OZEN Agile Fluid Heads

D

DDirector

Veteran
Has anyone heard of this brand? Or used these fluid heads?

I looked into it and it seems rather promising. Seems to be what I need.
Originally wanted he Sachtler model but they were too expensive. This one even looks similar to it

OZEN Agile 10 Fluid Head is what Im looking at buying
 
From what I understand, the guy that runs the company is a former Vitec(Vinten, Sachtler, O'connor, etc.) exec and these are Sachtler clones built in China.
 
Run&Gun said:
From what I understand, the guy that runs the company is a former Vitec(Vinten, Sachtler, O'connor, etc.) exec and these are Sachtler clones built in China.
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Gotcha.
And yes, look like clones to the Sachtler heads.
And would that be a good thing or a bad thing?

It seems like a promising price for what it offers in terms of specs
Hard to say if I should pick one up
 
Last year I bought one of the 100mm demo units OZEN Tripods had on display at NAB NY. Carbon fiber legs with an Agile 10 head. Came with a 4 year warranty. This replaced my Sachtler FSB6/Speedlock 75 kit which needed repair. No complaints. Works as advertised.
www.ozentripods.com I'm
 
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Its the same thing Behringer did to Mackie with mixers. Knock off is knock off and plundering sonmeone else’s design, then having it made cheaper in China may or may not be prosecutable but it’s definitely sneaky and underhanded.
 
In my (limited) experience as a musician, Behringer is generally not well respected in the music gear world, quality is synonymous with crap. On the other hand theyre still around and sell product so what do I know?
 
Josh Bass said:
In my (limited) experience as a musician, Behringer is generally not well respected in the music gear world, quality is synonymous with crap. On the other hand theyre still around and sell product so what do I know?
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The old joke in live sound was, “The only way to fix a Behringer is with an Edison>XLR adapter.”

They started with shameless knock-offs of Mackie mixers... but by then, Mackie mixers were no longer made in the US and were being built in China. Mackie filed trademark infringement and won, and Behringer had to redesign their physical appearance. But Eurodesk mixers were still crap.

Fast forward a few years and Behringer was purchased by Music Group, who also own Midas. While the older (and cheap) Eurodesk series are still made, there is a higher-end Behringer line now that includes Midas pre-amps and better overall design. The X32 is actually a more-than-decent live console... kind of a Midas M32, Jr. I have one and I use it often.

But yes, blatant rip-offs are sleazy business, and often aren’t even close to the same quality.
 
After expiration of patents the IP is in the public domain.

https://patents.google.com/?q=fluid&q=head&assignee=sachtler&oq=sachtler+fluid+head
https://www.stopfakes.gov/article?id=How-Long-Does-Patent-Trademark-or-Copyright-Protection-Last

Also remember that one may patent an improvement on an existing product, so it may be the case that the Ozen heads implement technology not in current Sachtler heads, if they are indeed copies.

https://www.upcounsel.com/how-to-patent-an-improvement-on-an-existing-product
 
nothing said:
Wow what a world, where we are expected to explain to supposed adults why stealing is bad.
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I think the question should be answered. Two views have been expressed on the forum at various times. In the case of Zaxcom, people have complained about their patents preventing companies from being able to sell similar products in the US. Now in this thread we have the opposite complaint of an alleged ripoff of a design and that it is a scummy move.

Is this instance scummy because it is a clone? If it were patented by Sachtler and they prevented Ozen from selling in the US, would Sachtler be the bad guy? If some made a wireless transmitter with a recorder and offered it in the States, would they be a scum or a competitor to Zaxcom? Is Ozen the offender here because it is a clone, with perhaps technology taken directly from Sachtler? Sachtler has a lot of patents, so why are they not protecting their property? What about all the Chinese companies that copied Steadicam and Arri and everyone else? Do we want companies to be able to protect their inventions or do we want cheaper prices?
 
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Paul F said:
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I've never argued that Zaxcom nor anybody else is wrong for defending a patent.

Chinese corporations by and large do not abide by patent law. If you see a clone product coming out of mainland China, you can pretty much assume it's a patent infringement in 9 out of 10 cases. Until this instance is proven otherwise, it's safe to assume it is and I will operate on that assumption.

If it's not a blatant ripoff intended to fool people into thinking it's the more expensive brand, then it would be simple and cheap to hire a designer to make it look different. Even if it isn't a patent infringement, the fact that it looks EXACTLY like another brand is an indication that they hope to ride some on the reputation of the other company.

Scummy however you slice it.

All that, plus it's likely to be poor quality that won't last under heavy use - so there's that.
 
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This will likely take this thread waayyy off topic... but for me - I need to know a little more of the back story / context before I can make a decision on whether or not this is indeed a scummy business practice, as has been mentioned, or perhaps entrepenurial fair play by a former employee / engineer / designer who perhaps was not treated fairly and then struck out on his own.

I certainly can't say what's going in this particular instance - because I don't know. But I certainly can imagine a scenario where a contractor, employee or even owner/inventor of a product gets the shaft through sneaky, underhanded, corrupt or deceitful business practices - or even snake oil attorneys who get involved essentially stealing their idea. And rather than lay down & die, that same person takes a new path to creating / forging / producing their own version of that similar product / service. And I would say "good for them".
On the other hand, I would certainly not want to support a knock-off company started by someone essentially stealing patents or ripping off others ideas. But I think we all should hesitate on forming an opinion without a little context first.
 
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