Brunton aluminum & carbon closeout (1 Viewer)

socalmonstermr5 · Jan 15, 2016

What I should have said aluminum tripod has anyone taken apart
there tripod and cut in down to make it smaller & lighter weight thanks

mfunnell · Jan 15, 2016

socalmonstermr5 said:
What I should have said aluminum tripod has anyone taken apart
there tripod and cut in down to make it smaller & lighter weight thanks

I bought the Brunton aluminium tripod specifically because it is larger and heavier. I can't really see how it could be cut down to be smaller and lighter without completely messing it up. I'm not good at that kind of thing, though. Someone more mechanically minded and better with their hands might be able to think of something, but I sure couldn't.

...Mike

socalmonstermr5 · Jan 16, 2016

Thanks Mike, I my have to take one apart, like to fine a tripod
for backpacking that not to expensive. maybe one of the carbon
one can be taken apart easier than the aluminum.
will have to check into it.

Josh Exmoor · Jan 16, 2016

I received my CF tripod yesterday and played around with it a little bit. About what I was expecting, so I guess that's good. The legs are solid and light. I was a little surprised at how long they are, but they fit in my checked airline bag which is all I required. Certainly not the lightest legs I've ever used, but considering how high they can get and how solid they seem I think they're fine.

The tripod head is acceptable, but not great. It certainly would be a reasonable head for most people using a spotting scope. Heck, I know several birder friends who have $2000 scopes mounted on worse heads than this. That said, I'll be using my Vanguard video head on this (assuming it fits fine) so this was a low priority. The only red flag about the head to me is that I have little faith that I could trust the plate and locking mechanism to hold a scope while I walked around for any period of time. I'd want to carry the two separately and set up when I was going to scope.

Mine has a couple QC issues. The first is that their appears to be a spot for a level at the plate where the head screws on, but there is no level? Do other folks have a level? Also, one of the screws on my tripod foot seems threaded wrong. It screws on and off just fine, but you can see it's uneven and tilted.

etudiant · Jan 16, 2016

Josh Exmoor said:
.
Mine has a couple QC issues. The first is that their appears to be a spot for a level at the plate where the head screws on, but there is no level? Do other folks have a level?

Mine has a 1/2" round bubble level on the actual tripod above one leg, a similar size compass above another. There is also a 1"x1/4" bubble cylinder on the head, mounted in the fitting that the QR plate fits into, opposite the QR release lever.
If yours does not have that, you should get it replaced. Botach still lists over 200 units in stock, they should be able to send you a good one.

BruceH · Jan 17, 2016

ProMaster Replacement Plates

In follow-up to post #31, the ProMaster replacement plates I ordered off eBay arrived. Best I can tell, they look identical to the original plate supplied with the carbon fiber version of the tripod. There only cosmetic type differences are the direction of the diagonal lines on the rubber pad an a made in China sticker on the ProMaster plates.

I tried one of them in the tripod and it held the same as the original.

socalmonstermr5 · Jan 17, 2016

Bruce. That good news I'm going to order couple of them
thanks for the info

litebeam · Jan 19, 2016

Received my carbon tripods, (I picked up a couple) and first impression is *outstanding* value for the dough.
The head isn't much to write home about, but the legs appear stout, usable and smooth to operate.
I'll be sourcing a couple of good heads...
+1 for a great setup!

Josh Exmoor · Jan 20, 2016

I took my CF legs out this morning for the first real test at my local seawatch. The tripod doesn't feel that light when it's collapsed, but in the field the difference is night and day. My other tripod is a heavy-but-steady Vanguard model so it took some getting used to the thinner legs of the Brunton, but overall I had no complaints. It was a breezy morning, but I didn't get much shake in the scope.

I'll still probably stick with my Vanguard for seawatching since the amount of walking I have to do is minimal, but the Brunton is an excellent buy and should work very well for when I need to move more.

mayoayo · Jan 21, 2016

Those look amazing for the price,..really good..,i see in the web site that the carbon model weights 5.3 pounds...can anybody tell me how much the legs weight and how much does the head?..my large manfrotto 441 weights 3.2 pounds and it is very large ,but has only three sections (less hardware).. I would not mind a pair of 4 sections legs for travel

FrankD · Jan 21, 2016

mayoayo said:
Those look amazing for the price,..really good..,i see in the web site that the carbon model weights 5.3 pounds...can anybody tell me how much the legs weight and how much does the head?..my large manfrotto 441 weights 3.2 pounds and it is very large ,but has only three sections (less hardware).. I would not mind a pair of 4 sections legs for travel

Bruce posted that info on page one:

Carbon Fiber Tripod
- Head Unit with supplied plate is 1 lb, 3.6 oz
- Base (legs) without head unit is 3lb, 15.0 oz
- Total weight is 5 lb, 2.6 oz

mayoayo · Jan 21, 2016

Thank you .. I thought i saw that earlier ,but somehow missed the post this time..

Josh Exmoor · Jan 21, 2016

Josh Exmoor said:
I took my CF legs out this morning for the first real test at my local seawatch. The tripod doesn't feel that light when it's collapsed, but in the field the difference is night and day. My other tripod is a heavy-but-steady Vanguard model so it took some getting used to the thinner legs of the Brunton, but overall I had no complaints. It was a breezy morning, but I didn't get much shake in the scope.

I'll still probably stick with my Vanguard for seawatching since the amount of walking I have to do is minimal, but the Brunton is an excellent buy and should work very well for when I need to move more.

