Feisol tripods/gimbal head

[june skywell]

HEllo
Could anyone offer some feedback on the Feisol brand? I have a Canon 600/4L IS (current model, not the new MkII) :( and want a stable platform. THeir heaviest rated tripods appear to be 12kg. I wonder if that's enough to support the lens, 1D body, head, flash bracket and flash? SOunds a bit close to me weight capacity wise. Also, does anyone know if their gimbal rivals the wimberley?

Many thanks people for any help.

regards
june

[Jamie Strickland]

It depends which one your taking about the 3371/3471 I would not recommend the 3372/3472 I would. I had the 3471 and the locks broke on it, they are casted where the 3371/3472 are CNC'd and are much stronger. That is really the main difference between them the legs are the same I think. I broke mine when I had the legs set down low with a 500L, a few times it slipped and then finally it broke. You can see how it broke here.



I switched then to the 3472 and no problems since, I know another guy who has the same one and he uses a Nikon 600 and no issues.

a word of warning do not buy from feisol.net I have read some bad things about them, buy from Kerry at reallybigcameras.com he is really good

as for their gimbal I have never seen one so I cant comment on that

[Danny J Brown]

Always interesting the way we have different experiences with gear and purchases. I bought my Feisol CT3301 tripod directly from Feisol at Feisol.Net and had no problem at all. Later, I lost a foot cap on one of the legs and emailed Feisol.Net and the sent me a set of three new feet (improved to stay on longer) for free via Fed Ex and they arrived the same week. Go figure.

DB

[Jamie Strickland]

Danny the complaints I saw were on potn where some guy had purchased a new tripod and twice got a broken one and they gave him a hard time, but maybe its just one bad customer

btw from what I have read feisol.net is not feisol direct they are just a reseller

[Danny J Brown]

Thanks Jamie......I just put two and two together and realized that I bought my tripod directly from Feisol at Feisol.Com and when I lost the foot cap I accidently went to Feisol.Net, the reseller, and they sent me the free caps. They were really helpful though; maybe trying to rebuild their rep.

DB

P.S. It was kind of weird when I bought the tripod directly from Feisol because my receipts and shipping info came in Taiwanese and as I remember there was a significant shipping charge I had to consider that went along with the excellent price on the tripod. Alls well that ends well.

[AJ Witt]

I've had nothing but spectacular service from the reseller in NC, www.Feisol.net. Took my legs apart to get some sand out and had trouble getting it back together. I sent them an email, he called me back in a few hours and told me to send it to him...I did and they fixed it and sent it back for no charge.

[Garry Gibson]

I agree on the Feisol.net. I have had great communications with them.
I lost a rubber foot and they sent me three, no charge.

I placed an order for some metal spikes and ordered the wrong ones,
they caught it and emailed me to let me know and made a suggestion
as to the correct ones.

I would recommend their service to anyone.

[Jamie Strickland]

thanks for the info guys, I had not seen any other reviews other than the ones on potn so I guess this is a good example of taking someone elses opinion with a grain of salt

so its good to hear other people have positive experiences

[Melanie Teague]

It depends which one your taking about the 3371/3471 I would not recommend the 3372/3472 I would. I had the 3471 and the locks broke on it, they are casted where the 3371/3472 are CNC'd and are much stronger. That is really the main difference between them the legs are the same I think. I broke mine when I had the legs set down low with a 500L, a few times it slipped and then finally it broke. You can see how it broke here.



I switched then to the 3472 and no problems since, I know another guy who has the same one and he uses a Nikon 600 and no issues.

a word of warning do not buy from feisol.net I have read some bad things about them, buy from Kerry at reallybigcameras.com he is really good

as for their gimbal I have never seen one so I cant comment on that

Hello, As anybody knows who has ever been in business, every once in a while there are customers who will be dissatisfied – no matter how hard you tried to please them. An unfortunate aspect of the internet is that information of this sort is often propagated by well-meaning readers who may not even be aware of the facts. There is definitely another side to this story.
I would like to thank those of our customers who weighed in on this discussion by sharing their own, positive experiences with our customer service and our online shop at www.feisol.net. We try hard to do a good job and are proud of all the appreciative feedback we receive from grateful customers every day.
Melanie Teague
Customer Service, FEISOL INC

[David Pugsley]

I've used the 3372 for the last year with:
RRS BH-55 head
Wimberley Sidekick
EF 500 f/4
1D MkIII

The tripod has performed very well despite heaps of abuse from sand, saltwater etc.

The only problem I've had with it is one of the anti-rotating leg sections is a bit buggy. I purchased the tripod from feisol.net and made them aware of this problem the day I got it. They nearly begged me to send it back to them so they could replace the leg. At the time I could not be without it and still have not sent it in. They said I could have it repaired at no cost anytime within' the 3-year warranty even despite my admitted abuse. Very good vibes from them