By adding a tripod collar to your lens you can achieve better balancing on a tripod. In addition, rotating the camera will now be much easier and faster.
Product Details
- Brand: Opteka
- Model: OPT-TRPD-RG-70-200
Features
- Opteka Brand Tripod Collar for the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM, EF 300mm f/4L USM, & EF 400mm f/5.6L USM SLR Lenses
- Durable Aluminum Construction
- Color: Off-White
Customer Reviews
Opteka Tripod Collar Mount
The Collar arrived when promised.
The unit seems to be well constructed, mounted fine on my tripod, and firmly held my Canon 30D camera & Canon EF 70-200 lens. The camera and lens seemed to be pretty well balanced.
The one complaint I have with the collar is that to change camera orientation, i.e. rotate from horizontal to vertical, I have to unscrew the collar screw, pull the collar open a little, rotate the camera/lens, reset & tighten the screw. Reviews I have read of the Canon manufactured unit indicate one need only loosen the collar screw a little to rotate the lens/camera.
Opteka tripod collar - money saving alternative to Canon!
As a Canon shooter, I like to keep my gear as "Canon" as possible. I bought a Canon 70-200mm L lens a while ago & found I needed the tripod mount. I just couldn't see spending over $100 for the Canon brand when I could buy the Opteka for around $50! C'mon, it's a metal ring that holds the lens not optical equipment! The Opteka works well, the quality is fine & it fits the lens perfectly. The color is slightly darker than the lens but big deal, my concern is image quality, not "looking cool" and besides, I saved over $100!
Opteka Tripod Collar Mount
I ordered the Opteka Tripod Collar Mount for the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM to use on the IS version of this lens. As other reviewers noted, the mount is solid cast aluminum and finished with an off-white enamel paint that doesn't quite match the color of the Canon L lens. The mount does fit the lens snugly and seems sturdy, but the item I received differs quite a bit from the one pictured on Amazon.com. Unlike the product photo, the thumb screw is attached to an extension of the upper part of the ring and mates with threads in the base rather than staying stationary in the base when the mount is opened up. The moving part of the ring is therefore much larger than pictured, and the mount clamps very differently than the Canon version. Also, the thumbscrew on mine is covered with an ill-fitting piece of rubber, and is not captive (held in place) so it can easily fall off when the collar is opened up.
The quality of the mount is about what you would expect for the price. Not bad, but not great. I decided to return it because the velvet-like material used to protect the lens is very thin and poorly glued to the mount. It was peeling off in several places right out of the package, particularly near the hinge. Also, the hinge section is not offset from the inner surface of the mount so the metal touches the lens barrel during mounting and already made a small scratch on my lens barrel. I was concerned that use of this mount would mar my lens over time and lower the resale value. Grease from the thumbscrew also got onto the bottom of the lens in several places, and the screw threads in the base seemed soft and easy to strip out with frequent use.
I hate to pay 5 times as much for the Canon OEM tripod mount, but hopefully I can find one used or locate another third-party mount of higher quality.
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