I have the S version of this tripod for about the same time as yourself and it's still kick'n. The one thing I wish RRS included with their tripods are the foam grips. I'm a cyclist and I had some handlebar tape that I installed on the tripod; it makes carrying my gear more comfortable and easier to grab and pickup. I use this with several Canon cameras, Jobu Pro Gimbal, 600II lens, and flash setup. It has not let me down. Like many others and yourself, I purchased 2 tripods before finally go with a RRS. I also have only cleaned the legs once because some sand had gotten into the legs from shooting at the beach. If you have the funds, go straight to the top and save yourself time and money. There are other players in this market with nice products: Jobu and Feisol.
I use the same set-up primarily for my heavier film cameras (a Shen Hao 6x17 and a Mamiya RZ67). Very stable, quick set-up, extremely well-made. Expensive, but well worth the cost...its the last one you'll ever need.
I have the exact same setup, only I have the gimble pano head as well which sits on top of the ball head. It is such a great tripod, it is rock solid every time. I will agree with you on it being a pain to travel with.
No pole in the center for the really right stuff doesn't take away its performance at all, I got both, the upside of the no center Colum is base on the ball-head as you can see the build of the TVC33 and the Smaller travel ones will depend on your needs, the bh55 is 50bls vs the bh30 at 15bls, much much lighter. the bigger ones can hold more weight good for those super telephoto lenses, for people that's not going to shoot with those massive lenses and not doing heavy loads it don't make sense imo to but the big ones, the ascends vs the versa is a totally different apex all together, I finally got my ascend and its bad ass for everything and it too can hold allot of weight and fit in a small roller or hookl on a backpack. I love the versas anyway, it will last a life time once you keep them clean.
Great review Ben I currently have a Manfrotto tripod which is fine for overseas trips etc but my next purchase will be the RRS TVC33 only heard good things about them. keep up the great reviews and vlogs. cheers Paul.
Hi Ben Great review I have the TVC33 and the BH55 also have the Gitzo Ocean with the Arca Swiss Monoball, use the RRS for large format Gitzo for 35mm both good tripods and heads.
Beautiful .. I thought this model is discontinued ... I hope i can get it soon if available ... Im using GITZO now ,,its good one also ... thank you Ben,, always beautiful videos you post over here ..
I own the BH-55 but sits on my manfrotto 057c3 CF ,should have just gone with the RRS-TVC33 together with there ball head, good choice better then mine, thanks.
Hi Ben, just a quick question: as far as I know carbon fiber and sea water are not a good match. The general belief is that if you are going to be shooting seascapes and be immersing the tripod in salt water it is better to use an aluminium one. What are your thoughts on this one? Also for shooting really low a stable platform seems to be a platypod. It’s a product that is used for sneaky photography when tripods are not allowed and can be placed really low on the ground.
Sorry Benjamin but the real object of your vlog was to see what camp you fall into. As you are well aware, at this price, those camps are really only RRS or Gitzo. In your case you are RRS. For me the Gitzo carbon fibre tripods are superior simply because of the engineering in the head of the tripod itself. I have the model GT5543XLS with their Gitzo ballhead and have had NO failure so far. For me, Gitzo beats the RRS hands down engineering wise. You pays your money Benjy, you take your choice. Gitzo for me every time.
Robert Stancer it’s not about camps. I didn’t even consider the Gitzo when I purchased the RRS. As long as you are happy with your gear that’s all that matters. I am sure I would be just as happy with a Gitzo, I have a good friend with one, with the RRS BH55 head on it. Cheers, Ben.
When I was in the market a heavy duty tripod, there were some unhappy Gitzo owners who had failed legs because of the casting and their customer services was not being responsive or that good. Bad customer service is a big turn off for me. There were no reported issues with RRS tripods at the time, so I went that route and glad I did. Plus, their customer service is top notch. Below is one of many complaints I'd seen about the the Gitzo tripods during my research. Turned me off from Gitzo. www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1262154/
Robert Stancer I have both brands and have never had a problem with either of them. Having said that, my preference is the RRS. Definitely a step up from Gitzo.
Had a Gitzo broke on first time out and after 3 weeks no replacement, customer service sucks bad, don't believe me lookup where you can get a Gitzo serviced.
Bought a Gitzo, it broke first time out, went back to store and a rep for Gitzo was there and told me on Saturday that as soon as she was back on Monday in the office, they would send me out a new one to replace the one I received, 3 weeks later not a peep not even after several visits to my store and several emails, I returned it way crappy service.
Terrible tripod for studio work. Way too low to shoot any model over 5 ft 10. No center column for 2 or 3 inches of fast height adjust when changing setup or focal length, good luck adjusting 3 different places when you want to lower or raise the center of the image by even an inch. No center column means no center column raise knob to loosely tie a remote release around so the weight is taken off the camera connection port. This tripod was probably made only for landscape work. Then again it doesn’t even include polyurethane/neoprene warmers around the legs like a Neo Carmagne.
