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Author Topic: Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?  (Read 7785 times)

tyurek

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« on: March 18, 2010, 05:49:06 pm »

Does anyone have any experience with this 3 section carbon fiber tripod? It's been around for a long time without any change in design. It looks comparable (kinda) to the Gitzo 2531. The $210 price right now sounds like a steal and I'm very tempted to upgrade my old aluminum Bogen.  I'm just not sure about the durability of the "flip" leg locks. My Bogen has given me a lot of grief since the plastic pieces that are supposed to prevent the hexagonal nuts in the flip locks from twisting  fall off and the screws routinely get loose, forcing me to carry a nut key with me at all times in the field. I was considering a Gitzo 2531LVL but  the Velbon 630A + Acratech leveling base combo  at about $360 total has considerable value compared to the $650-$700 price tag of the Gitzo.
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Robert DeCandido PhD

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2010, 08:24:54 pm »

try getting a used Gitzo CF tripod...Ebay is a good place to look. I saw a 1325 tripod sell for $275 a week ago.

Meanwhile here is a fairly good deal:

http://photo.net/gc/view-one?classified_ad_id=1106610
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DarkPenguin

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2010, 09:17:06 pm »

Quote from: tyurek
Does anyone have any experience with this 3 section carbon fiber tripod? It's been around for a long time without any change in design. It looks comparable (kinda) to the Gitzo 2531. The $210 price right now sounds like a steal and I'm very tempted to upgrade my old aluminum Bogen.  I'm just not sure about the durability of the "flip" leg locks. My Bogen has given me a lot of grief since the plastic pieces that are supposed to prevent the hexagonal nuts in the flip locks from twisting  fall off and the screws routinely get loose, forcing me to carry a nut key with me at all times in the field. I was considering a Gitzo 2531LVL but  the Velbon 630A + Acratech leveling base combo  at about $360 total has considerable value compared to the $650-$700 price tag of the Gitzo.

If you're looking for cheap I like my feisol ct-3401 carbon fiber tripod.  Like my Acratech leveling base, too.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2010, 09:17:55 pm by DarkPenguin »
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stever

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2010, 09:39:32 pm »

i strongly recommend the Feisol over the Velbon for construction and ease of use - have not used the Velbon since i bought the Feisol
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JeffKohn

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2010, 01:31:38 pm »

I had a Velbon 630 and used it for several years before upgrading to something bigger and selling it to a friend. I never had any problems with the flip locks, in fact I really miss them since the twist-locks are a PITA in comparison, much slower to use.

IMHO the Velbon 630 is a better tripod than the Gitzo 2-series or similarly-sized Fiesol.
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Jeff Kohn
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tyurek

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2010, 02:45:37 pm »

Quote from: JeffKohn
I had a Velbon 630 and used it for several years before upgrading to something bigger and selling it to a friend. I never had any problems with the flip locks, in fact I really miss them since the twist-locks are a PITA in comparison, much slower to use.

IMHO the Velbon 630 is a better tripod than the Gitzo 2-series or similarly-sized Fiesol.

Jeff, from your experience what would you say is the threshold for the Velbon 630 in terms of weight and focal length it can solidly support ?
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DarkPenguin

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2010, 03:53:02 pm »

Quote from: JeffKohn
I had a Velbon 630 and used it for several years before upgrading to something bigger and selling it to a friend. I never had any problems with the flip locks, in fact I really miss them since the twist-locks are a PITA in comparison, much slower to use.

IMHO the Velbon 630 is a better tripod than the Gitzo 2-series or similarly-sized Fiesol.

Just the flip locks or is there a stability thing?
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ErikKaffehr

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2010, 05:05:08 pm »

Hi!

I had two Velbon 630s. I still use one, the other is retired with a minor defect (probably servicable). I have been entirely satisfied with both. Now I'm using a Gitzo GT3541LS and my second Velbon Sherpa Pro 630. I agree with what Jeff says.

BTW, the problem my older Velbon developed was that there are some washers inside the tripod leg which stop the leg sections from gliding apart, one of those washer went into pieces. If the washers are available as spare parts it's an easy repair.

The Acratech head is quite nice. I prefer level type QR, so would I buy another Acratech I'd buy it without QR and add one of RRS QRs.

Best regards
Erik


Quote from: JeffKohn
I had a Velbon 630 and used it for several years before upgrading to something bigger and selling it to a friend. I never had any problems with the flip locks, in fact I really miss them since the twist-locks are a PITA in comparison, much slower to use.

IMHO the Velbon 630 is a better tripod than the Gitzo 2-series or similarly-sized Fiesol.
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Erik Kaffehr
 

JeffKohn

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2010, 06:32:13 pm »

Quote from: tyurek
Jeff, from your experience what would you say is the threshold for the Velbon 630 in terms of weight and focal length it can solidly support ?
I'd say pretty similar to what people recommend for the Gitzo 2-series.  I occasionally used it with a D2x and 200-400vr; while it had no problem supporting that weight, IMHO you really want a tripod with more mass to shoot a rig like that on a regular basis, just to provide a more solid base for getting sharp images.
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Jeff Kohn
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JeffKohn

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2010, 06:35:57 pm »

Quote from: DarkPenguin
Just the flip locks or is there a stability thing?
Not just the flip-locks. I also found the legs on the Velbon spread a little wider at the default position, which provides a larger base and is more stable on uneven terrain. The leg spread on the Gitzo 2-series and Feisols are just too narrow IMHO. This allows them to squeeze a bit more height for a given leg-length, but it compromises stability. It's worth noting the Gitzo 3-series has a wider leg spread. (My normal/default tripod now is a Gitzo 3541xls).
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Jeff Kohn
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Camboman

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Velbon El Carmagne 630A experience ?
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2010, 11:05:13 pm »

I've been using the Velbon 630A with a Kirk head for the last two years. The allen threads on the flip locks have needed tightening a couple of times, and the rulers on the legs are getting harder to read, but it's been a great performer for me. It's also gotta be the best value out there for a CF tripod, mine came with the upper leg foam, tripod carry bag, and center column weight apron at no extra charge.
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