Opinions on the Redsnapper RSF-324 and RSH-12 or Alternative?

[Wissel]

The ball head on my Benro IT25 went south yesterday leaving it with very little movement.

I tried a little WD40 this morning to free it up but it didn't help. The thing is, it was a cheap tripod (about £85) and I was planning on swapping the head at a later date anyway as it has no panning feature. I'll send the head back to the dealer for fixing but I want a better head as well. My first thought was to get the Benro B1. It looks a good head but spending £120 on a head that will sit on a fairly cheap (but excellent travel) tripod seems a bit daft to me.

I had planned to buy another tripod anyway with a video head (which I won't use as often) and the Benro video head looks ideal at about £40. So I'm thinking buy the cheap video head to put on my existing tripod and have the old ball head repaired so I still have a small travel set up.

So, the new tripod. I shoot mainly landscape, with a lot of long exposure shots, so I need something sturdy. It doesn't really need to take a lot of weight as I use a mirrorless set up. Spikes would be very useful as I'm usually in the middle of nowhere and an easy way to attach a strap would be helpful. I also want to stick with Arca Swiss quick release plates.

So I started looking around and see the Redsnapper seems to fit the bill and at £160 for the RSF-324 and RSH-12 seem very good value. If they are good.

Does anyone have this tripod and ball head? If so, what's your opinion after living with it a while?
Are Redsnapper really as good as a few posts suggest?
Is there another tripod I should be considering?

I'd really appreciate some help with this.

Thanks, David.

 

[simon ess]

I have an RS tripod, but not the ball head.

The tripod is sturdy, solid and robust.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

 

[Wissel]

I have an RS tripod, but not the ball head.

The tripod is sturdy, solid and robust.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Thanks for that Simon.

As it happens I just went and tried to free the ball head on my Benro again and this time it worked, think maybe a little grit or something must have gotten into it and it took the WD40 a while to soak in. Still, it's as good as new now.

This means I'll hang fire on getting another tripod for a few weeks as I really want an off camera flash set up first.

I'd still like comments on the RedSnapper though as I will be getting another tripod fairly soon.

 

[GordH]

I have the ball head but not the tripod and can say that the ball head is well engineered and robust, everything is tight yet responsive when it needs to be, my brother has a Gitzo head and its seems every bit as good as his and I personally wouldn't hesitate in buying another one again

Gordon

 

[Wissel]

I have the ball head but not the tripod and can say that the ball head is well engineered and robust, everything is tight yet responsive when it needs to be, my brother has a Gitzo head and its seems every bit as good as his and I personally wouldn't hesitate in buying another one again

Gordon

Thanks for that, just the sort of feedback I'm after.

 

[Chipper]

I just bought Brian by 3 Legged Thing... Very clever. Will probably sell at least one of my other tripods. They seem to think of everything and it has many permutations, which I will work out how to use. It has spikes and a monopod built in ... Give them a look.

 

[mrgubby]

I've got the RSF-324 and RSH-12. Nice solid feel to both parts, legs are stable & ball is smooth... what more do you need

Unfortunately I'm a wimp with G.A.S so ended up replacing it with a carbon fibre MeFoto Globetrotter ... so the Redsnapper kit will be heading for the MM when I get my **** into gear