eBay cheap lens collars

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Hi, my better half has just bought the new Nikon 300mm f4 vr which obviously doesn't come with a lens collar. I know I can buy a ludicrously expensive circle of metal from Kirk for £170 and I'm sure you get what you pay for.... right!

There are cheap as chips ones on eBay for £12 - metal also.

She will only use it to take the weight off occasionally for things like at the zoo or birding, 99% of the time on a monopod.
And the collar will give the option to flip from landscape to portrait, which ofcourse attaching the monopod to a plate on the camera doesn't allow.

Is there anything that can be so bad for £12? I'm assuming it won't/can't damage the lens in anyway unless its so badly made it has rough edges - the picture would indicate it doesn't.
£12 vs £170, it's a huge difference.
Has anyone bought one and have any experiences with them?
 
I got one a while back just to use if I had a TC on the lens, it works fine and hasn't caused any damage to the lens ... certainly wouldn't pay the inflated Nikon price. :)
 
Thanks gramps, only needed 1 thumbs up before risking £12, but good to get a thumbs up first none the less. Cheers
 
That's my view, if it was for a rock solid landscape set up or a 500f4 then I can understand but as usage will be as described in 1st post with a baby 800g lens i was thinking structurally it would be fine.
 
I bought one off eBay for my Nikon 70-200 f/4 (which is the same size mount etc as the 300mm f/4) which had an integrated arca plate for £20, and it's really good! For the money, obviously lacks the last 5-10% of build quality / finesse that the Nikon one has. But importantly it's not going to fall apart, and does what it needs too.
 
Thanks all. I'm the o/h and I know I'd miss the collar (like my old 300 had) for the few times I do go portrait and it's not like I'd leave it hanging over a lake unattended.
For the price I might have to spray it camo green to go with the new neoprene jacket that's been delivered today :D

Great thread, useful to see what others views are too
 
It was delivered on Thursday which I wasn't expecting to be quite so soon. It seems perfectly fine, fits like a glove and seems solid. Only tried it out at home on the tripod but feels better already for movement and balance.
Perfectly happy with the quality so far :)
 
I wish someone would make a cheap version of the Sigma TS-41 collar - I want one, but I'm not paying £150+ for a fairly simple bit of metal just because I want a bit more clearance. :D
 
I know I'd miss the collar (like my old 300 had) for the few times I do go portrait.

Have you thought of an L bracket as they are easy to change between landscape and portrait orientation?

I had a collar with the 70-200 f4, the collar was good quality for the price and seemed solid enough, but I didn't really use it as the lens was so light that it didn't need supporting at that point. Changing orientation with the L bracket I have attached to the camera was as easier, no extra weight/bulk and wasn't lens specific. The 300f4 VR and 70-200 f4 are quite light lenses that weigh less than the cameras and around the same as the 24-70 f2.8 that's never had a collar. I think Nikon added the possibility of collars as an extra due to our legacy thinking we need one not because previous models needed them for balance/support but because its what we are used to (not that it's the wrong thinking, there are several ways to do the same thing as technology moves on).

I'm glad you are happy with the tripod collar, I'm sure it will be ok security wise and won't drop the camera. The 300 f4 VR looks like a great lens.
 
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I wish someone would make a cheap version of the Sigma TS-41 collar - I want one, but I'm not paying £150+ for a fairly simple bit of metal just because I want a bit more clearance. :D

I was gobsmacked at the price of the Kirk one... not sure what warrants the extra £165 [emoji15]
 
Have you thought of an L bracket as they are easy to change between landscape and portrait orientation?
I'm glad you are happy with the tripod collar, I'm sure it will be ok security wise and won't drop the camera.

Hi Rob, thanks for the reply. Never actually looked at the L bracket to be honest, I guess I just liked the way the collar worked for spinning the cam quickly on the old 300mm and just went with what I'm used to.
I only ever use this lens so didn't really overthink it too much. It's more from a 'how I use it' way than a real balance or weight thing. I need to get used to the fact I can hand hold this a lot more now too :)
 
it's probably two different manufacturing technologies. Costs a lot if carved by a craftsman, especially if paying US wages Costs a lot less if made by programmed machine tools, especially if paying Far Eastern wages. Then there are those managers who spy a commercial opportunity -- why not make it with programmed machine tools and charge craftsman prices?
 
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