tripod

[Richard Schlesinger]

In shopping for a new tripod I ran across Promaster - made in China naturally. It appears a knock off of Bogen, but a better elevator and better finished. All in all, a better deal for a bit less money - a nice size (Promaster 2) for $129.00. Does anyone have any experience with this brand?

[Donald Hutton]

One little tip - anything ever goes wrong with your Bogen, you simply phone the customer service department and they send you whatever you need. Tripods "wear".

[Bob Fowler]

Don is right, Bogen has a top notch support system (at least here in the US). I needed replacement leg locks for a 20+ year old tripod and had them the next day.

[Michael Graves]

Years ago I worked for a camera store in Phoenix, Arizona that sold Promaster tripods. The one thing I learned about them is that they are much better tripods when in somebody else's outfit and not mine. I stupidly bought one because they were offering "employee discounts". The legs bound up all the time and were all but worthless in the cold. The elevator gears stripped inside of six months and I can honestly say; I truly HATED that tripod. I later bought a Bogen for medium format and a Gitzo for large format. Nuff said.

[Mark Volle]

I have several Bogen tripods. While I have transitioned to mostly all carbon fiber tripods recently, the Bogens are still the "indestructable" tools.

I have broken a lot of parts and pieces over the years but they always send me new ones and I have never broken a part while doing something I should have been doing....

Their assortment of clamps, adaptors and widgets has earned my respect.

[John Brownlow]

The Bogen Magfiber carbon fiber tripods are excellent.

[John Dziadecki]

I've managed to shear off two of the leg locks on my older Bogen 3021 -- yes, I have a duopod. Anyone know the Bogen Customer Service phone number? And is it possible to replace the part rather than with an entire new leg lock mechanism? The new leg lock clamps differ from the older leg lock levers.

Also, has anyone here had experience with the Bogen/Manfroto 458B carbon fiber tripod and willing to share that experience? I really like the design of the leg lock mechanism and the fact that the legs get, what, thicker with more extension. How stable a unit is this when fully extended?

Thanks,
John