Can't wait!

[madugo]

Sirui is kinda on par with benro...both china brand...sirui is pretty new brand...and less well known name, yet...even in china...
but if the price is not that of a different, i d go with benro...gonna think of the resale value too...sirui would be kinda hard to sell if you wanna upgrade later lol...
as far as if it would hold 70-200, i think the a2691 would not be a problem...
my body along with the grip is close to the weight of a 1d series...yet when i mount the 70-200 2.8 IS II with the body+grip on my c2681...still holds up pretty good...pretty nice hold from the B1 ball head too...
i think both the 2681 and 2691 are rated to 12 lbs? but people do mostly reviewed that the 2681 is a little more stabled than the 2691...

[soymilk]

2681/2691 is rated for 12kg I believe. I see an a2681 on eBay for 210. Carbon fiber for 350.

The sirui is not bad IMO, you can't take all the bad reviews for face value. Could be user error or manufacturing defect. Even if you look at top of the line gear you'll see people giving bad reviews. For me 220 for the sirui carbon fiber with 12 lbs weight limit or 210 for the aluminum 2681/2691 with the 20-22lbs weight limit..... The benro wins.

People have mentioned the sirui has better build quality.

[madugo]

Lol ya 12kg..
I thought something was weird when i typed 12lbs lol

[soymilk]

Yea from the reviews I've read they said the Ballhead starts having problems at 20 lbs. I'm no where near that so I should be good. Pretty impressive for a cheapish set of sticks.

Gitzo woulda cost an arm n leg. Now I'm just debating between the 2681 vs 2691. 2681 only has 4 sections, while the 2691 has 5. But then again the 2691 is only about 13" folded up. The 2681 is about 15-16"...... Decision...

[madugo]

Yea from the reviews I've read they said the Ballhead starts having problems at 20 lbs. I'm no where near that so I should be good. Pretty impressive for a cheapish set of sticks.

Gitzo woulda cost an arm n leg. Now I'm just debating between the 2681 vs 2691. 2681 only has 4 sections, while the 2691 has 5. But then again the 2691 is only about 13" folded up. The 2681 is about 15-16"...... Decision...

ya...i am thinking to change out the b1 ball head...its not bad...but not that good to me either...
still a little wabbleing when shooting tele or macro...
i went with the 2681 because i don't really carry it around all day...
it's the 4 vs 5 sections that made the 2681 more stabled...

[Hangman]

The Benro came today. Pretty nice and light. But not as sturdy as the Ravelli. But its also not 11lb like the Ravelli either :) Looks to be a very nice tripod for my travels coming up.. One thing thats disappointing though is that on Benro's site, they listed the load capacity as 12kg. But on the box it says 6kg/13.3 lbs. Kinda mis-leading from the website since I think they might had a mis-type of kg instead of lbs on their site.

[soymilk]

I think 12kg should be right. Make sure you got the right model. I've head of people throwing 20lb of gear on top and it still holds

[photogdude]

tripod weight loads are like filter flow rates, always get more than the manufactures advertise

[Hangman]

hhmm..I got the BH1 head with the 2690 so its only 13 lbs.. arrggg!!!

[photogdude]

a great way to see how sturdy your tripod is this. mount a laser pointer or small flashlight to your camera hotshoe. put your camera/lens on your tripod fully extended with the light pointing at a wall and see how the light moves. play around with that to see how sturdy it is (or isn't)

[Hangman]

Its actually really sturdy. Mounted the 70-200 in portrait mode and no give or play at all. Looks like it will work for now. And the size is right for travel as well. Especially for a tripod at the $200 price point.

[madugo]

2690 is 6kg, 2691 is 12kg..
Also its bh1 ballhead on the 2690, and b1 on the 2691..totally different head lol..might wanna return the 2690 and get the 2691..i think the price difference is not that much lol..i think the newest model from benro in this series is 2692..

[madugo]

Also hang something a little heavy, like a bag with something in it on the hook of the center pole..it will make the tripod more stable..

[tbui1178]

Its actually really sturdy. Mounted the 70-200 in portrait mode and no give or play at all. Looks like it will work for now. And the size is right for travel as well. Especially for a tripod at the $200 price point.

Pretty sick lookin setup!

[Hangman]

I think I am going to keep the 2690. It meets all my needs. My main concern was that the head was strong enough to hold the 70-200 without slip and slowly tilting the front of the lens down. I tested and it doesn't so its good to go. The 2691 is $80 more.