Exemplary Turnaround Time for Repairs/Maintenance of Gear: Really Right Stuff TVC-24L Tripod
Shown below are two shots of my well-used Really Right Stuff TVC-24L. The TVC-24L goes just about everywhere with me because its size and weight and range are ideal for my needs.
As good as it is, it takes a beating in my field use, so about once a year I sent it down to Really Right Stuff for an overhaul: lubricate, adjust all to spec, etc. In this case, one or two of the leg knob gaskets were damaged and not quite locking down properly (still usable but degraded). So I sent it in. It came back working like new, aside from wear marks.
What impressed me was sending it via UPS on a Monday and having it back in my hands on a Thursday. Considering that two of those days are on the UPS truck, that’s amazingly fast turnaround.
As any pro knows, service turnaround time is a Big Deal: when my Gitzo fell apart some years ago, it took weeks to get it back. Which made it trash in essence: I can’t wait 4 weeks or even 2 weeks to get a key piece of gear back. What good is gear if you have to buy a replacement for the time it might fail due to poor service turnaround? It has to be high quality to start, and then have good service because a product is the sum total of both. That of course means that the choice of gear may depend in part on where in the world one lives. Here in the USA, Really Right Stuff is a one-day shipping thing.
See Really Right Stuff Carbon Fiber Tripods TVC-24L and TVC-34L as well as my reviews of Really Right Stuff tripods and/or see Really Right Stuff coverage on this site.
Really Right Stuff offers a wide range of tripods and monopods and all the trimmings to go with.