Roger at robinsnestphotography.com wrote:
> I am currently using a Benbo for professional work. It is fitted with
a
> Bogen "joystick" head and an ELM. The benbo is the best I have ever found
> (for my uses) as it fits in more awkward church pews, etc, than any other
> tripod I have ever owned. I have gone through my fair share of various
> bogens, tiltalls, etc. I did run into some information some time ago
about
> the Unilock...since this thread is discussing it does anyone know if they
> have a website. It is Canadian, I think, and it is a modification on the
> Benbo design.
Roger
>From what I have read, the person who originally designed and manufactured
Benbo tripods (possibly under the name "Kennett" or "Kennett Engineering"),
eventually sold the manufacturing rights to the British Paterson Group. He
(maybe she?) then started manufacturing an almost identical line under the
brand name "Uni-Loc".
The Uni-Loc brochure I have names the manufacturer as Brett Engineering
Limited, at Murrayfield Road, Leicester LE3 1UW, phone (0116) 232 1311. I
assume this is in Britain. Although I haven't been able to locate any web
sites in Britain searching on "Uni-Loc" or "Brett Engineering", I have
found this site which may be useful:
http://www.pro4.com/systempods.cfm
The site is Pro4 Imaging in Canada. I suspect that they are the Canadian
or American Importers, although it may be possible that manufacturing has
been moved from Britain to Canada. (To confuse further, the camera plates
that came with my Uni-Loc quick release mechanisms are stamped "made in
Japan".)
It seems that all of the original Benbo design features have been
incorporated in the Uni-Loc "Major Series" range. In addition, Uni-Loc
have released a "System" range which adds extra features including a 180
degree swivel joint in the centre column, plus the ability to join one leg
tube to the centre column for a mono-pod using an Allen key. (I don't use
the mono-pod facility but the 180 degree swivel joint is brilliant.) The
Allen key also allows the centre column to be shortened, which is how I use
mine.
Cheers
Ross Waite
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