FS7: Anyone using Secced tripods?

I hate the twisting locks on my Miller Solo Legs and much prefer lever locks for speed and ease of 1-man adjustment.

The twistlocks are a pain to do with a load on the tripod and they attract dirt/sand and once I took the time to properly clean them all since then sometimes they feel tight yet on occasion still slip a bit. Never once had an issue with the levers on my Manfrotto 536 legs or even my Benro carbon legs.
 
I just had the misfortune to use a Sachtler knock-off in Hong Kong. I ordered a Video-18 and this piece of garbage called Caddy turned up. The head wasn't too bad, but didn't have a light on the bubble or much in the way of balance adjustment, but the legs were horrific. Buyer beware!
 
I own a Caddy and my friends have one as well. It is certainly not a piece of garbage though yours might have been in bad shape. The caddy is absolutely exactly the same as an older Sachtler 18 and was made by Sachtler. They came out with it when they were in competition with Vinton and instead of making a new cheaper line they just slapped the name Caddy on the 18 and sold it for less. That's directly from my authorized Sachtler repairman. I was lucky and got mine for a song from someone who didn't know what it was. Unfortunately They no longer make parts for that older line of 18 otherwise I would have bought another recently. True it doesn't have a bubble light but none did in that day and the balance adjustment was just 2 spring choices, but I don't need more, and I prefer one that you can turn off the spring completely for lightweight cameras. I love my Caddy! If you find one in good shape it can be a screaming deal.

Mine cost me $1000 with a Sachtler Hot pod tripod that I also love. Best deal I ever got and has held up like any other Sachtler for any years. My best client liked the hot pod so much they just bought a new one.

The legs are an entirely different story - don't know what legs you might have had.
 
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That's interesting to know Lenny. I did say the head wasn't too bad. For the record the twist locks on the legs didn't work as advertised and the spreader kept detaching.
 
Yup, I can confirm the Caddy was a rebadged version of the old Video-18 design. Good, basic head.

Very possible you had another manufacturer's sticks under it. I knew a certain now-defunct rental house that sent sent out decent heads on the cheapest of the cheap tripod legs in an effort to save money. A pretty piss-poor move in the long run as they all feel apart in time.
 
Realised I hadn't updated this.

Went for the Miller Compass 25 and am using it on my old Manfrotto 536 Carbon legs as I prefer the locks to the Miller twisting ones like I have on my Air.

The head is bloody brilliant and smooth as anything plus counterbalancing works a charm.

Everyone had it on backorder except 3DBroadcastsales who were ace once again and got it to me next day.
 
You're definitely much better off with a Miller than a Secced. That's a very nice piece of kit. For anyone else looking for a good budget solution for the FS7 the new Sachtler FSB10 looks very good.
 
Yup the FS10s were just too new to market for me to be able to test one ahead of a shoot I needed it for and though they look great so far I am dead happy.

Air for light shoots and Compass for 'proper' ones.
 
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The FS10 is certainly on my radar. Until all this new glass coming out - I thought it would be the next purchase for me... now gotta get busy booking some shoots to get both. :smile:
 
David Kudell said:
What don't you like about the legs? I've been looking to upgrade to the FSB8 because I used to use one and I miss the Speedlock where you can extend the both stages of legs with one lever. Now that I'm using a Benro it feels like such a pain to have to reach down to the floor all the time to extend the bottom stage.
Click to expand...

I've been using the FSB8 for several years and love the legs. The speed lock thing works great.
 
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