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Archive 2015 · manfrotto Tripods

  
 
Werne1nm
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · manfrotto Tripods


Out of all the tripod suggestions lately no one has mentioned manfrotto tripods.

Are they not good?

Give me the skinny.



Jun 18, 2015 at 07:40 AM
danh920
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · manfrotto Tripods


I have a 190 xprob and its quite nice and a great value for the money. I also have a gitzo 3542ls and its a night and day difference - if I wasnt husky I'd consider trying to do pull ups on it If you're shooting in the wind every bit of stability is important. Theres a Thom Hogan article that sums it up perfectly and why you save the most by investing in the best the 1st time around.

The manfrotto is nice, and definitely a step up from the cheapos but you get what you pay for



Jun 18, 2015 at 07:44 AM
Gochugogi
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · manfrotto Tripods


Manfrotto has a huge range of tripods from terrible to excellent, so it depends on the model. Once you try models above the 190 series they are indeed very good. Their studio and video tripods are beasts and you never have to worry about getting kicked over like featherweight CF models. However, not fun to carry and they rarely leave my studio. I greatly prefer Manfrotto's flip leg locks over those hand hurting twist locks on Gitzo tripods. After setting up a couple Gitzo I have to wait 30 minutes before I can play guitar! However, for travel and hiking I suffer with a Gitzo Traveller as there are no small enough Manfrotto CF models.

Gitzo and Manfrotto are owned by the same parent company and made in the same factory complex. The Gitzo designs seem to be slanted towards outdoors, travel and luxury whereas the Manfrotto do the low end, middle and industrial strength studio gear.



Jun 18, 2015 at 02:21 PM
Craig Gillette
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · manfrotto Tripods


They aren't bad but for quite a while I think they coasted along on being a competent and economical mainstream option. It could cost a lot more to get incrementally better performance so for many folks, they were a good choice. Still are although maybe in some efforts to really cover all aspects of the market, some models are cringeworthy. They tend to be accurate if not conservative in weight ratings. But there is a lot more competition these days and they haven't done all that good a job keeping current. They are late to the Arca Swiss compatible quick release game yet also have a broad range of support system components and accessories.


Jun 21, 2015 at 12:15 AM
Gochugogi
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · manfrotto Tripods


They are late to the Arca Swiss compatible quick release game yet also have a broad range of support system components and accessories.

Manfrotto's QR designs were popular before Arca-Swiss' rise in the 1990s. I'm sure the two companies saw one another as rivals and certainly didn't want to yield to the other's designs. Of course, the arca QR eventually dominated on still cameras although I see those huge 5" Manfrotto plates on video cameras more often than arca. Manfrotto's new Arca clamp is an ingenious design--quick locking--but doesn't play well with other manufacturer's plates. So useless if you have a RRS or Sunwayfoto L-plate. The good news is most Manfrotto ball heads can be easily converted to arca by removing a single M6 screw and screwing on the new clamp.



Jun 21, 2015 at 02:56 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · manfrotto Tripods


You mean these Manfrotto plates? I found them to be rather awful.

EBH



Jun 21, 2015 at 03:23 PM
Craig Gillette
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · manfrotto Tripods


Probably means the big rectangular plates. I used a couple of the rc2 equipped heads (pan/tilt and pistol grip), back when some AS users suggested the double lock on the rc2 meant the plate was unsafe. That was before so many different non-standard safety slip pin systems developed for the AS designs. Hmmh.

although I do think that in sizing several different shapes and sizes of plate systems, Manfrotto both competed with itself and opened doors to competitors.



Jun 21, 2015 at 03:45 PM
Gochugogi
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · manfrotto Tripods


EB-1 wrote:
You mean these Manfrotto plates? I found them to be rather awful.

EBH


No, the long 5" video camera plates:

http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-504PLONG-Video-Camera-Plate/dp/B004GTNCHO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434947540&sr=8-1&keywords=manfrotto+504hd+plate

They work great for mounting an Arca clamp topside but you can still slide the works in the main clamp for optimal balance on the vertical pan axis.



Jun 21, 2015 at 11:34 PM





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