The Ries Tripods business status thread

[Fred L]

Yikes, the price is pretty steep now, glad I got my A and J tripods with double heads years back. Would not want anything else under my 8x10 or 7x17.

Quick question for those who have them, what are the slider loops for ? Can't seem to figure it out.

[Michael R]

Glad I never got sucked into Ries.

[interneg]

Glad I never got sucked into Ries.

They've got a certain air of Hollywood/ F64 manqué about them.

A series 5 Gitzo is almost always a better choice.

[Jeff Keller]

They are the extra clamps so that the lower leg extension is held in place by two clamps instead of one.
see: https://www.riestripod.com/product/large-format/

Yikes, the price is pretty steep now, glad I got my A and J tripods with double heads years back. Would not want anything else under my 8x10 or 7x17.

Quick question for those who have them, what are the slider loops for ? Can't seem to figure it out.

[Tin Can]

I now prefer Chinese Tripods

They make very good stuff for less and somehow ship very fast

Got ANOTHER Tripod recently and will show it off shortly, as soon as I can FlickR ON

Then I wanted SS Spikes, bingo eBay

I am working on my FULL KIT under 20lbs

News at 6, someday...

[linhofbiker]

Always fancied a Reis tripod but found a near new ZoneVI large tripod off of Ebay last year. Nice to have a wooden tripod that can take abuse, just like my very old metal ones from Linhof.

[Tracy Storer]

Opinions vary.
I like Gitzos, AND my older Ries tripods. Horses for courses.

They've got a certain air of Hollywood/ F64 manqué about them.

A series 5 Gitzo is almost always a better choice.

[Drew Wiley]

Chinese tripods. Ha! I used to sell fiberglass clad CST Berger survey tripods made in the US. The Chinese made an identical looking clone at a third the price; but the legs would slip, and the hardware would break within a month - useless. Zone VI tripods were just tweaked so-so quality survey tripods, and nowhere near in the league of Ries. Both my Ries have held up superbly over decades of sheer torture. Gitzo was OK. But who needs their skin stuck to metal in freezing weather, or likes toting around a lightning rod over the high passes? Been there, done that.

And Ries should have a Hollywood air to them - that's what they were designed for to begin with, and their reputation has held up for a very long time indeed. I'd hate to see a temporary blip during an especially difficult season with respect to supply chain issues for many manufacturers interrupt that. But keep us posted, new purchasers.

[Vaughn]

I have done things with and done things to my Ries that would have required major repair/replacement of any Gitzo. I had the threaded portion of a Gitzo leg (Studex...Series 3) snap off in the Grand Canyon back in 1984 (temp. fix was using the tape I kept around one of the legs for such emergencies). At least this was back when it was easy to get a free replacement leg (thru B&H) and they tossed in replacement 'washers' or whatever they are called for the leg locks.

But the same Gitzo above also served me well on my bike ride in New Zealand, so I fond attachment for them...and still own/use a couple of them for the minature cameras (4x5, 5x7).

[Alan9940]

This is probably going to sound a bit silly, but one aspect of my A200 head that I really enjoy is that spring-loaded camera screw when setting up. I have a little trouble getting my 8x10 Deardorff mounted on a Gitzo G1570m head, but easy-peasy on the Ries head. Yeah, I know I could use any number of different mounting plates--been there, done that--but I prefer a large, solid connection between camera and tripod head.