China brand?


corrado

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Dec 5, 2013
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Guys,

what are the better China brand for accessories? For example like Yongnuo for flash.
Any other China brand that are popular locally?

Thank you.
 

Please specify what type of accessories you are looking for? e.g. Tripods, Filters, etc.
 

Well, for general accessories like filter, strap, battery, L-bracket, flash, tripod etc.
 

one by one mate:
1. filters:
for high end UV/CPL try PHENIX, it has 2 series SP (Cheaper) and EX (more coating and more expensive)
for cheap but reliable try Tianya, it uses SCHOTT glass and has very good coating too, but the craftmanship of the alumiunm ring is less good.

2. Strap: depend on what do you want to strap on, SLR or Mirroless or P&S

3. Batter: try Pisen (en.pisen.com.cn), it's the OEM behind many Japanese brands, battery life usually longer than original ones.

4. L-bracket: again depend on which model you are looking for, SIRUI/Sunwayfoto makes medium priced ones for most DSLRs, Kangrinpoche is the top brand highly priced but world class making. There are many other smaller brands making L-brackets for Mirrorless, since they are all CNCed so precision is not a problem.

5. Flash: like you said Yongnuo is doing good.

6. Tripod: I wouldn't try cheap brands, best from China is Kangrinboqe, SIRUI and BENRO, I found there are some 3rd class brands from China very popular in Singapore like Selens, don't try those.

Hope the above helps.
 

Thanks, your post help.
 

one by one mate:
1. filters:
for high end UV/CPL try PHENIX, it has 2 series SP (Cheaper) and EX (more coating and more expensive)
for cheap but reliable try Tianya, it uses SCHOTT glass and has very good coating too, but the craftmanship of the alumiunm ring is less good.

2. Strap: depend on what do you want to strap on, SLR or Mirroless or P&S

3. Batter: try Pisen (en.pisen.com.cn), it's the OEM behind many Japanese brands, battery life usually longer than original ones.

4. L-bracket: again depend on which model you are looking for, SIRUI/Sunwayfoto makes medium priced ones for most DSLRs, Kangrinpoche is the top brand highly priced but world class making. There are many other smaller brands making L-brackets for Mirrorless, since they are all CNCed so precision is not a problem.

5. Flash: like you said Yongnuo is doing good.

6. Tripod: I wouldn't try cheap brands, best from China is Kangrinboqe, SIRUI and BENRO, I found there are some 3rd class brands from China very popular in Singapore like Selens, don't try those.

Hope the above helps.

Just a perspective from China since I am based here:

For filters, the strongest in China now are Nisi and Haida. Never heard of Phenix though. Tianya quality is not very good actually, they usually go for low end market.

For Straps, it is a mess free for all with bunch of no branders.

For Battery, Pisen is one of the major players but their batteries do not last longer than original batteries. Neither are they OEM for Japanese camera brands. Pisen is just a big battery manufacturer, supplying Li-on batteries for every purpose you can think of, from cameras to powerbanks etc... Even in China, most folks still buy original batteries, because they are not that much more expensive, but there are tons of fakes going around.

For L/QR plates, Sunwayfoto, Sirui and Benro are now the top. There is a new and upcoming aggressive brand called Marsace. They are not cheap but also offer some very hard to find long plates and stabilizers for birders. Low end market you will find iShoot. Kangrinpoche is no longer a major player after they were sold to another group (IIRC Shan Shen group) a few years ago. Build quality has suffered, and they are not very quick to release new plates for new camera models. Their sales have dwindled in the face of very fierce competition, also due to their lack of internet sales strategy and one price (high price) policy when selling in the domestic market. Even their stores in China, they seem more focused on selling ballheads from other brands, and their stores are usually dead quiet.

For Flash and other accessories (triggers, remotes, cables, etc): Yongnuo and Pixel are at the top. Yongnuo edges out Pixel in flash, while Pixel edges Yongnuo out in other accessories. A new and upcoming brand named Sidande is coming up very strongly now.

For tripods, King is shared by Benro and Sirui. Benro used to be the defacto king in China, with Sirui leading in oversea sales. Recently Sirui surged in the domestic market very strongly, so it is up for grabs who really is king now, both offer very good quality, with Sirui edging out Benro a little more, but Benro has more variety and selection. Other players are Jusino and Fotopro each with pretty good quality. And players in the lower end market includes Beike (QingZhuangShiDai), Weifeng and Yunteng. Like I said before Kangrinpoche is dead, and does not offer tripods in the first place. Their website has been unchanged since many years ago, have some new products but very limited, and often released late to market, their quality is no better than other offerings from new players, their prices are high. I doubt they will survive much longer.
 

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Thanks, good info.
 

