Recently Michael Reichmann wrote a piece at the Luminous Landscape web site about his trial of the Induro C413 tripod during his recent expedition to Antarctica. (See Testing the Carbon Fiber Induro C413 in Antarctica.) In general he praised the tripod and suggested that Infuro might compete with better known brands like Gitzo and Manfrotto. He concluded:

The new Induro Carbon Fibre tripods are a very worthwhile addition to the marketplace. Professional photographers now have a strong alternative to the Gitzo line, and Induro will likely garner some significant marketshare.

I had a chance to check out these tripods at a local camera shop recently, and they seemed pretty impressive to me. I’m considering the C313 model which is smaller than the one that Reichmann tested but otherwise quite similar.

There is just one problem. I recently posted messages on a few photography discussion forums and asked if anyone had any experience, good or bad, with these tripods – in particular the C3.. and C4xx models. I got exactly zero response. I’d love to hear from anyone who has any experiece with these models in the Induro line before I buy one.
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I picked up a new camera body last night. While part of me is fascinated by the technology, another part remembers that it is really about the photographs and not about the camera. Soooo… I’m going to resist the temptation to rattle on about the new gear. :-)

But I will try to take some photographs soon…
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Mike Johnston at The Online Photographer echoes a thought I’ve had a few times recently:

Canon 40D: Needed?

… I have a suggestion for Canon in re the “big” 20D/30D/40D question. (You know, the one causing untold neverending shuddupshuddupSHUDDUP existential anguish all over every Canon forum on the ‘net….)

The suggestion: drop it.

That’s right. Drop it altogether. Why does Canon need a camera in between the XTi (400D) and the 5D, anyway? Answer: maybe it doesn’t.

(Follow the link to read the rest of his post.)

I don’t have any idea when it might happen – this year? next? later? – but I think that the 30D segment camera is going to get squeezed before long. With an increasingly competent 400D below it and the likelihood that full frame camera costs will decline, I don’t think there will be much room left for such a camera.

I’d be one happy camper if Canon managed to get the price of a full frame body down to about the $2000 list price region. Real prices would drift below that before long and few (but there would be a few) would prefer a crop sensor 30D-type body at $1200 to a 5D variant at $1800… and a good number of those “few” might be happy with a less expensive 400D-type camera.

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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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