# Bought this beauty, the Really Right Stuff TVC-33 Tripod + BH-55 head



## Obaidey (Sep 14, 2012)

A month ago, I asked this forum for tips on any way to get the tripod/head I wanted to buy, cheaper
My thread was 
[Is there a cheaper way to buy from "REALLY RIGHT STUFF"?]
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=8611.0

As no other way was found, I bought it from RRS website, directly, at full price
Paid postage, VAT and import duties, in full
It hurt much less after I opened the box

In my opinion, already having photographic gear, costing the best part of 6K, and investing almost 300-500 hours yearly in my photographic hobby, I have no hesitation in saying that I am glad that I bought that ultimate tripod combination
And, cost less than a set of alloy wheels and should prove more useful
There will hopefully not be any need to upgrade, for a very long time (perhaps until light motorised tripods are invented by Apple)

Of course, some may think that the price is not a good value, or other makes will be better, like a Gitzo
However, if there will always be a single right answer that should apply to everyone, we should expect to find one make and model of cars, owned by everyone
We don't. Because people differ in their needs, tastes and amount their are willing to spend

*How to "possibly" get it 30 - 40% cheaper, for Europe residents:*
If you postponed your purchase, until your next trip to USA "assuming you that will go there of course", you can get it delivered to your hotel within 24-48 hours
1- Postage is free for USA addresses. I would have saved 10%
2- No duties or VAT. I would have saved 30%
In my understanding, which could well be wrong; after you use it while you are in the USA, it becomes 2nd hand, thus no VAT or duty (I could be wrong here), when you arrive at the airport. Of course, you must declare them and leave it to customs to decide
Naturally, you will NOT need to bring with you the packaging. I heard that some people post them to themselves in UK, and I am not sure why!! :-\
Now, hopefully, no further duties at UK borders, as it is not new stuff anymore, with all the mud and dirt that you have collected on the legs


----------



## neuroanatomist (Sep 14, 2012)

Obaidey said:


> ...I have no hesitation in saying that I am glad that I bought the ultimate tripod combination...



Excellent choice. Of course, I may have a slight bias in that statement, since UPS just delivered a TVC-33 with clamping leveling base, BH-55 LR ballhead, PG-02 LLR gimbal head, MC-34 monopod with MH-02 Pro tilt head, 1D X L-bracket, B91-QR flash bracket, and a few miscellaneous items, all in a nice big box to my office.

I have only one regret...my office is in Boston, and I'm in Pennsylvania and won't be back to my office until Tuesday.


----------



## Vossie (Feb 7, 2014)

After a long period of thinking, I pulled the trigger and ordered a TVC-33S with BH55 PCLR head. I also ordered a nodal slide and macro rail. 

This will be a big upgrade from my heavy and old alumunium Gitzo g2222> I was so fed up with the creep in the head.


----------



## surapon (Feb 7, 2014)

Obaidey said:


> A month ago, I asked this forum for tips on any way to get the tripod/head I wanted to buy, cheaper
> My thread was
> [Is there a cheaper way to buy from "REALLY RIGHT STUFF"?]
> http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=8611.0
> ...



Dear Friend, Mr. Obaidey 
Welcome to the Club " REALLY RIGHT STUFF Club"------BEST OF THE BEST/ MADE IN USA.
The Next one = Wimberley Gimbal Head and Gitzo G-1321 Leveler.
Good Luck for your New equipment.
Surapon


----------



## slclick (Feb 7, 2014)

I'm a Jr member of the club, I have a $55 RRS tripod foot plate, woohoo


----------



## wsheldon (Feb 7, 2014)

Very nice setup. I've been following these threads as well, and decided to pull the trigger on a TVC-34L + TA-3-LB-HK leveling base to upgrade my 2-series Gitzo. Just got it yesterday - what a difference in stability! I'm 6'2" so it's also great to finally have a tripod I can use to shoot up with and lower one leg on uneven ground without having to crouch.

