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Archive 2014 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market ...

  
 
rafaeldefavari
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


My intention here is to list several tall CF tripods from all the brands you may know and find the cheaper and newest players on the market today. Chinese, Taiwan, Korean brands and Knock-offs are welcome here even if they have lower quality - but you will see on the end of the list that this option may not exist.

First thing first: the tripods discussed here must be tall. 1,40m (55") with center column down at minimum.

Second thing: Manfrottos are the quality-wise price-reference-standard for me. Excellent tripods and not on the expansive range of Carbon Fiber tripods out there. If I could afford I would buy a 055CXPRO3 with no questions and be happy with it. But I want to know if it is possible to find something with the same height on the market today and cheaper. Even if it means (and probably will mean) lower quality.

I know that you can't go for the cheaper brand because maybe the tripod will not be a solid one. But let's make the quality discussion for another thread. Gitzos are god-like tripods and can be left out of discussion since "Gitzo" and "cheap" can never be on the same sentence. Really Right Stuff tripods have a 4-digit price tag $1000. Not for me.

The 055CXPRO3 which is an excellent tripod runs about $300 or $400 and we should try to go from that to cheaper ones. My size reference is 55" tall (1,40m) with center column down. That's the reference that I want to use to find similar Carbon Fiber Tripods.

In my research I found several brands out there that I thought would be cheaper than Manfrottos. But for my surprise they are as costly or even more expansive for a tripod of the same size.

Here's my short list:

Oben - CT2491 - $400
Sirui - N2204 / N2205 - $440
Induro - CT213 - $390
Feisol - CT3342 $400 (or $300 for an older model with rotating legs)
Benro - C2970 $350
Bogen / Manfrotto - 055CXPRO3 ($300~$400 reference)
3 legged thing - X5 $415
Giottos - YTL8383 $390
Vanguard - 323CT$390
Velbon - E635D $390
Cullman - 532C $350 (weights almost as much as my 055XPROB aluminium tripod)
Mefoto - GlobeTrotter $370
Slik - ?
Dolica - ?

Then I found these promising brands that I thought would be even cheaper and chinese knock-offs and that was exactly what I was looking for:
HorusBennu and Jusino. And BOOM! $350 for the model C3540V from the Horusbennu - same price of Manfrottos.

I even tried to find a no-name tripod on this height range on ebay and aliexpress to find anything - and I mean anything - cheaper than that. No luck.

I am disappointed. Even the lesser known brands are more expansive than Manfrottos. Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall tripods on the market today and there are no alternatives to them? Can you identify a cheaper one (brands or models) that is not listed here?

Edited on Dec 29, 2014 at 12:13 AM · View previous versions



Dec 27, 2014 at 10:49 PM
Gochugogi
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


I love my two Manfrottos just as long as I don't have to carry them very far. Somehow they're heavier than my CF Gitzo and Sirui tripods of similar size. I'm guessing the flip locks and Italian styling add considerably to the weight.


Dec 27, 2014 at 11:42 PM
15Bit
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


The Feisol with the optional centre column is very tall, and very light. They are a bit more expensive than the manfrottos, but they are also a bit better quality in my view too.

To my mind, the Manfrottos are the cheapest decent quality tripods on the market though.



Dec 28, 2014 at 08:12 AM
sjms
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


actually the RRS models, except for a few select ones are 3 digit price tags just not the ones you'd like.

induro has a few models that are at and above your "standard height". but remember that as they get taller you need to reinforce them for structural stability under load.
did you also take in account the height of your head stack?

your standards are somewhat narrow w/o taking in account other factors like load support and such.



Dec 28, 2014 at 11:44 AM
rafaeldefavari
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


sjms wrote:
did you also take in account the height of your head stack?

your standards are somewhat narrow w/o taking in account other factors like load support and such.


Yes, I am 75" tall, that's why 55" (center column down) + ballhead + camera will fit my view. I have a 190CXPRO3 and it is definetly too small. I have to curve myself to take pictures. I also have a 055XPROB (aluminium) and the heigh is perfect with ballhead. The camera stays right in my viewsight.

You see, I am not even taking into account the load support yet, and I can't find anything cheaper than Manfrotto. My setup is lightweight: only a 5D with no grips and no zoom lenses. Just a 14mm, 24mm and 50mm fixed lenses. 8kg load is not a problem. Load support and tripod weight would be the second step, but I can't even give the first step. due the lack of options below this price range.

