Discussion
The girlfiend fancies a tripod for her birthday (no jokes at the back please!), but not being that into photography myself I'm not too sure what to look for. Her camera's not massively heavy (sony A330 and I think her biggest lens is about a 200m), and I guess I'm looking up to about £100 or so. Any ideas what we should be looking at?
I've used Manfrotto and Gitzo (essentially the same company), both of which are good.
I'd look for something like a Manfrotto 190 XDB assuming your girlfriend is not freakishly tall (the 055 series are taller). You'll need a head, what kind of stuff does she take photos of? A ball head is a good general purpose all-rounder, you can get specialist heads for different specialist areas of photography.
I'd look for something like a Manfrotto 190 XDB assuming your girlfriend is not freakishly tall (the 055 series are taller). You'll need a head, what kind of stuff does she take photos of? A ball head is a good general purpose all-rounder, you can get specialist heads for different specialist areas of photography.
A 190 XDB will be OK for a 6 foot person, she'll just have to have the centre column up, with a light camera not a big issue. I use an 055 as I'm 6'3 and use heavy cameras and didn't want the centre column up.
Re heads, for general stuff a ball head will suit most people. Other options are a three way head (individual levers to adjust each axis) which are slower but more accurate, geared heads (what I use for landscapes, essentially a three way with gearing for precise adjustments), panoramic heads, macro rails for specialist macro stuff where the camera is moved to focus rather than using the lens, gimbal heads for long and heavy lenses, all sorts.
From what you've said I'd look for a 190XDB with a ball head.
Re heads, for general stuff a ball head will suit most people. Other options are a three way head (individual levers to adjust each axis) which are slower but more accurate, geared heads (what I use for landscapes, essentially a three way with gearing for precise adjustments), panoramic heads, macro rails for specialist macro stuff where the camera is moved to focus rather than using the lens, gimbal heads for long and heavy lenses, all sorts.
From what you've said I'd look for a 190XDB with a ball head.
190 xdb with a ball head is £110 on amazon so could be worth a look.
Packs to 53 cm which isn't bad. I'm also thinking she might want something that packs small to travel with.
Anyone got any experience of the Giotto GTMT9340B, on special on Amazon and a bit smaller and lighter than the 190.
Packs to 53 cm which isn't bad. I'm also thinking she might want something that packs small to travel with.
Anyone got any experience of the Giotto GTMT9340B, on special on Amazon and a bit smaller and lighter than the 190.
RizzoTheRat said:
190 xdb with a ball head is £110 on amazon so could be worth a look.
Packs to 53 cm which isn't bad. I'm also thinking she might want something that packs small to travel with.
Anyone got any experience of the Giotto GTMT9340B, on special on Amazon and a bit smaller and lighter than the 190.
Almost.Packs to 53 cm which isn't bad. I'm also thinking she might want something that packs small to travel with.
Anyone got any experience of the Giotto GTMT9340B, on special on Amazon and a bit smaller and lighter than the 190.
I have one of these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Giottos-Vitruvian-VGR9255-...
Which is very similar but packs a little shorter, goes a little higher (but not as low unless you invert the column and work with the camera upside down) but it does have a ball head included.
However it does not offer the clever trick of the GTMT 9340B with the centre column being usable as device support in other orientations - horizontal for example.
It will pack to a cabin bag friendly size and can be adapted to work as a monopod. I prefer clamp fittings on the legs but the twisters work OK and provide for the compact design. It's good up to the recommended weights but care is required at the heavy end of the scale if using a longish zoom and a long exposure. Not that it was really designed to deliver for that sort of requirement.
I have a larger Giottos as well. The standards both offer are very good.
Bear in mind that, as far as I can tell, the linked tripod offer does not include a head. Not sure about the bag either - mine came with a bag but the Amazon offer seems to suggest that head and bag are additional in terms of 'Frequently bought together'. Worth checking.
190 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-190XDB-Section-A...
055 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-055XDB-Section-A...
Is the extra £20 basically to get more height and/or better stability at the same height?
055 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-055XDB-Section-A...
Is the extra £20 basically to get more height and/or better stability at the same height?
Yeah just about , the 055 is a taller version of the 190 in general.
055:
Maximum height: 178 cm
Maximum height (with centre column down): 137.50 cm
Minimum height: 48 cm
Weight: 2.10 kg
190:
Maximum height: 146 cm
Maximum height (with centre column down): 118.50 cm
Minimum height: 35 cm
Weight: 1.60 kg
190 is rated at 5kgs vs 7kgs too.
055:
Maximum height: 178 cm
Maximum height (with centre column down): 137.50 cm
Minimum height: 48 cm
Weight: 2.10 kg
190:
Maximum height: 146 cm
Maximum height (with centre column down): 118.50 cm
Minimum height: 35 cm
Weight: 1.60 kg
190 is rated at 5kgs vs 7kgs too.
RizzoTheRat said:
190 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-190XDB-Section-A...
055 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-055XDB-Section-A...
Is the extra £20 basically to get more height and/or better stability at the same height?
There will always be a compromise between weight/height and the concerns of weight and height for travelling. On the other hand long exposure stuff will always benefit from bigger and heavier provided the basic design makes use of such advantages. 055 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-055XDB-Section-A...
Is the extra £20 basically to get more height and/or better stability at the same height?
If I have the car available I take the large tripod. If not, and certainly when flying, I take the small one and tend to use the smaller cameras and avoid the larger lenses - mainly because of the aggravation potential of travelling with a lot of expensive and heavy kit including a rather heady tripod head. However everyone will have their own tolerance level in such things. If trekking to dnagerous places the larger tripod with a heavy head would make a good defensive weapon!
I've got the basic 055 with the straight column fitting (not the angled job that some of them have) which I use for night time shots (moon mainly) and video (fencing club video analysis) with a 701hdv head.
It's a great sturdy bit of kit but it's a big and heavy fooker. Just saying...
It's a great sturdy bit of kit but it's a big and heavy fooker. Just saying...
Just to close this one off...
Ended up getting her one for Christmas, and after looking at a few she decided light weight wasn't quite as important to her as she initially thought. So we went for a deal on the Manfrotto 190 XPROB with a 496RC2 head where they throw in a free 679B monopod. Think it's a manufacturers deal rather than just the retailer (London Camera Exchange in our case) if anyone looking for similar
Thanks for the advice.
Ended up getting her one for Christmas, and after looking at a few she decided light weight wasn't quite as important to her as she initially thought. So we went for a deal on the Manfrotto 190 XPROB with a 496RC2 head where they throw in a free 679B monopod. Think it's a manufacturers deal rather than just the retailer (London Camera Exchange in our case) if anyone looking for similar
Thanks for the advice.
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Sunday 2nd December 10:38
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