Sirui tripod owners

[dalex_257]

Hi

I have question to those who already own Sirui tripods. I got myself a shiny new Sirui travel tripod recently (T2204X Travel Tripod & K-20X Ball Head) and it came with separate short center column supplied. But that short center column had the threaded bolt (the one to attach the ballhead) screwed in where where the hook supposed to be and I cannot take it off. Analyzing the longer center column it looks as though the threads on the hook attachment end are a lot finer and the only way to screw that bolt in there is by force. I guess someone did it for mine and it got stuck there.

Since I got my tripod new, I wanted to check if the same happened to any other owners of Sirui tripods and how your short column look out of the box? I checked the Sirui site and their parts diagram certainly does not have any bolts showing on short center column.

Thanks

 

[dalex_257]

An update. It appears that the short center column that is exactly the same as long one is only present in N- and M- series of Sirui tripods. The T- series considered to be more travel oriented and as such are a bit shorter so they come with short column that is designed to be used as extension of the long one rather than a replacement. This is rather strange logic but this is what Sirui explained to me when I sent them an enquiry.

They also sent me a free short column from N- series tripod that fits my T2204 perfectly without even charging me or asking any questions which I consider a top class service (it arrived in 2 days being sent from HK).

Quality wise, I did briefly used Benro (borrowed from a friend) before deciding to get this one as a travel tripod and in my view Sirui is better. The handling and make quality reminds me of Gitzo but their attention to small details surpasses anything that I have seen so far. For example every single rotational part (platform that attaches to center column and ball head that attaches to that platform) could be locked in place with the small retained screws instead of need to be screwed in really tightly. And those locking screws are all accessible from the sides so it all can be done directly on tripod without taking anything apart. The rubber leg tips can be turned into spikes very neatly by turning them a few times until spikes come out etc. These are all small things but it is nice to see that someone actually cares enough to address them in photographer friendly way.