On 6/10/2018 8:36 PM, Jan Steinman wrote:
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Addendum: It's the upper tubes that are 25 mm, lower ones are 30 MM.
Interesting... My Benbo Trekker measures (with a dial-gauge caliper) 23.5mm (0.95")
upper, 28.9mm ()1.15") lower.
The Benbo #1 measures 28.6mm (1.15") upper and 35.4mm (1.5") lower.
Considering measuring/manufacturing tolerances and that there are only so many
sizes of aluminum tubing made, I'm guessing the Trekker is the same as yours,
and the #1 is one size up.
Your dial caliper and my digital one differ by 1.5 mm on one and 1.1 mm on the other. Unless both are off - a lot - in
opposite directions, the sizes are not the same. We also don't know the wall thickness. This is all a story over many
decades, and some standards may have changed.
You keep saying that mine is a "the same as" a Trekker. It may be about the same in tube diameter, and the lighter of
the two Uni-Lock series designs, but I think it's not "the same". The history that Piers posted (Chrome=>translate
page.) and other places I've read make it clear that it can't be quite the same.
"After the loss of the Benbo tripods in the Patterson bankruptcy (i.e., he didn't have the Benbo tooling, nor the rights
to use it.), Ken Brett, the inventor and developer of the tripods said: "What I can do, I can do twice and then even
better" and developed under the nameUni-Loc anew tripod series.
The redesign retained the old principle of today's powder-coated aluminum tubing and specific leg locks, but replaced
many components with new materials now available such as high-impact nylon for the guide sleeves or die-cast for metal
components of the joints. From 1991, these tripods were then re-produced under the name Uni-Loc.
. . . further improvements and additions were developed. Thus, Uni-Loc has found a practical solution for the tilting
center column: The ingenious central joint was optionally complemented by an additional joint, which allows, as usual,
all three legs and the center column together to adjust, but then, after fixing the legs. To adjust the center column
again separately, without having to solve the entire structure again." (Note that this "new" company and tripod designs
are still ancient history.)
If you come across a nice used #1 for a reasonable price,
I have done, and passed on the opportunity.
I can say that mine is much more stable and less "whippy" than the Trekker —
for studio use
I'm not sure what you mean by either "whippy" or Studio use. It doesn't feel what I would call "whippy". It is solid
with the cameras I use. I have a house, I take still life photos of stuff in it, mostly using tripods. I don't pose
people or things in a dedicated space with special backdrops, lighting, etc., nor do I intend to do so; doesn't interest
me. I don't see myself using camera/lens combos larger/heavier than a µ4/3 body and small zoom or A7 and legacy 58/1.2.
I have both heavier and much heavier conventional tripods for other uses.
I'm guessing that the S1700 is more solid/stable than the Trekker, probably less solid than the #1 and and more easily
adjustable than either. It meets my needs and expectations just fine; better than I had expected, really.
; I wouldn't want to carry it very far.
I wouldn't want to carry the Uni-Lock very far, but I don't need to. I have other tripods, lighter and compact, for the
purpose of carrying about, then not using. :-)
I keep a Bogen/Manfrotto 310 mini-gear head on it, which is fantastic for small
precise movements needed for macro or long telephoto.
Assuming you mean the 410 head, I quite agree, it's a real gem, but mine lives on my primary tripod, a Velbon El
Carmagne 630 (Carbon and Magnesium).
But I found the 310 to be too heavy for the Trekker, and keep a Chinese
grip-ball head on it.
My Uni-Lock came with a ball head that weighs 94% as much as the 410, so someone was presumably using it and something
heavier than my gear on it, but overkill for me. I too have a Chinese ball head on it now, one with adjustable tension,
so the gear doesn't flop when adjusting angle.
Jan
--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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