The "New Gear/Willy Waving" thread

Soldato
Joined
24 Apr 2006
Posts
6,363
Location
SE England
Got my Redsnapper 283 tripod and RSH-12 ball head today.

Thoroughly impressed by it. The build quality is superb, so sturdy and the ball head movement is so smooth. The weight isn't as bad as I was fearing. Great Christmas present from the GF. :)

8345669437_f594d9d1fb_c.jpg
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Apr 2006
Posts
6,363
Location
SE England
Who's been pimping RS for years? :D


Good combination :)

Yes, I've seen breadcrumbs of your thoughts all over the net on the topic of RS when researching. You weren't the one that swayed me to get the combo though, so don't feel too proud. :D

It's a lot of tripod for the money. I thought I read somewhere that it came with a shorter centre pole so it can spider leg closer to the ground.
 
Associate
Joined
22 Sep 2009
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2,085
Location
Leicester
Redsnapper is up there with the best tripods (in general, not just for the money). I mentioned earlier in the thread that I looked at upgrading my legs to Gitzo ones but found for the money there wasn't many advantages.

My only gripes with Redsnapper are:
Their heads are pants. The RSH-12 is dreadful, it's basically a cheap Chinese ballhead on steroids, no matter how much I tightened it it never seemed to stay in place when I had my camera on (D3 and a 28-70 f2.6, so heavier than most). In comparison my Gitzo head you just twist it, smooth as butter, and it's locked solid as a rock. Easy fix - buy a better head.
Secondly, their quick release plates are pants too, the rubber has no grip and rotates on my camera base. In comparison the Gitzo plate is again solid as a rock, I've never found the need to overtighten which was something I did with the Redsnapper ones, and even then they were still loose enough to rotate. Easy fix - buy Arca-Swiss plates from other places, they're universal after all!
Third, their shorter centre column is still too long in my opinion, one of the main advantages I would get by going Gitzo is the ability to completely remove the centre column. Any column, raised or lowered, is going to be knocked by the wind and cause vibrations.
Finally, their twist lock legs are a bit fiddly sometimes, I've had to take mine apart and fix the legs as they wouldn't lock, or one would be longer than the other two when shortened, not by a little amount either, on some occasions by a couple of inches! On other occasions the legs wouldn't lock and would progressively extend (when walking), or shrink (with a camera on top).

However, beyond those issues they are still amazing legs and as said, the best value for money in 'standard' tripods in my opinion. The 2 leg issues certainly haven't deterred me from keeping it and I've never once felt I've needed to be careful using it, a bit of maintenance and a quick check over to make sure the legs are fine before I'm out and I'm happy.
 
Associate
Joined
5 Feb 2008
Posts
2,207
Mate picked this up in a charity shop for £5



Does anyone know what film you can use with it ?

Got one of those in the original box, with a price label of £12.25p on it! (my Dad used it quite extensively when we were small).

According to the manual inside the box the Colour Swinger uses Type 88 colour film. I'm not sure if it is now available, since they're nearly 40 years old (the manual I think is dated November 1974).

Fuji and The Impossible Project both do films for newer Polaroid Camera/Backs for medium format so it might be worth browsing their sites.

Just found an empty box for the flashcubes in the bottom of the main box. There were three in a box (with 12 flashes in total) made by General Electric in the USA, they cost the princely sum of 84p :)
 
Soldato
Joined
5 Jan 2003
Posts
3,517
Location
Somewhere in the middle
New Lee system

After a few attempts and having to return some Hitech parts sold as Lee I've now got my Lee Filter system up and running :) ...... Pricey, but nicely made kit...
Got the holder set for just a single filter, as that way it only very slightly vignettes on my 17-35 Contax lens, which has a 95mm thread ! ... So might need to look to the push on holder at some point.

Lee2.jpg
 
Associate
Joined
25 Jul 2007
Posts
1,675
Bought an 18/2 for my X-Pro 1. Was a tough choice between that and the 35/1.4, but I use 28mm way more than 50, and I have the M-mount adapter for my 35/2. Plus I want to see what Zeiss's 32/1.8 is like, although Fuji's 35/1.4 is amazingly good anyway. Pictures when it arrives.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2007
Posts
4,795
Location
Portsmouth
Redsnapper is up there with the best tripods (in general, not just for the money). I mentioned earlier in the thread that I looked at upgrading my legs to Gitzo ones but found for the money there wasn't many advantages.

My only gripes with Redsnapper are:
Their heads are pants. The RSH-12 is dreadful, it's basically a cheap Chinese ballhead on steroids, no matter how much I tightened it it never seemed to stay in place when I had my camera on (D3 and a 28-70 f2.6, so heavier than most). In comparison my Gitzo head you just twist it, smooth as butter, and it's locked solid as a rock. Easy fix - buy a better head.
Secondly, their quick release plates are pants too, the rubber has no grip and rotates on my camera base. In comparison the Gitzo plate is again solid as a rock, I've never found the need to overtighten which was something I did with the Redsnapper ones, and even then they were still loose enough to rotate. Easy fix - buy Arca-Swiss plates from other places, they're universal after all!
Third, their shorter centre column is still too long in my opinion, one of the main advantages I would get by going Gitzo is the ability to completely remove the centre column. Any column, raised or lowered, is going to be knocked by the wind and cause vibrations.
Finally, their twist lock legs are a bit fiddly sometimes, I've had to take mine apart and fix the legs as they wouldn't lock, or one would be longer than the other two when shortened, not by a little amount either, on some occasions by a couple of inches! On other occasions the legs wouldn't lock and would progressively extend (when walking), or shrink (with a camera on top).

However, beyond those issues they are still amazing legs and as said, the best value for money in 'standard' tripods in my opinion. The 2 leg issues certainly haven't deterred me from keeping it and I've never once felt I've needed to be careful using it, a bit of maintenance and a quick check over to make sure the legs are fine before I'm out and I'm happy.

Have you or any other owners managed to figure out how to fit the tripod and head connected ingot the supplied bag? I've still not mastered it :o
 
Man of Honour
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
100,333
Location
South Coast
Spec? If those are 5D3 images then that's not far from what I'm getting right now anyway :p (4.3GHz 2500K).

e:

Cokin H250A ND Gradual Filter Kit
Cokin P477 77mm P Series Adapter Ring

Total: £63.98

That's the kit I'm looking at, looking online they seem to get favourable reviews (4-4.5 stars all round).
 
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