27Apr Libec Allex S kit Slider tripod combo
At first look the Libec Allex S slider kit seemed like a pretty decent package. You get a heavy duty tripod with a 31 inch slider and a nice solid fluid head for around $600, making it an attractive starter kit. Libec makes some decent tripods and fluid heads a so I was expecting the slider to be as nice as their normal kit, but the demo models they had at NAB were pretty disappointing.
The tripod stand was nice and solid and the motion from the fluid head felt pretty good but then there’s the slider. The demo model was brand new and had only been out on the show floor at NAB for 2 days when I stopped by to test it out. If you loo at the slider track where I have my fingers (in the shot above), you’ll see that it’s turning a grayish silver. The track actually started out life completely black, but as people stopped by to test out the slider and play around with it, the roller bearings began to distro the finish and mangle the sliding surface.
By the time I got there, the track was rough to the touch and camera slides were filled with lots of micro vibration from the damaged slider rail. I’ve seen a lot of positive posts about this slider but everyone seems to be missing the fact that the models Libec had at NAB were defective.
I spoke with the reps at the booth about it and at first they denied the problem, but when I walked over and showed them the problem they admitted that yes there was actually a problem with the slider. Apparently the surface material used on the sliders track wasn’t meeting their design spec and the metal roller bearings used on the carriage ended up being tougher than the track itself.
The rep from Libec said that “they have an engineering team working on it” and hopefully that’s why we haven’t started to see any of the Libec Allex kits for sale yet. If they don’t fix this problem this slider kit could end up being a disappointing buy. I thought I’d post this quick warning for those of you interested in the slider, if I were you, I’d wait unit they’ve been road tested by someone else before I pulled the trigger on this guy.
April 27th, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Without sounding smug, what exactly is their selling point. No offense intended to them, but I could easily just buy a slider, mount it to my tripod, and attach my head to it.
Is it just that you can get all 3 in one package for a decent price?
April 27th, 2014 at 6:11 pm
I think the Package price is probably the biggest selling price. You’re right now, you could take any slider and put it on top of a tripod and call it good.
April 27th, 2014 at 4:43 pm
I have used Libec tripods for years and love them. Even when I had to contact customer service for repairs I was always treated mare than fairly, even talking directly to their main tech guy “Chewie” who seems like a cool dude.
The fact that they denied any problems right up until you showed them makes me more nervous than the problem itself. I was really impressed by the video I saw from the show floor so I hope that was just a floor rep problem rather than something more.
April 27th, 2014 at 6:13 pm
I’ve had good luck with Libec tripods as well. I was kind of surprised by the whole thing as well.
April 27th, 2014 at 11:47 pm
i got to play with it as well during NAB. They had a few out and the one i played with didn’t look bad at all…but then again, i have no idea how long it was out.