Brunton aluminum & carbon closeout (1 Viewer)

Botach has the Brunton aluminum & carbon on sale for a great price
carbon for $59.00 and aluminum for $39.00 the carbon is the new model
F-TPOD350-CBNR not Brunton 81-230318 Carbon Fiber Tripod the one that
I received was the new model both of them are the same tripod just
different number, I have both carbon now

opened the box,, the tripod level bubbles don't work and the one
that's on the head bubble is very small bubble this is not right but I will keep
it. I don't use the bubbles anyway.
http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=568689&stc=1&d=1451513158

Hi, I was wondering does the carbon fiber tripod seem like it could hold the 22 pound weight limit? The reason I ask is that I have a Manfrotto 475 B [actually an older 3236] with a Manfrotto 501 head on it. This weighs in at 13 lbs. with the head on it, I just weighed it, these tripods are rated at 26.5 lbs. I might mount the 501 head on the carbon fiber one if I bought one.

Mine didn't show up yet Steve. Hopefully Monday.

Hi Frank thanks for the reply, apparently OP doesn't get on here that much. I would not expect this carbon fiber one to be the same as the heavy one I have of course. There is a hook on the Brunton tripod that weight could be hung and that would help.

For what it's worth, my Brunton aluminium tripod arrived but did not include a quick release plate.

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3336887&postcount=2598

...Mike

The carbon fiber version of this tripod just was delivered.

It is incomparably more solid and stable than my much lighter Velbon Ultra Maxi. It is also much bulkier, about 27" folded, almost twice the Velbon, and at 5.2 pounds roughly three times as heavy.
The head does come with a quick release plate, plus both the head and the tripod body have small built in levels that work fine as far as I can tell.
It arrives packed in a decent zip up transport case, but no carrying strap is included. There are no instruction booklets or advertising flyers included.

The tripod has the Brunton name printed on one of the foam rubber sleeves padding the legs, but no other identifiers that I could find.
The only documentation is printed on the carton and highlights the key 1.71 meter max height specification, the universal head mount and the 3 way removable pan head.
For sixty bucks, it is a splendid value imho.

My carbon tripod is due to arrive tomorrow. Tried to pick it up at the post office today but they hadn't sorted it yet.

Will definitely check to see if the release plate is included like the aluminum version was.

For those just joining this thread, here are links to the two Brunton tripods being discussed. They are on closeout from Botach.Com

Here is the link for the carbon fiber model currently at $59.99 ......
https://www.botach.com/brunton-81-230318-carbon-fiber-tripod-4-section-w-removeable-pan-head/

Here is the link for the aluminum model currently at $39.99 ........
https://www.botach.com/brunton-f-tpod-240-alpr-aluminum-tripod-w-pan-tilt-head/

There was some initial discussion in the Binocular Bargain thread and in this thread on the Spektar scope closeout. A good place to start is post 55, then there is some good following info on the mounting plate.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=316197&page=3
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My order for the Carbon Fiber Brunton Tripod arrived and it is a good product.

I have been using an inexpensive Manfrotto tripod. The Brunton is larger and more solid. I get noticeably less shake when touching the scope. The Brunton is a more substantial and solid piece of equipment, but at a larger size and more weight.

My carbon fiber model came with a mounting plate. The Brunton weighs 5 pounds, 2.6 ounces, and that includes the mounting plate. That compares to 3 lb, 13 oz for the smaller Manfrotto.

One major difference between the two is the direction of the mounts. The Manfrotto and the Brunton are 90 degrees opposite of each other. This could be a possible problem if you have a scope with a mounting plate designed to directly mount to a Manfrotto tripod. Such is the case with my Zen-Ray Prime. The simple solution is to use the separate mounting plate and just skip attaching the built-in pad directly. (Actually, in the case of the Zen-Ray, it is a non issue because Zen-Ray got the clip angle wrong which ment a separate plate has to be used anyway.) Attached are two photos showing the heads with and without the plates. The tripod on the left is the Manfrotto and the one on the right in each of the two photos is the Brunton.

Although the Manfrotto plate and the Brunton supplied plate are not identical, they are very similar and the Manfrotto does work with the Brunton head. I used the Manfrotto plate with the Zen-Ray on the Brunton tripod and it held firm. Here is a link for the Manfrotto plate in case an extra is desired.......

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/878358-REG/Manfrotto_200PL_Mounting_Plate.html

The Brunton has great extension. When everything is fully extended, the eye piece of a straight scope would be several or more inches above my eye, with my height being about 5'11". Since I use an angled scope, I do not extend the lowest leg extensions, but do extend the center tube about half way and that is just right.

At first I thought the thumb screw that controls the right and left rotation would not tighten, but I quickly figured out the head unit was not fully tightened to the tripod. Once I screwed it on nice and tight, the left to right rotation works find along with the tension screw. All the mechanicals work as expected and is smooth enough. There is a small round bubble level on the head the seems to serve no purpose.

This tripod is definitely an upgrade for me and is a great deal for the price. Time will tell if it holds up. I expect parts will be hard to come by considering Brunton has left the optics field.

Edit: It does come with a nice nylon carrying case.

I got my carbon fiber model today, and it is missing a plate between the head and tripod, where
the set screws can tighten the horizontal movement.

Bruce, thanks for those pics, and if you would, a close up of that area would be nice, to show me
what you have.

Jerry

Jerry .... It looks like the head unit is not screwed all the way down. You may have done this already, but unscrew the head unit all the way from the tripod base. Check to see if the stud sticking out of the base is to high and preventing the head unit from screwing all the way down.