15Bit wrote:
To my mind, the Manfrottos are the cheapest decent quality tripods on the market though.


What about the "cheaper non-decent quality" Carbon Fiber tripods on this same height range? Chinese cheapos? Do they exist? I could not find one.



Dec 28, 2014 at 12:29 PM
15Bit
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


Carbon Fibre is still a premium product, so maybe there aren't any cheaper ones out there. I admit i never looked - i bought a feisol and that was that.


Dec 28, 2014 at 01:18 PM
Shane3v3
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


I got a used 055 Magfiber off KEH for about $180.

Works great, just a tad heavier than the current 055CXPro3. (and heavier still with a Kirk ball head)



Dec 28, 2014 at 08:27 PM
UCSB
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


I have a Feisol that I've used for years and has been good. I think with the Feisol carbon fiber head it was something like $500. Over the Xmas holiday, I purchased a MeFoto Roadtrip in carbon fiber. For some reason there was a short sale at B&H and it was only $233. MeFoto also makes another model called the Globetrotter in carbon fiber. One of these will probably match your expectations and gear. If the Roadtrip works out for me, I will probably add the Globetrotter to my kit also. Both of these are small travel tripods with good height and capacity.


Dec 28, 2014 at 11:22 PM
rafaeldefavari
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


UCSB wrote:
I have a Feisol that I've used for years and has been good. I think with the Feisol carbon fiber head it was something like $500. Over the Xmas holiday, I purchased a MeFoto Roadtrip in carbon fiber. For some reason there was a short sale at B&H and it was only $233. MeFoto also makes another model called the Globetrotter in carbon fiber. One of these will probably match your expectations and gear. If the Roadtrip works out for me, I will probably add the Globetrotter to my kit also. Both of these are small travel tripods with good
...Show more

Thanks for pointing MeFoto!

By the way these Mefoto tripods looks much alike Jusino chinese brand (from the year 2010). Maybe they are the same tripods rebranded for the US market.

I have added this GlobeTrotter to the list on the first message. Can be a nice guide for someone starting to look for tall Carbon Fiber tripods options. $370 though: still looking for something cheaper than the Manfrotto 055CX!



Dec 29, 2014 at 12:17 AM
UCSB
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


rafaeldefavari wrote:
Thanks for pointing MeFoto!

By the way these Mefoto tripods looks much alike Jusino chinese brand (from the year 2010). Maybe they are the same tripods rebranded for the US market.

I have added this GlobeTrotter to the list on the first message. Can be a nice guide for someone starting to look for tall Carbon Fiber tripods options. $370 though: still looking for something cheaper than the Manfrotto 055CX!


I've seen at least one color at B&H as low as $295 (Titanium) in the past week. It is $330 now. Typically for many colors it can be as high as $370. Prices jump around.




Dec 29, 2014 at 02:36 AM
AnthonyRay
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


Sirui MX, about $400 (got mine for $350). With column down it's about 58".

Yes, I see it goes for $370 at B&H. The aluminum version would be far less.

The quality is excellent, very well designed and built.



Jan 01, 2015 at 06:57 PM
Frogfish
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


Slik Pro 713 CF II ca. US$218 167cms Wt 1.39kgs Max.10kg (recommended 5kg).
Slik Pro 824 CF II ca. US$290 167cms Wt 1.585kgs Max.7kg (I guess this is more but recommended 7kg)
Note those are with the centre column up (max without may be below your acceptable minimum, it's 131cms).
Slik are made by Kenko-Tokina.

VANGUARD Auctus Plus 323AT - currently US$200 off at Amazon so under your US$400.
http://www.amazon.com/Vanguard-Auctus-Plus-323CT-Professional/dp/B004ZMC7DW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1420185596&sr=1-1&keywords=vanguard+auctus+plus+323ct




Jan 02, 2015 at 02:36 AM
Frogfish
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


As I am in the market for an upgraded tripod to take my current birding kit (D3s or D800E + 300/2.8 VRII with TC20EIII) this is my on-going comparison for tripods that run a little more expensive (max US$500). I don't guarantee accuracy.

Looks like an Induro or the Velbon for me. Note there is one mistake as the max. height for the Vanguard Auctus Plus 323CT is not 1800mm (180cms) but 1700 (170cms) - ruling it out for me (though the weight would have done that anyway) !




