Yes, I know... buy once, cry once and I am also aware that Leofoto is Chinese made. But which one is better and which is a better value? I've read a few reviews of the MA-40L that claims it is easier to use than the Anvil and locks up every bit as tight. I also have become skeptical of just about everything so I'm here soliciting opinions on these. I'm particularly interested to hear from those with first-hand experience with the MA-40L. Is it really that good? At $249 less the Sniper's Hide discount of 25%, it seems like a good value.
Leofoto MA-40L or Anvil-30
- Thread starter cliffy109
- Start date
I have both, but I haven’t tested them specifically to see which is more stable. The MA-40 has a longer distance between the base and the top of the head plus a less robust mounting mechanism. The MA-40 seems plenty stable for shooting off of though. I can’t say I’ve noticed a significant stability difference. Only that the clamp I could pry open from the factory by locking the head and moving the rifle. My tripod with it has more wobble (324clx with ma40 vs 404 with anvil), but I think it’s the legs more than the head.
I was basically in your spot. I was looking at the MA30L and the Anvil 30, but at the time the MA30L was OOS everywhere. So, I discovered the 40L (which came out significantly cheaper than the other two) and it was rated for more weight. I couldn't find much info on it either. I have limited use on it, but I'm very satisfied.
+ if you don't like it, at least you are in it less money. Could resell it and "upgrade" to the Anvil 30, knowing you tried a cheaper option and made the decision from that.
+ if you don't like it, at least you are in it less money. Could resell it and "upgrade" to the Anvil 30, knowing you tried a cheaper option and made the decision from that.
Did you look at the MA30 or MA30-L? that's probably the one you want. Its a functional copy of the RRS. You have to order them from e-bay, since leophoto was fighting with RRS (or whatever) and stopped making them.
SA-364CL+MA-30 - Leofoto
Leofoto was founded at the beginning of 2014. It is located in Zhongshan, beautiful Pearl River Delta area in China. Leofoto team has been designing and manufacturing series of camera support systems by comparing and studying the high-end photographic accessories made in China and abroad and...
www.leofoto.com
I saw that on eBay. Makes me nervous ordering something that isn't on their website. I get suspicious that it is a copy of a copy and if its crap, I have no recourse. Which brings me back to the "buy once, cry once" idea and sticking with RRS in the first place. If that MA-40L really is a more durable and easier to use product at half the price, I'll go that way but I can't find solid info.
I've been down this route too with Leofoto and finally ended up buying the RRS tripod and the Anvil-30 - there really is no comparison. The knock-off stuff is not bad for what it is, but there really is no substitute for the real thing. For years, I said there is no way I will pay that much for a tripod and head, until I shot both at a match and played around with them side by side - I ordered the RRS and kicked myself for waiting that long... not sure why we spend thousands of dollars in one area and then cheap out in another to save a buck.
I got their original RRS direct knock-off MA30-L - it is ok for Binos or anything light, but doesn't really hold up with a heavy rifle like the Anvil 30 - you can't take the handle off and change the direction of how much torque you get to clamp down and can't tighten the setscrew against the o-rings like you can with the Anvil-30. Later, I picked up a cert off a prize table and got their new inverted tripod and the newest anvil knock-off, Mab-x... again, not bad, but still a low to mid knock-off.
I got their original RRS direct knock-off MA30-L - it is ok for Binos or anything light, but doesn't really hold up with a heavy rifle like the Anvil 30 - you can't take the handle off and change the direction of how much torque you get to clamp down and can't tighten the setscrew against the o-rings like you can with the Anvil-30. Later, I picked up a cert off a prize table and got their new inverted tripod and the newest anvil knock-off, Mab-x... again, not bad, but still a low to mid knock-off.
I bought the 30L and have been pleased with it. I don’t primarily shoot off of it, more glassing but it holds a 27lb rifle fine
I have enough RRS photography dedicated equipment to feel ok about going off the reservation every once in a while. I have a MAB-X which is the same as the MA-40X and it has been fine to shoot off of. The ball locks up solid and so far no issues. I must note that it can support a heavy rifle but I was using it for a sub 15# rifle. Honestly I don’t shoot enough off a tripod anyway to immediately know the difference. My tripod shooting technique sucks. Eventually I’ll get an Anvil-30 but for now the MA does just fine.
If you look at their non-USA Leofoto page you'll find it's still marketed there. Again my guess would be since it sure looks like a copy of the Anvil they don't want the liability of marketing it on their USA page or selling it directly in the states. That said I have seen some other shops market these in the states outside Ebay.
MA-30L - Leofoto
Leofoto was founded at the beginning of 2014. It is located in Zhongshan, beautiful Pearl River Delta area in China. Leofoto team has been designing and manufacturing series of camera support systems by comparing and studying the high-end photographic accessories made in China and abroad and...
www.leofoto.com
The problem I have with Leofoto.......aside what appears questionable IP ethics (and it's not just the Anvil 30 they appear to have copies of other RRS products you won't find on their USA website such as the MBC-20 being what sure looks like a copy of the RRS BPC-16 and it's not just RRS, their MH series heads are pretty clearly "inspired" by the Novoflex Magic Ball heads)......is that they make like 7 different heads marketed under their shooting products, but give absolutely no information on how they compare or the features that differ between them on their website. In some cases it's obvious, lever vs a friction knob etc. but in others it's pretty hard to identify which is the better selection for your use. It's almost like they are trying to just put out as many designs of the same general item and hoping that some of them work well. I've thought some of their designs are interesting like the MH and STB heads, but there's almost no info out there on their pros/cons.
I seriously doubt they compare with RRS for half the $ I've compared some of their other products and while I would not say they are junk they were not equivalent with RRS. That said, not everyone is going to drop $2000 on a tripod/head setup, so there's a market for mid cost items that perform well but not as well as the best most expensive options too. However, at the end of the day if you're going down the competition road, we're all going to spend way more $ on ammo, travel, fees, etc. over the years than any of our equipment, rifle, optics etc. Plus as you said, at say $200 or less vs $500 for the anvil, even if it performed 90% as well at half the cost that's hard to argue with. I will say we've seen plenty of review type posts saying that while the Leofoto stuff is good, it's not on par with RRS, and a lot of posts where guys started with Leofoto and later got the RRS anyway. I don't remember seeing many.....if any posts reviewing leofoto heads saying that they were absolutely every bit as good as RRS and folks stating they saw no advantage to RRS. You can easily see the appeal though, with the hide discount you can basically get a head and 36-40mm carbon tripod for the price of an Anvil 30 alone. Even if it's only 80% of the performance of a $2000 RRS setup, that's going to appeal to a lot of shooters that are not hardcore competitors.
Comparing the two, the real advantages of the Anvil were supposed to be it's super low height, inverting the ball (these two allowed the rifle attachment to be much closer to the rotation point, and the lever friction. Really the only obvious place the MA-40 appears to be lacking in those is it's stack height looks quite a bit taller putting the attachment point farther away from the rotation point. That said if you really want super solid, a lot of comparison posts on here have stated that a leveling plate with a large bowl attachment while not being as flexible as a more traditional tripod head is more solid, even compared to the Anvil 30. There's a video comparing the two, it's not great in that it's also comparing the tripods for each brand, so it's not really just comparing the heads, but it does talk about some of the differences using the two heads and some of the construction differences.
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Fantastic info. Thanks for all of that. I know it takes effort to get that detailed and it is appreciated.