Hope these photos help. Let me know if you need more. The last one showing the head unit detached from the base should be the most informative. There were no spacer plates. You are seeing exactly how it looked immediately after removing the head unit.

NDhunter said:

I got my carbon fiber model today, and it is missing a plate between the head and tripod, where
the set screws can tighten the horizontal movement.

Jerry

Click to expand...

The picture suggests the head may not be screwed on properly, maybe cross threaded. The head fits flush on the unit shipped to me.

mfunnell said:

For what it's worth, my Brunton aluminium tripod arrived but did not include a quick release plate.

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3336887&postcount=2598

...Mike

Click to expand...

Not sure whether this site will help, but they do list Brunton QR plates:


http://www.tripodquickrelease.com/Brunton_Quick_Releases.htm

Hope you all don't mind a long time lurker intruding in this thread. I just received one of the Brunton carbon fiber tripods (with QR plate). I've tried two models of Manfrotto style QR plates on the tripod head - the ubiquitous RC2/3157N with the "cutout" rim and an older model with a solid rim like the QR supplied with the tripod but lacking the Brunton's slot on the underside. I found that, depending on which edge of the plate was adjacent to the bubble level on the head, the plates either slid sideways or the locking lever could not be closed far enough to engage the safety lock pin. While the plates never slid completely off the head (the plate rim caught on the pin that engages the slot on the Brunton plate) it was unnerving to say the least. Even applying as much pressure as i dared, the locking lever still stuck out far enough from the head that i think it could easily catch on something and be pulled open with unpleasant results.

It appears that, when installed "correctly", the Manfrotto plates are slightly smaller from front to back than the Brunton. As a quick fix I tried inserting several different thickness strips of paper or cardboard between the bubble level edge of the head and the two manfrotto plates. I was able to find a thickness for each that provided a tight enough fit that the chances of side-to-side movement during normal field use are small.

Since there was a slight difference in the optimal strip thickness for the two plates it may be that some Manfrotto plates can be found that would fit the tripod without this kludge.

Hope the above is of some use.

Alex

Closer evaluation of the QR plate/head interaction for my newly delivered Brunton CF tripod was instructive.
There is a small spring loaded safety latch beneath the QR release lever.
The lever does not close fully until this latch is pulled out. As the unit comes without any documentation, this detail is easily missed.
If the latch is not engaged, the QR plate will still be held, but not tightly and the release lever will stick out noticeably.

BruceH said:

Jerry .... It looks like the head unit is not screwed all the way down. You may have done this already, but unscrew the head unit all the way from the tripod base. Check to see if the stud sticking out of the base is to high and preventing the head unit from screwing all the way down.

Hope these photos help. Let me know if you need more. The last one showing the head unit detached from the base should be the most informative. There were no spacer plates. You are seeing exactly how it looked immediately after removing the head unit.

Click to expand...

Bruce:

Thanks for your help, after working with it for a while, I now have
it working properly. Seems like an odd design, nothing like my other
tripods.

Jerry

I received the carbon tripod this afternoon. No problems. It came with the quick release plate installed and I didn't have any problem with the head/leg connection. I set up the aluminum and carbon tripods next to each other (see pics). As expected the aluminum stands taller but not by as much as I expected. At 6'4" I can comfortably use both without having to extend the center column. I actually have to shorten the aluminum's legs slightly in order to use it.

Couple of comments/impressions:

1. The heads on each appear identical for the most part. The plates are interchangeable but the Bogen-Manfrotto plate only holds securely on the aluminum model and only if installed in one particular manner. The latter is something I didn't notice before. I have a short video of the B-M attached to the aluminum tripod on my Flickr page (link below). As you can see in the video I am holding the Bresser spotting scope and moving the entire setup back and forth without the quick release plate moving from its locked position. The B-M release plate does not hold securely in the carbon fiber model unless some of the earlier modifications mentioned are made.

2. In the fully collapsed position the aluminum model is actually about an inch more compact than the carbon model. The carbon model is slightly more stable (read that as stiffer) when fully extended. Though the aluminum model is listed as being heavier by about 2 pounds it feels more compact when collapsed because the legs have a smaller diameter than the carbon unit.

All I can think of for now....

Flickr video...... https://flic.kr/p/CW1MYr

Jerry ... Good to hear all is now well!

Frank .... Would you please post a couple of photos of just the Bogen-Manfrotto plate you used in the video to mount the Besser scope to the aluminum tripod. From that angle it looks different than the Manfrotto plate I am using. Just to double check what I said in one of my posts above, I went back and mounted the Zen-Ray scope to the carbon fiber tripod using the Manfrotto plate. I moved it around just like you did in the video and it was just as solid. The only slippage I got was between the scope and the plate, not the plate and the tripod. I wonder if we have different models of the Manfrotto plate. I believe the one I have is the one sold by B&H Photo .........

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/878358-REG/Manfrotto_200PL_Mounting_Plate.html

Steve/Moreorless ... In response to your inquiry above about how much weight the carbon fiber tripod supports, my Zen-Ray scope, as shown in a photo from an above post, weighs 4.5 pounds and is quite solid. The tripod can easily handle much more but I do not know how much more. Sorry but I got confused about what weight was what in your note. Wish I could be of more help.

Bruce,

Here you go....

Could somebody please weigh the head and/or the leg set of the carbon fiber model? I'm not interested in the head, but $60 is dirt cheap just for legs alone.

Henry