waking life and the cost of the phone compared with how much they use it is very small.
Dream job for any motorsports photographer.
F1 is in a transition. I am optimistic 2022 will provide more entertainment than we have experienced in recent years. Following F1 is much more than just watching the races. It is almost more fun to watch the tech documentaries and Netflix specials.
Racing is obviously not for everyone but I find it the perfect blend of technology, excitement, and beauty.
I new they should not have discontinued the KeyMission 360
Simple economics of supply and demand. There are many excellent photos available for free and therefore the value of photos on Shutterstock is very low. I don't believe this is Shutterstock's fault. They are a business and they are just trying to survive and make some level of profit.