Jan 02, 2015 at 03:59 AM
leftcoastlefty
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


rafaeldefavari wrote:
The 055CXPRO3 which is an excellent tripod runs about $300 or $400 and we should try to go from that to cheaper ones.


According to B&H, the 055CXPRO3 has been replaced by the MT055CXPRO3.




Jan 09, 2015 at 01:59 AM
Frogfish
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


leftcoastlefty wrote:
According to B&H, the 055CXPRO3 has been replaced by the MT055CXPRO3.



They are completely different lines. The MT line is not as robust. Go direct to the Manfrotto website to see the differences. The 055CXPRO3 and 055CXPRO4 have just been updated.



Jan 09, 2015 at 08:18 AM
Bacalhau
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


I was looking at the manfrotto's 055 and 190 carbon fiber models this morning
- I like the leg locking system and but not sold in the center column thing. Yes, it can be reversed, but there is too many moving/sliding plastic parts, whih for me spell trouble.
It seems that with extra use, and maybe some abuse - as in not so gentle, the whole mechanism might get jammed, or worst, some small part will break rendering the post nonoperational.

I have the Sirui n2204, but it's not a fast set up tripod - too many twist turns to lock legs in position.

who else makes clamp style locks on a solid CF tripod?




Edited on Jan 10, 2015 at 12:54 PM · View previous versions



Jan 09, 2015 at 06:14 PM
Gochugogi
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


Bacalhau wrote:
I was looking at the manfrotto's 055 and 190 carbon fiber models thismorning
- I like the leg locking system and but not sold in the center column thing. Yes, it can be reversed, but there is too many moving/sliding plastic parts, whih for me spell trouble.
It seems that with extra use, and maybe some abuse - as in not so gentle, the whole mechanism might get jammed, or worst, some small part will break rendering the post nonoperational.


I have a Manfrotto CF tripod with the horizontal center post and I don't think you have much to worry about. I thought some of those small parts were plastic at first too, but most of them are magnesium or carbon fiber. The collar and leg lock handles are so well finished in resin they do look like plastic! I happened to get a few scrapes and bangs on mine and those parts are magnesium under that resin paint. The release button on the end of the CF center post is plastic but is easily replaced and not under any stress or exposed to trauma. Also, there are two levels of CF tripods and you may prefer the more traditional one with CF legs and standard aluminum post and top plate/collar (post doesn't extend like an arm):

http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-055CX3-Section-Aluminum-Castings/dp/B001GIPR5I/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1420856175&sr=8-14&keywords=manfrotto+055



Jan 09, 2015 at 09:19 PM
UCSB
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


Above I mentioned that I was thinking of picking up the MeFoto GlobeTrotter. I just wanted to come back and say that I did pickup the GlobeTrotter in CF in the titanium color. This is a nice size tripod to use with a setup like my Canon 5DIII and 24-70 v2 (or any of my Canon lenses). I also had purchased the MeFoto RoadTrip in CF in the green color. The RoadTrip is smaller and can be used with my 5DIII, and I will be using it with that camera, but the GlobeTrotter seems to be a better trade-off when using a full size DSLR for a slight increase in size and weight. The RoadTrip is a perfect size for a travel tripod for a mirrorless camera. I was comparing these two tripods against my larger CF Feisol 3401 with Feisol CB-50H ball head. These three tripods are three different sizes.

I did a quick test tonight with a laser level and focusing on a wall about 30' from the tripod setups. Any camera movement is visible in the light spot on the wall. All three tripods produced good results for me; both visually (light movement) and in the test images.

I paid $233 (B&H) for the CF RoadTrip and $269 (Adorama) for the CF GlobeTrotter. Both of these were sale prices and typical cost about $100 more each. In comparison my Feisol setup cost a little under $500 when I purchased it in 2008.

These two travel tripods were what I was looking for and are great for my needs.



Jan 23, 2015 at 03:58 AM
Ghostinz
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Are the Manfrottos the cheapest tall Carbon Fiber tripods on the market today?


I have two tripods. A Mefoto aluminum when I need to go super light. I don't extend the center column because I want as much support as possible. I live with the fact that its not tall.

I have a RRS carbon fiber when I feel I need sturdy and tall.

I think it gets back to something like you can have it sturdy, cheap, & lightweight..... just pick two.




Jan 23, 2015 at 10:01 PM





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