I decided to keep my Markins Q10 with screw clamp for now rather than spring for the BH-55, since I have a mix of plates and really like the smoothness and lower weight of the Q10 for the same or higher load rating as the BH-55. I can see trying one eventually, though, given the tremendous quality of the rest of the equipment.

Enjoy! (I know I will)


----------



## ykn123 (Feb 7, 2014)

Yeah, RRS is simply great. The only pain is that there is only one reseller in Germany and e.g. the 1D-X L plate that i recently purchased was 283 EURO. At least shipping was included in that price ;-)


----------



## Morlin (Feb 7, 2014)

I´m like a child waiting for Christmas. I bought a new 600mm lens last week and the package with my ordered RRS TVC-34L together with a Wimberley gimbal head, RRS lens plate and a lot of other stuff was sent today from the store! Longing for it so much! Now I hope I can trust DHL so they will deliver it fast! Looking forward to enter the "club of RRS". My decision of what to buy was totally made from the advices from the members here. Years of dreams but now they will become a reality


----------



## tapanit (Feb 7, 2014)

Obaidey said:


> *How to "possibly" get it 30 - 40% cheaper, for Europe residents:*
> If you postponed your purchase, until your next trip to USA "assuming you that will go there of course", you can get it delivered to your hotel within 24-48 hours
> 1- Postage is free for USA addresses. I would have saved 10%
> 2- No duties or VAT. I would have saved 30%
> In my understanding, which could well be wrong; after you use it while you are in the USA, it becomes 2nd hand, thus no VAT or duty (I could be wrong here)


You are: 2nd hand stuff is subject to VAT and duty just as much as new gear, although the value used in calculating them should be its values as 2nd hand stuff, not the original purchase price.

That's the theory anyway. In practice they probably will not bother, if you're bringing in one obviously used tripod, if only because they don't want to spend time figuring out its value or think it'd probably be too low to be worth the paperwork. But if you try to import a carload of used tripods, you'd better be ready to pay duty & VAT.


----------



## mackguyver (Feb 7, 2014)

Okay, I hate you guys - I've been thinking about a TVC-33 for quite some time to go with my BH-55, and looking at your posts and photos, it looks like I might HAVE to buy one. I've just because I have de$$$stroyed 2 carbon fiber tripods (Manfrotto and Gitzo, shattered and crushed respectively :'() and I'm reluctant to drop $900+ on another one. My aluminum Manfrotto 055XPROB is dented, scratched, and ugly, but still in one piece. It's an ugly beast compared to the RRS beauty in this thread...


----------



## Vossie (Feb 7, 2014)

ykn123 said:


> Yeah, RRS is simply great. The only pain is that there is only one reseller in Germany and e.g. the 1D-X L plate that i recently purchased was 283 EURO. At least shipping was included in that price ;-)



In The Netherlands I see prices for that L plate of >320 Euros; quite ridiculous given that the US price = $250 = ~190 Eur.


----------



## brad-man (Feb 7, 2014)

wsheldon said:


> Very nice setup. I've been following these threads as well, and decided to pull the trigger on a TVC-34L + TA-3-LB-HK leveling base to upgrade my 2-series Gitzo. Just got it yesterday - what a difference in stability! I'm 6'2" so it's also great to finally have a tripod I can use to shoot up with and lower one leg on uneven ground without having to crouch.
> 
> I decided to keep my Markins Q10 with screw clamp for now rather than spring for the BH-55, since I have a mix of plates and really like the smoothness and lower weight of the Q10 for the same or higher load rating as the BH-55. I can see trying one eventually, though, given the tremendous quality of the rest of the equipment.
> 
> Enjoy! (I know I will)



Definitely _try_ the BH-55 before you buy. I seriously doubt there is a better head on the planet than the Q10. I've never used the BH-55 head, but I do own a BH-40 that I picked up for my macro rig, as the one and only downside to the Markin's heads is they have a relatively weak panning lock. I can tell you that my Markins Q3 (half as strong as my Q10) absolutely blows the BH-40 away in both smoothness and strength (panning lock aside). So I don't know how much better the 55 is than the 40, but definitely try it first. No offense to all of you RRS fanatics 8).


----------