Very elaborative, some explanation if you don't mind:

Phenix (凤凰) is one of the first Chinese (after Republic Of China) camera and optic (120/rangefinder/135/twin-lens reflex) manufacturer since 1950s based in Shanghai, as all other Chinese brands they are not good at marketing so lost their market to imports in 80s, again like all Chinese local manufacturers, Phenix is good at making optical glass and coating, but craftsmanship is way behind Japanese rival, Olympus buys huge amount from Phenix (or OEM if you like)and further process in Japan factories.

We have similar examples like Asia Optical, who makes most of the entry/medium level Japanese lenses in Dongguan or Taiwan (asia-optical.com) again they wouldn't tell you so.

Pisen (Shenzhen) and Scud (Fujian/Hokkien if you like) and BYD (Shenzhen) are some of the top Li-on OEMs there, they have NDA with those mega-brands so they wouldn't say they make battery for SONX or Panasoxxx or etc., as part of the agreement (also non-competition), even though they make their own-brand batteries they have to mark-down the mAh on the packaging and intentionally shrink the capacity on some cases.

Nisi (established 2005) and Haida (established 2007) are new emerging players in the "Taobao" age, there are many similar brands e.g. Kase, they do not make anything but doing great e-marketing, making themselves top choices of post 80s/90s photographers who know nothing about traditional manufacturer like Phenix/Seagull etc.

Kangrinpoche only exist in niche market after years of struggle with other cheaper brands, and only produce some niche product for limited purposes now, so can forget about it.

Cheers
 

Very elaborative, some explanation if you don't mind:

Phenix (凤凰) is one of the first Chinese (after Republic Of China) camera and optic (120/rangefinder/135/twin-lens reflex) manufacturer since 1950s based in Shanghai, as all other Chinese brands they are not good at marketing so lost their market to imports in 80s, again like all Chinese local manufacturers, Phenix is good at making optical glass and coating, but craftsmanship is way behind Japanese rival, Olympus buys huge amount from Phenix (or OEM if you like)and further process in Japan factories.

We have similar examples like Asia Optical, who makes most of the entry/medium level Japanese lenses in Dongguan or Taiwan (asia-optical.com) again they wouldn't tell you so.

Pisen (Shenzhen) and Scud (Fujian/Hokkien if you like) and BYD (Shenzhen) are some of the top Li-on OEMs there, they have NDA with those mega-brands so they wouldn't say they make battery for SONX or Panasoxxx or etc., as part of the agreement (also non-competition), even though they make their own-brand batteries they have to mark-down the mAh on the packaging and intentionally shrink the capacity on some cases.

Nisi (established 2005) and Haida (established 2007) are new emerging players in the "Taobao" age, there are many similar brands e.g. Kase, they do not make anything but doing great e-marketing, making themselves top choices of post 80s/90s photographers who know nothing about traditional manufacturer like Phenix/Seagull etc.

Kangrinpoche only exist in niche market after years of struggle with other cheaper brands, and only produce some niche product for limited purposes now, so can forget about it.

Cheers

Haida has a manufacturing facility in greater Ningbo area, so you know. And their products have excelled beyond what Lee and Hitech (Formatt UK) can offer currently. They did not rise out of taobao, but rather from all the positive reviews from overseas. Their products are solid, as shown by all the tests and reviews done by photographers all over the world. You can read up on the tests done by common CSers here in the review section. The taobao age of great marketing and lousy products is no longer viable in China. Manufacturers now knows product quality is king for survival in this very tough market nowadays. This is the viewpoint held by the more successful brands in China. And I know this first hand because I am in the Chinese internet B2C industry myself currently. And I have been in contract manufacturing in China for the last 10 years.

As for Phenix, I have been in photography before taobao, and so has my uncle and my father. None of them have heard of Phenix filters. Maybe they were a player in rangefinders and film cameras. But for filters? sorry, never heard of them. In the end, history or no history, in the end it all hangs on how their products perform. Haida has been proven, never heard of Phenix filters.

For batteries, OEM or not, no one knows. They wouldn't tell me nor you if there is really an NDA signed. If they say otherwise, there is serious issues with their credibility or integrity.
 

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Second that about haida. Pretty good stuff and cheaper than LEE. I'm using their ND and CPL filters and happy with it. Good value for money. I'm only using LEE gnd filters as they offer a 4 stops option which i've grown to like.

I'm also using L brackets and nodal rails which are 'brand-less' from china and i got it on ebay. Generally cheaper and still works the way it should be.
 

fair enough mate, it's a big world and we always have things we never knnow, but all good if we found products we happy to use.
 

yes that's right, there are many non-branded brackets with great precision and in-hands experience, small manufacturers are fast responding to new camera products and usually launch brackets within 30-45 days. afterwards you are able to buy 3D molding data of pouplar cameras and make them at low cost, in this case branded or not, doesn't matter.