I think it's a good choice and a great price. This is not a tripod to
use standing by itself with a cable release or some such. As you guess,
you should use gentle but firm pressure to stabilize it and let your
hands absorb vibration. You don't want your hands on the skinny neck of
the tripod, you want them on the camera, where vibration matters. As a
general rule, the center post chould not be extended, if possible, but
hey, with the column extended and some human 'wet-ware' damping, it's
still better than hand held, just not as good as a bigger, heavier
tripod, which doesn't happen to be an option at the moment.
Before I bought mine, I set it up in a shop and compared it to a lot of
other tripods. Without the bottom leg section extended, it was about as
tall as a Gitzo often mentioned as a good lightweight travel tripod (and
wonderful for very short people or those with knee pads and/or young
knees). I also found the Velbon, used at that height, to be about as
stable. lighter and MUCH less expensive. To me there is a difference
between cheap and inexpensive. There are a lot of cheap tripods with
shoddy engineering and materials. I see the 343E as something different,
a tripod with good, well thought out and executed engineering and
materials aimed at a goal that may not suit everyone, but fits a unique
niche that works for me. I see it as a tripod where ruggedness in the
face of rough handling is compromised to obtain exceptional flexibility
and ergonomics with light weight and reasonable price. It isn't a good
set of compromises for Rob Jackson, who found that it broke when stuffed
in his backpack in its daily rigors. It's a good one for me for hiking
and traveling. I've hiked around with it extended and occasionally
bumped the legs against things, used it as a walking stick and sent it
across country and back in a suitcase, and it is as good as new. I
accept that I have to give it a little care and attention in return for
it its light weight. Given the alternative of no tripod or lugging
around something significantly heavier and bulkier, I think it's a great
travel tripod.
My next tripod up is a Hakuba 6240C carbon fiber. It is an excellent
general purpose tripod, but I'm not taking it on much of a hike and even
this 4 section one doesn't fit in my regular suitcase. I also really
appreciate the flip leg locks on the 343E. The much quicker set-up and
take down really makes a difference on the road.
Then there's the Bogen 3236 with 3047 head. What a great tripod, sturdy,
solid, flexible, indestructable, will hold the camera abouve my head
with complete stability, blah, blah...... It's my least used tripod
because it is a honking great, heavy monster that only gets used at home
or very near the car.
Moose
Albert wrote:
Well..
I needed something small and light to take with me to Thailand next
week, and ended up buying the Velbon..
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