Tripod advice

soupdragon

soupdragon

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Tony
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Anyone have experience using a Manfrotto 405 Pro Digital Geared Head?

I need a better system as I'm so tired of the head moving on my old frotto when I lock it.
 
None - sorry! I use the Manfrotto 410 geared head (cheaper) and it works well for me with a 1 series Canon and 24-70 F2.8 or similar.
 
soupdragon said:
Anyone have experience using a Manfrotto 405 Pro Digital Geared Head?

I need a better system as I'm so tired of the head moving on my old frotto when I lock it.
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What do you mean, when you lock it? You can't lock it, isn't that the problem? If you want a solid lockable geared head, there's not a great deal of choice apart from the expensive, but sublime, Arca-Swiss D4.
 
HoppyUK said:
What do you mean, when you lock it? You can't lock it, isn't that the problem? If you want a solid lockable geared head, there's not a great deal of choice apart from the expensive, but sublime, Arca-Swiss D4.
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My current tripod is not geared. Everytime I turn the lock wheel, the head/camera move slightly.
 
I use the 410 geared head and think it’s great. Needs a little tightening up now and then but not too difficult. No experience of the 405
 
soupdragon said:
My current tripod is not geared. Everytime I turn the lock wheel, the head/camera move slightly.
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Not sure what you mean Tony.

Do you have a M'frotto 405 head or are you looking to get one? What tripod and head do you have and what exactly is moving?
 
HoppyUK said:
Not sure what you mean Tony.

Do you have a M'frotto 405 head or are you looking to get one? What tripod and head do you have and what exactly is moving?
Click to expand...

I'm looking to get the 405 and new tripod. I currently have a pistol grip style head but no idea of the model.
When I say lock, it's more a matter of releasing the trigger/grip but it always moves slightly.
 
soupdragon said:
I'm looking to get the 405 and new tripod. I currently have a pistol grip style head but no idea of the model.
When I say lock, it's more a matter of releasing the trigger/grip but it always moves slightly.
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Ah right. Yes those (Manfrotto?) pistol grips are like that, very fast and easy, but hard to be accurate for critical work and always move a fraction when they lock. Sold mine ;) In fact, many/most ball heads move a tiny fraction when you lock them down, though not the best ones. Three-way heads are more reliable in this respect, and better for careful positioning, but slower to use. M'frotto 405 is very solid and precise, but very heavy and not cheap.

Without knowing more about intended use, lenses/weight, and budget, it's hard to say much more. All I can add is I use a 405 head on a big Benro tripod for studio, and a Gitzo Explorer with Arca-Swiss P0 ball head for carrying out and about.
 
HoppyUK said:
Ah right. Yes those (Manfrotto?) pistol grips are like that, very fast and easy, but hard to be accurate for critical work and always move a fraction when they lock. Sold mine ;) In fact, many/most ball heads move a tiny fraction when you lock them down, though not the best ones. Three-way heads are more reliable in this respect, and better for careful positioning, but slower to use. M'frotto 405 is very solid and precise, but very heavy and not cheap.

Without knowing more about intended use, lenses/weight, and budget, it's hard to say much more. All I can add is I use a 405 head on a big Benro tripod for studio, and a Gitzo Explorer with Arca-Swiss P0 ball head for carrying out and about.
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Well I have a 1dx2 and I often use it with my 70-200 2.8 v2 which equates to a heavy combination.
I liked the 405 when I fiddled with it in park cameras but did wonder how much strain the gear mechanism could take.
I was impressed with the quick release system all be it in one axis only.
 
Like others who've already commented, I have the 410, and it's always been rock solid for me (A900 + 70-200 f/2.8, which isn't a light option), so would imagine the 405 won't have a problem.

I would avoid the XPro geared head - the gears may not move, but the plastic the head is made from has a fair degree of 'flex' in it, which defeats the whole purpose as far as I can tell.
 
I just noticed that Benro has released the GD3WH which looks to be a direct competitor with the Manfrotto 410jr; except that it is natively arca swiss compatible (a good thing IMO) and it costs less.
It (and the 410) are both more than adequate for your gear. I would be inclined to give the Benro a try if I were you.

The only reason I prefer the 405 over the 410jr is the larger knobs and somewhat finer gearing, but I would trade that for lighter weight/smaller size for field use... and for all I know the Benro may have finer gearing than the 410jr (almost certainly not coarser).
 
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Benro GD3WH looks promising, but very new and not available in UK yet, I think.

But jumping from a M'frotto pistol grip to a geared head is a bit extreme and geared heads heads are not the best choice for anything that moves more than a few degrees at a time. Most people opt for a ball head for the best combination of size/weight, ease/speed and versatility - and that's probably the best place to start. Basically you need some particular reasons why not to choose a ball head and the best ones are very strong and precise.

For your equipment, I'd say Gitzo tripod (whichever suits you best) and either one of the new Gitzo ball heads that are so much better than anything they've produced before, or Arca-Swiss P0 (best with an L-bracket), Arca-Swiss Z1, or Manfrotto 468 Hydrostatic. There are quite a few others of course, and I haven't tried that many of the more recent ones, but there's nothing to better them.
 
I was not really clear on what I wanted from a tripod/head.
It will be used almost exclusively for static subjects.

Sorry.
 
soupdragon said:
I was not really clear on what I wanted from a tripod/head.
It will be used almost exclusively for static subjects.

Sorry.
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Like I said, I generally prefer a ballhead. In the field I don't typically frame things so tightly that absolute positioning/composition has to be exact... IMO, that is generally a mistake. I just want a head that allows me to get a good composition quickly and doesn't slip/shift after being set. In fact, that is also more than adequate in the studio 95% of the time.

Are you doing close-up/macro type of work?
 
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I use both Geared and Ball heads for my landscape uses - I tend to take whichever I fancy on the day. Whenever I take a ball head I regret the loss of precise control over individual axes and with the geared head I bemoan the longer setup time!

The movement you describe is normally called "Creep" and is a characteristic of ball heads (which your Pistol; Grip head effectively is) that have poor lockup - unfortunately quite a few models suffer from this. If you prefer the speed and (generally) lighter weight of a ball head then I would look at the Sirui K30X and K40X, though there are plenty of good alternatives out there. If you prefer geared then the 405 is a very nice piece of kit, but try the cheaper 410 before you decide. Either the 410 or 405 is up to the loads that you suggest - my 410 is used with a 1 DX and (sometimes) up to a 100-400 Mk2 without issue. That Benro that sk66 mentions certainly looks the part and is probably well worth investigating too.

Don't forget that to get the full benefits of a good head you will need a good tripod too - unless you already have one of course.
 
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