Anyone tried the Secced tripods and heads? Looking at the pictures they look like exact copies of Sachtler heads and legs.

www.secced.com

They are a LOT cheaper than Sachtlers.

When I click on that link I get the message: "Not enough storage is available to complete this operation" (which is coming from the website and not my browser).

Can't see as your link is not working. But remember, unlike a copyright which last a very long time, a patent does not last very long at all. It quickly ends up in the public domain and is then used by all who want it. That's life!

Mike

Looks like the secced server is down. Try this link for a PDF of the full range.

http://www.danvideo.com/pdf/VenusSystem.pdf

Looking at the pictures they look like exact copies of Sachtler heads and legs.

Yeah, I don't think the resemblance is a coincidence LOL! Even the knobs are exactly the same shape. Reminds me of when the Russians tried to copy a B-29 during WWII...even the Boeing logo was copied onto the rudder pedals.

Btw, the prices are less than Sachtler but they aren't that inexpensive...

820 Euros for Venus 1
1000 Euros for Venus 2
1920 Euros for Venus 3
3200 Euros for Venus 4

Those prices are the prices I have been given for the full kit, ie heads and carbon legs. Thats a third of the sachtler price and IF they are any good a pretty competitive price for a full size tripod kit.

I was trawling the web and wondered if anyone's tried one of these Secced tripods - how do they compare to the "real thing" Sachtlers?

I would be very interested in comparisons as well. These look nice.

While I have never used these tripods, I have had experience with two other Russian knockoffs. One was a copy of a Canon AE-1 that I had for a while when I was young and the AE-1 was the hot new camera. The Russian knock-off, while very functional, was crude and rough in comparison to the Canon. It worked but was not very fun to shoot with. It was built like a tank but had no finesse.

The second Russian experience I have is with my Krasnagorsk K3 16mm camera. Same deal, fairly reliable, built like a tank but crude. The film I would shoot through it had a remendous amount of gate weave and the lens was pretty lousy but it was reliable, I have ran a lot of loads of film through it with nothing breaking.

I would be interested to hear an objective evaluation of these heads and tripods. I suspect that they will be about the same, very similar in looks and features and probably functionally okay, but rough and crude in comparison to a real Sachtler. I am using the DV-6SB head with the HVX-200 and it's a great little head, very good feel.

All the best,

Dan

What's funny too is their Cranes/Jibs are blatent knock-offs of the Cammate series of cranes/jibs produced in Chandler, Arizona. I know, because we have one. Same head, tube construction, etc. Crazy - first time I've seen those.

Dan - These are chinese, but I guess the comments still apply...

I guess one of us is going to have to try one!

I'm going to try and line up a back-to-back comparison later this week, but it might mean buying the Secced on SOR!

Oh well - I bottled it and went out and bought a used Sachtler!

I talked to a few dealers (not ones that had used Sachtlers to sell!) and one or two (who were Secced dealers) expressed concern over the smoothness of the heads, and that while they looked like Sachtlers...

Anyhow, I didn't end up trying them, but the Sachtler 20 with ENG CF legs that I bought is fantastic - smoothest tripod I've ever used and looks like it will go on forever. Famous last words...(!)

Good call on getting the used legs. You bought a great setup...while Sachtler sells a lot of heads/legs below the 20 or whatever it's called now, the quality is night and day between the DV series and the upper-end gear.

These days, just about everything is made in china. And that's not a bad thing. When quality control is done properly, the only difference between Chinese and ____ manufacturing is price. But knowing a LOT of people having products mfg'd in China, it takes a ton of oversight to ensure high standards.

One place where China gets a little iffy is intellectual property. They don't have stringent patent or copyright infringement laws, and in many cases the government is happy to look the other way if a Chinese company is making money off U.S. patents. Many times a foreign (American, German, etc...) company will have components or entire products built in China, only to find out a month into the cycle that the company has contacted their resellers directly, offering the same product at a significantly reduced price. Most likely, these tripods are of that variety - quick copies of parts already being manufactured in China. The level of secrecy and game-playing that outside companies have to do in order to protect their I.P. is insane, and I'm sure it'll one day be an interesting book. For example, most U.S. companies hand-deliver their product specs in pieces, ship U.S. parts in unlabeled boxes and only allow manufacturers access to VERY limited information about the product itself. BUT, look out for this kinda stuff. Just because it looks like a name brand product, and the casing may even be made on the same molds as the original product doesn't mean the entire product IS a replica.

Good point Jaron

I guess time will tell about the Secceds (and other chinese gear). I suppose copying existing products is how many Japanese companies started, so you never know, maybe we'll all be using chinese cameras in a few years!

I wonder if they'll start copying Sony's HDCAM range at a third of the price!!!

All the best

Graham

I'd imagine that's coming sooner than later. In the Chinese domestic market, HD DVD players have been available for a few years now - technology based on MPEG-4 using standard DVD discs. Apparently it looks quite good...though I've never seen it in person.

Right now, Chinese companies are paying top-dollar for Japanese engineers to jump ship and help update/build high tech infrastructure to do exactly that - make good products cheaply. Japan reinvented their economy based on consumer electronics. But it's no longer cheap to mfg in Japan, so you can bet China is looking at that ridiculously quick economic turnaround as a model and market to capture. Good for us!

Oh well - I bottled it and went out and bought a used Sachtler!

I talked to a few dealers (not ones that had used Sachtlers to sell!) and one or two (who were Secced dealers) expressed concern over the smoothness of the heads, and that while they looked like Sachtlers...

Anyhow, I didn't end up trying them, but the Sachtler 20 with ENG CF legs that I bought is fantastic - smoothest tripod I've ever used and looks like it will go on forever. Famous last words...(!)

Sachtler makes an 18 that works real nice. It's also known as a "caddy".

Hi Alessandro:

I used to have a Sachtler Video 18 along with my BVW-D600. It was a great tripod. When I bought my first DV camcorder, i sold it though. The new DV-6SB I am using behaves like a smaller, lighter version of it although many others are saying the new DV series are not nearly as good. For the money, the new Sachtler DVs are a good deal. Sure the Video series are better but at two to three times the cost, they should be, right?

Dan

Hi Alessandro:

I used to have a Sachtler Video 18 along with my BVW-D600. It was a great tripod. When I bought my first DV camcorder, i sold it though. The new DV-6SB I am using behaves like a smaller, lighter version of it although many others are saying the new DV series are not nearly as good. For the money, the new Sachtler DVs are a good deal. Sure the Video series are better but at two to three times the cost, they should be, right?

Dan

The Sachtler 18 tripod was a compromise to the 20 in that it was significantly less money, but you are right, it was a lot of money nonetheless. Good quality tripods probably have the slowest devalution of any type of production equipment one can buy, unless the tripod is damaged. Ten year old high quality tripods can sell for between 50%-80% of what they cost new.

Smoother camera moves can result in less editing fixes on a job per job basis and result in an overall more satisfied customer while slightly reducing editing time per job, so it is possible that the additional cost of the tripod can be amortized but it may be hard to actually prove it on paper or justify it to the wife, business owner or business partner.

I have a secced i got as a long time loan from a mate and while its a nice head to use with my pdw f330 its not in the same league as my vinten vision 11 when it comes to setting up the perfect ballance but it is useable. the legs are very heavy and the centre spreader broke yesterday it appears to have shattered in the cold (-5) so the build quality is pants but the pod is better than a manfrotto or similar