sasho_p wrote:
I was looking at the 190CXpro3 or 4 and the 190Xpro3 as a budget friendly soltion. Didn't consider manfrotto ball heads until now - I might take a look at the one you recommended. The birding examples were only to show you what that tripod can comfortably handle - it is also my landscape tripod and is excellent for that too, being light, compact and easily transportable. There is also the Q2 ballhead, a smaller version of the Q5 and maybe better suited to your needs, though I'd be quite happy using a 70-200 on the Q5 and the other night used a Sony A7 and tiny Olympus 24/2.8 on the same Q5 ballhead and PRO4 tripod without them looking out of place.
I think you could easily step down to the MT190 series and a Q2 though if you are sure you won't have any heavyweight lenses/cameras in the future. They can still handle far more weight than you are likely to need them to support.
sasho_p wrote:
Hi, I will be getting a new tripod (I posted another topic about that). I have a few specific questions regarding reliability and spare parts availability though.
I'm deciding between Benro Travel Angel , Sirui R2204X or N1004X. Sirui offer 6 year warranty and seem to have a stable product line that isn't changed very often, unlike Benro, who are constantly introducing new models. I live in Wurope, so I guess Manfrotto spares will be easiest to find in the future.
I noticed some Sirui tripods that had twist locks had problems opening and closing the legs. It turns out, that some clients who were testing them in store had unscrewed the legs and the teflon parts inside got displaced and smashed. The sales person said, that the teflon parts are easy to order and relatively inexpensive, but the warranty doesn't cover them. I guess benro twist lock legs would be the same. I have been told to get flip lock tripod, but It seems they can break too over use and the legs are not protected form sand and dirt too....Show more →
I have a Benro C2970T tripod that came with a Benro B2 ballhead.
I have been very happy with the tripod and it has done what I have asked of it, but I do prefer the larger diameter leg tubes on RRS tripods... but RRS does not make anything that articulates (yet).
The Benro B2 ballhead works and it is smooth. If your camera/lens combination is within the specs for that model, it will be fine.
I switched to a Sirui K-40X ballhead and prefer that one over the Benro B2.
The Benro has a slightly textured finish (almost matte, but it is how the metal is finished and not paint) and the Sirui is machined to a very smooth finish. Both function equally well.
It seems that we will have a major price-up here due to dollar-euro exchange rates, so I need to decide fast.
I've got the Manfrotto 190Xpro3 with a head of choice or in a bundle with the Xpro3 panhead, the Benro A2980T+B1 head and Sirui N1004x tripod with whichever head I choose.. I also could get the k-30X ballhead, although there was something I didn't like in it - the friction disc doesn't seem to change much - it just makes the head stop at a different point when tightening the main knob - have you noticed something like this?
My camera setup is very light so I'm not really sure If even the 190Xpro3 wouldn't be an overkill, but I kinda like it. I like the Manfrotto and the Sirui N1004 the most for some reason. The Benro A2980T seems to tick all the boxes, but for some reason it doesn't feel right.
