Ries Head

[Jonathan Brewer]

This for Ellis Veneer and David Munson and anybody else that is interested. A w hile ago I was having dialogue with you folks about the Ries Head possibly being adapted by Ries to my Gitzo 1500.

I just got back my tripod and the A-250 head from Ries. Ries had guarentee d that if I shipped them the Gitzo, they could adapt the Ries head to it. I put the Ries head on the Gitzo for a 'looksee', and it's a thing of beauty!

Ries machined a metal spacer plate and secured it to underneath the Ries he ad w/screws. The openings for the screws were neatly countersinked. Machining for the spacer was neat and flat. They then provided a plastic/rubber spacer th at fits between the head and tripod so that there is no scraping or grinding of metal. They were also polite and considerate enought to put the old screw f/the Gitzo in a zip lock bag.

I'm a woodworker, so I know first rate workmanship when I see it. The techn ician who did this took pride in his work. The Gitzo and Ries look like a work of art in a heavy duty and functional kind of way. You could drive a truck over this combo and I would seriously consider betting on the tripod and head.

[David R Munson]

Glad to hear of your success. I just ordered a few replacement parts for my geriatric Ries 'pod and, as usual, the service was wonderful. Ries really is a first class company- it's a shame more people in the photo industry don't have the same attitude and pride as they do.

[David Payumo]

Good thing you guys got some good service. I didn't have a good experience. I wanted some simple locking rings because my H600 backpacker tripod likes popping them off. They couldn't afford shipping it to Canada so I never got these parts that cost loose change. Anyone know how to tighen the Ries legs at the point where you screw the legs together? They flex a lot. This tripod is for lightweight use only. An Arca Swiss Discovery is a little too heavy for it along with a Manfrotto 3275. Another problem I had was one of the screws that hold down a leg lock has loosen and cause some wood to break off from the hole. This happened from mere tightening and untightening of the knobs. I wish I got a Gitzo CF tripod.