Tripod Advice

[Frank Petronio]

Oh, I've seen some wondering quality manufacturing from China, and Taiwan is probably even better and more consistent.

I don't have a problem with where it is made at this point, it just an unknown brand. I don't suppose there is a practical warranty with one?

[Greg Lockrey]

This is copied from their site:
Within our one year warranty period, if there is any damage due to manufacture defect or parts defect, then the user will be responsible for return shipping cost only. For other damages, the user is responsible for roundtrip shipping cost and also for parts and labor cost. Our factory is located in Taiwan. All tripods requiring service and repair have to be shipped back to Taiwan only. So if you check your local post office, you can probably estimated the shipping cost.

For small parts damage, we usually ship replacement parts to our customers free of charge even it's passed warranty period. If carbon fiber tube is damaged due to cause other than manufacture defect, then we will charge the material cost for replacement tube. All parts are ship from us directly to our customers and also give them instruction on repair."

There is a guy in California who does import them. I don't have his name but you can find his e-bay store by searching Feisol.

[Sheldon N]

I have the Feisol CT-3301N and have been pleased with it and with their service as well. The shipping was very fast when I purchased it, and it's a great sturdy and lightweight tripod legset, especially for the price.

I also had the opportunity to deal with their warrantee service, when I managed to crack the mounting point on one leg. In all fairness, it was totally my fault because I was trying to plant the legs in deep snow (several feet deep) with a Cambo 4x5 rail mounted on the head. If you've never tried to plant a tripod in deep snow, what happens is the legs all try to continue in a straight line through the snow, forcing the tripod to spread wider - like doing the splits. I was basically pile driving (and I mean pile driving!) the legs into the snow with 12lbs of camera/lens/head on it. It cracked a leg mount - not the tube or the crown, but the top metal hinge at the end of the leg. The tripod continued to function fine and remained stable, and I didn't even notice the crack for a couple weeks (though I remembered having heard the "crack" when I did it). I emailed Feisol and told them what happened and they were nice enough to send me a free replacement leg the next day, with instructions how to replace it. I had the leg within 4 days, and the tripod is good as new.

A Gitzo is a better tripod overall, but for the price you can't beat a Feisol. I'd gladly buy another one of their legsets.

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

As Walter Callahan says, it is difficult to understand why one tries to get away with spending necessities such as a good tripod. I would suggest that you don't sk.mp over that one. Both Ries and Berlebach have good models. Good luck..