Manfrotto tripod any good?

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jonneymendoza

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Hi. i spotted this tripod in currys/digital just around the corner of where i live and was wondering what its like?

it seemed pretty solid and well built and not too heavy and not too light and it appeared to come witha attached head mount as well as i heard some manfrotto tripods need you to buy the head mount seperately?

thoughts?


Any good? Good tripod? by jonneymendoza, on Flickr
 
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A display model in the shop will have a head on it.
Doesn't mean the legs you buy come with a head.

Quick price check on the internet, if that price doesn't include a head then it's a bit above the odds. They seem to be going around the £100 mark most places online.
 
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Yea for the legs only its £100 . on display it did have a head but to be honest i did not like the head. it was the only downside to it. the head did not have a nice big handle where i can move and rotate the head/camera.

Are manfrotto a good make?
 
Without knowing which head it comes with it's difficult to judge whether or not it's a good buy. The legs on there own are listed as available from £99 according to the CPB searches.

Manfrotto makes a good tripod.. as with any tripod you get..
  • Cheap
  • Lightweight
  • Solid
Pick any TWO of these three.

The technical aspects you need to consider are maximum height (with and without centre column extended), minimum height in use, load capacity, foldaway length.. you need to assess these against your needs. I have no idea what your needs are. Your first step is to figure out what these are.

This weeks Amatuer Photographer has a short feature on what to consider in a tripod, and there are a few buyer guides online.
 
Alastair said:
Without knowing which head it comes with it's difficult to judge whether or not it's a good buy. The legs on there own are listed as available from £99 according to the CPB searches.

Manfrotto makes a good tripod.. as with any tripod you get..
  • Cheap
  • Lightweight
  • Solid
Pick any TWO of these three.

The technical aspects you need to consider are maximum height (with and without centre column extended), minimum height in use, load capacity, foldaway length.. you need to assess these against your needs. I have no idea what your needs are. Your first step is to figure out what these are.

This weeks Amatuer Photographer has a short feature on what to consider in a tripod, and there are a few buyer guides online.
Click to expand...

Link?

cheers for the thoughts though
 
jonneymendoza said:
Link?
Click to expand...

Tescos.. WHSmiths..

'tis a print magazine.. old fashioned, I know.. and shelf by the toilet doesn't have its own webpage.. but I'm sure Google will turn up their website, at least I'd hope so as I would have to rely on it myself to find a link to copy and paste here, which would probably have involved pressing less keys..
 
look for a Giottos tripod, MTL 3261B Pro is a goodie as they are as sturdy as an 055XPro but lighter without delving into the world of Carbon Fiber. And they take a Manfrotto head if need be, you want big handles...get a 822RC2 or 141RC
 
vtecsilver said:
WarehouseExpress have an offer on a head if you buy an 055XPROB tripod:
Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod £129.95, get the 804RC2 head for half price. £29.98
www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-manfrotto-055xprob-tripod/p1019760

I can't advise whether this is the best price available though!
Click to expand...

Great tripod, but not the head IMVHO.

I would not recommend a Pan & Tilt head toooooo many knobs.

After donkeys years of P&T I would now recommend the Manfrotto 496RC2 ball head, just the one control knob and one friction knob, brilliant head.

Take a squint at Amazon.

D in W
 
Alastair said:
.. and shelf by the toilet doesn't have its own webpage.. .
Click to expand...


Laugh.gif
 
If buying from Jessops make sure you get a new item and not a display item. I tried to buy a head from them and it was heavily scratched and felt like it had sand it it - it was so rough to move.

I've got a 55 tripod for use around the house and a redsnapper carbon for when I need to carry it. The 55 is rock solid but heavy, the redsnapper is light but sometimes I have to weigh it down with my bag when fully extended.
 
what is classified as 'cheap' for a tripod?

I have a Canon EOS 500D (which I got second hand off here) and I'm not an avid photographer; I use it for family pics mainly so don't need something top of the range
 
Pan and Tilt head

Giottos MH5001 .........''thumbs''

new/used on eBay.......''link''
 
Dave in Wales said:
.................After donkeys years of P&T I would now recommend the Manfrotto 496RC2 ball head, just the one control knob and one friction knob, brilliant head.
.............D in W
Click to expand...

Premium Ink....''link''
 
jonneymendoza said:
so i can tilt, swivel and move the camera nice and easy
Click to expand...

When you're new to photography and you see tripods, you think that the handle is a really useful feature:); But you'll see that many photography tripod heads come without handles, :thinking:because when you actually 'use' a camera on a tripod, you move the camera (like you do when its not on a tripod - by holding it.)

OTOH, video cameras need large handles and fluid heads, because they become a shooting rig.

I hope that helps.
 
MPB Photographic often have decent used tripods on offer. At the mo they have a Giottos MTL9351B Tripod & MH7002 Head for £89. I don't know the specs of that set up but it might do the job and save some cash.
 
Interesting thread for me, as after using a pan & tilt head on my Manfrotto for about three years, I have just ordered a 496 ball head for (hopefully) a more flexible and fluid working style with the tripod.

Although I have used the quick release system on the P&T and also on my monopod, I went with the screw attachment this time as I have a concern (and some personal experience) over attaching the camera on occasion.

Anthony
 
Check out the old ebay i had a brand new 190 for £80 there are some good deals just beware of rubbish
 
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