Forgot to mention my only major complaint with the legs is the locking mechanism. I'm sure it saves space and weight, but coming from lever mechanisms the screw thing is kind of annoying. I found I had to triple check to make sure everything was tight before I set the tripod down.

clschmalz · Jan 24, 2016

To add to the confusion re Brunton and Manfrotto mounting plates on the Brunton carbon fiber tripod:
There are at least two versions of the Manfrotto QR2 heads. The older heads, with the wide socket will accept the Brunton plate with no problem. The new Manfrotto QR2 heads with the narrow socket will not accept the Brunton plate. On the other hand, the old style Manfrotto plates will not fit the Brunton head unless the anti-twist stud is screwed out or removed. (The stud that keeps the Brunton plate from sliding off interferes with the screw when the stud is in the down position.). The new style Manfrotto plates will fit the Brunton head (with he same anti-twist stud caveat), but lacking anything to catch the retaining stud can slide sideways off of the head.

Perhaps the best solution is to ditch the Brunton head and replace it with a Manfrotto or other after-market ball head. The design of the Brunton pan head is not the best. It lacks the flange for the locking screws on the tripod post and can easily become unscrewed when panning in a counter-clockwise direction.

All in all though the Brunton Cabon tripod appears to be a great bargain for the current price.

etudiant · Feb 6, 2016

socalmonstermr5 said:
Hi all,
Brunton will send plates out for free.

Earl

Indeed they do, very customer friendly.
They sent me one in response to an inquiry as to where one could get compatible extras.
The new unit is the type Frank showed pictures of in his Jan 8 post.
It has an orientation arrow cast into the metal component to insure it is mounted correctly.

Kudos to Brunton, this kind of support for a discontinued line is exemplary.

mfunnell · Feb 6, 2016

etudiant said:
Indeed they do, very customer friendly.
They sent me one in response to an inquiry as to where one could get compatible extras.
The new unit is the type Frank showed pictures of in his Jan 8 post.
It has an orientation arrow cast into the metal component to insure it is mounted correctly.

Kudos to Brunton, this kind of support for a discontinued line is exemplary.

That is good on Brunton's part, but I'm still left confused. To clarify:

In Jerry's post #45, the 1st photo shows a Manfrotto 200PL plate (or similar RC2 compatible plate) on the left and a Vivitar/ProMaster plate (PL-100 or part #5924) on the right:

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3339368&postcount=28

Which one did Brunton supply? The Manfrotto plate will mount on the Brunton head, but is a friction hold only and allows slippage. The Vivitar/ProMaster plate locks via a pin in the head matching a socket on the plate bottom and will not slip on the Brunton head (and will not mount on a Manfrotto RC2 head). The Manfrotto-compatible plate is much easier to get hold of.

BTW, my personal solution was to (a) order in some #5924 plates from an eBay seller for use with Brunton heads; and (b) replace the head on one of my Brunton tripods with an Arca-Swiss compatible ball head. I may convert completely to an Arca-Swiss system, though that is limiting if I decide I want a tilt-pan head alongside ball and monopod heads (note that my primary use is photography, not my one low-end scope).

...Mike

etudiant · Feb 7, 2016

mfunnell said:
That is good on Brunton's part, but I'm still left confused. To clarify:

+Which one did Brunton supply? The Manfrotto plate will mount on the Brunton head, but is a friction hold only and allows slippage. The Vivitar/ProMaster plate locks via a pin in the head matching a socket on the plate bottom and will not slip on the Brunton head (and will not mount on a Manfrotto RC2 head). The Manfrotto-compatible plate is much easier to get hold of.

...Mike

MIke, the plate Brunton supplied is shown in FrankD's post dated Jan 8, number 19 in the thread.
It has no secondary pin, just holes where one could be set. It holds my Nikon EDIII 60mm scope very adequately. I see no obvious mechanical lock other than friction, so it probably is not as heavy duty as the original plate, which does have a secondary pin and a mechanical lock. However, I don't have bigger lenses or scopes which might stress it.
If you ever find a good system of compatible plates that don't cost the earth with which one could migrate easily between a decent ballhead and a regular fluid head please give this forum a shout.

mfunnell · Feb 7, 2016

etudiant said:
If you ever find a good system of compatible plates that don't cost the earth with which one could migrate easily between a decent ballhead and a regular fluid head please give this forum a shout.

I wish I could, but I don't think it's happening. The closest I can come is to look at:

http://www.hejnarphotostore.com/

...for replacement Arca-Swiss compatible clamps you can retro-fit to Manfrotto heads . But this is far from an inexpensive option: first you have to pay full whack for the head, then pay mucho dinero for a replacement Arca-Swiss clamp to fit to it. It is nice to know the option is there, but so far my thoughts amount to: "too rich for my blood (and wallet)".

And even then you end up needing to use Arca-Swiss compatible plates which tend more expensive than plates for the various proprietary systems out there.

...Mike

NDhunter · Feb 15, 2016

This is an update to this thread, Botach shows just 30 of the carbon fiber models left.

I have one, and the tripod is very nice, and is a good buy.

Jerry

FrankD · Feb 15, 2016

Wow that was fast Jerry. When I looked one day at the end of last week they had 115!

I did find one negative to the Brunton carbon fiber tripod (but I am sure it is not unique to just this tripod). I had it out yesterday morning to do some phonescoping for sparrows. At 5 degrees Fahrenheit with a bit of a wind chill to boot the head was almost unusable. Extremely stiff to move though it was possible. Here is one of the pics.....

Brunton aluminum & carbon closeout (1 Viewer)

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