I'm erring the same way. I'd rather pay the extra and have guaranteed quality. Plus I don't like rewarding the fakers.
Printable View
It looks very similar as the Manfrotto (Bogen) 410 Geared head.....looks to be a similar price too (at least in the UK)
I'm sure many of us could vouch for the 410.
Mike
I have a 410, and it's worked well for me. I'm on some architectural photography groups on Facebook, though, and a number of people their complain about 410s. A number of them tried the Benbro, and the consensus seemed to be that the Benbro was better built and more reliable. I don't have any first hand knowledge of the Benbro. If I needed a geared head, I'd give it a serious look.
yeah - the 405 and 410 have a good following - the Manfrotto MHXPRO-3WG was a nice idea (light) but apparently doesn't hold up over time and has a tendency to jump out of alignment when using the quick-levers.
I'm looking for something lighter than the 405 / 410 and more reliable / precise than the MHXPRO but without having to sell my first-born :)
Hence I've landed on the Benro.
The question though is: has anyone tried the ones being sold out of China at a cheaper price? It's easy to speculate but that doesn't really help me so I'm reaching out in the hope of finding someone with first-hand experience as to whether they're just cheap knock-offs or are legit / good quality?
I'm probably just going to get one from my local store BUT I have a few young friends in my acting group who don't have the same budget so these could be good for them (although they also don't have the budget for being disappointed with rubbish knock-offs).
I'll just quote Sir Frederick Henry Royce, of Rolls-Royce fame:
"The quality remains after the price is forgotten."
Caveat: I've never used anything made by Benro (or Rolls-Royce for that matter).
Also, from sculptor Alexander Calder:
"Fine tools contribute to fine work."
Best of luck with your decision.
After having received some AliExpress Manfrotto RC2 quick release mounts that are really poorly made I realised what people were talking about with regards use of soft / poor quality metals in the die-cast process.
1 of the 3 units had a part that kept falling off simply because the thread that it was screwed into had worn away. The units use a cam'd lever that uses friction / compression to hold the mount in place - all 3 have started to show signs of wearing away within literally 5-20 uses.
So I went with my local supplier and got something that I know is legit. After the above experience, I'd recommend people NOT buy the cheaper ones from AliExpress and eBay that "claim" to be Benro originals: I think you'll just end up binning it and buying an original later so no point wasting money unnecessarily: just go straight for the legit Benro unit.