Ries Tripod - Out of Business?

raydm6

raydm6

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There has been a long running thread on the Large Format Photography Forum about Ries Tripod. Looks like they may be out of business now (see Post #143) although the web site is still up but the contact page is not functioning. Shame if true.

The Ries Tripods business status thread

We have recently discovered that Ries Tripods has been sold and is now in full operation under new owners. I know there is another thread about their Intuit commercial, but here is more info on what they are up to. I have had several e-mail exchanges with the new owners and they are great...
www.largeformatphotography.info

I'll always hang onto mine:

Ries_Tripod by rdc154, on Flickr
 
It would be a shame if they're gone. I have a couple of very nice tripods, and don't need another, but these are in a class by themselves as objects of beauty in their own right. I've always wanted one!
 
It would be a shame if they are truly out of business. They are certainly nice.

I have one but for some reason my Gitzo gets used more often. Dunno, maybe I am more comfortable beating it on Nevada rocks.
 
Pioneer said:
It would be a shame if they are truly out of business. They are certainly nice.

I have one but for some reason my Gitzo gets used more often. Dunno, maybe I am more comfortable beating it on Nevada rocks.
Click to expand...
I could go on forever about the embarrassing topic of equipment that I don 't take out into the real world, or at least the harsher corners of it. I'm a little too obsessive in that regard; a really brassed-out black paint Leica is beautiful, but I'm uncomfortable letting my stuff get beaten up.
 
Retro-Grouch said:
I could go on forever about the embarrassing topic of equipment that I don 't take out into the real world, or at least the harsher corners of it. I'm a little too obsessive in that regard; a really brassed-out black paint Leica is beautiful, but I'm uncomfortable letting my stuff get beaten up.
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I'm like that also. But if I have a "beater" version of anything: camera, tool, (maybe not so much an automobile) - I enjoy getting "memory” marks on them.

I grew up in the 70's Gerry Cheevers/Boston Bruins NHL era and used to get a kick out of him adding stitch marks to his mask to mark where he would have been injured without the mask:
www.espn.com

Hall's most wanted: Gerry Cheevers' mask

The Hockey Hall of Fame is a vast collection of the game's most significant artifacts. But it doesn't have them all. Where is Gerry Cheevers' mask? We went searching for it.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
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I frequently use a tripod. Not so much for the majority of the pictures I post on RFF; mostly for my true passion… Sea and Landscape Photography.

Since I don’t have a car, I have to carry my gear everywhere, from the moment I leave the house to the time that I return. So, lightweight but sturdy is what I need and what I own and use. Also, my gear is subjected to a lot of salt air, wind, sand, rain, and windy-sandy-wetty-crappy-sucks-weather! So, I need a tripod that I can hose off with a garden hose, wipe it dry and put it away. The Ries Tripod looks a bit too mechanically intricate for all that. As beautiful as the Ries Tripod looks, I’ll stick with my carbon fiber Slik brand tripod with a simple 3-way pan head.

All the best,
Mike
 
raydm6 said:
I grew up in the 70's Gerry Cheevers/Boston Bruins NHL era and used to get a kick out of him adding stitch marks to his mask to mark where he would have been injured without the mask:
Click to expand...
I remember Gerry Cheevers and his mask... :)
Yokosuka Mike said:
The Ries Tripod looks a bit too mechanically intricate for all that....
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I have a Ries A100/A250 set. I wouldn't be inclined to hose it down, but I will say that the head is very heavy and industrial-grade robust, despite the apparent intricacy - every other tripod head I've ever owned feels like a delicate toy in comparison. It's the sort of thing one would want for an ultra-large-format view camera - I've used my 12x20 Folmer & Schwing on it - but wildly mismatched if one needs something nimble for a small camera. Of course there is (was) the smaller J-series head too.
 
Oren Grad said:
I remember Gerry Cheevers and his mask... :)

I have a Ries A100/A250 set. I wouldn't be inclined to hose it down, but I will say that the head is very heavy and industrial-grade robust, despite the apparent intricacy - every other tripod head I've ever owned feels like a delicate toy in comparison. It's the sort of thing one would want for an ultra-large-format view camera - I've used my 12x20 Folmer & Schwing on it - but wildly mismatched if one needs something nimble for a small camera. Of course there is (was) the smaller J-series head too.
Click to expand...
Yes, I have the J 600 and the A 250 Double Tilt Head also. Quite the piece of machinery!


There's a nice J 600 on the auction site if anyone is interested.
www.ebay.com

Ries J600 Maple Tripod Legs Luster Bronze Knobs #714 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Ries J600 Maple Tripod Legs Luster Bronze Knobs #714 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
 
I was quite dismayed to learn of Ries likely going out of business. I have a J100, but it is borderline for Sinar P2 8x10 use. I visited the Ries website yesterday to order an A100, but the missing contact info was a bit odd. Anyway, it is a big loss for such a venerable company to close its doors.

I've been "hosing down" my J100 for 18 years and it still looks like new. My Gitzo CF tripod recently died after some years of exposure to seawater and sand; and that's with meticulous cleaning of the leg locks after each saltwater shoot. One leg lock just froze up and couldn't be rotated no matter what. I'm wary of twist locks after this. I'll just continue on with my J100, I guess. Thanks for the heads-up about Ries's situation.
 
I recently purchased a used A100/A250 Ries tripod set for use with my 4x5 and 8x10 view cameras. It is so beautiful and solid as a rock but also unbelievably heavy. As I am getting older I don’t think I will be using it too far away from my truck
 
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