Which do you prefer for outdoor / landscape photography, and why? I've always used a tripod with flip locks, but I'm thinking of getting a carbon fiber tripod, and most seem to have twist lock leg sections. Perhaps there's some advantage to them that I'm overlooking. Any input would be appreciated.
Manfrotto carbon fiber tripods have flip locks. I prefer them to the collet (rotating) locks on my Gitzo, though if speed of setup is never a concern and immersion in water is, the Gitzo construction might have some advantage in keeping water out or not being affected by it. My Gitzo is 25 years old, and still works like new, but it hasn't seen as much use since I got the Manfrotto carbon fiber.
I prefer twist lock. I can work much faster with the Gitzo twist locks than Manfrotto's flip locks.
With the Gitzo in collapsed position I can untwist all leg sections at once and extend the leg in one motion, then work my way back up the leg and tighten each section with a quick flip of the wrist.
Collapsing the leg is just as easy, I start from the top and loosen each section and pull the legs up from the bottom, then twist all the locks to tighten.
The whole process is much more fluid than with flip locks where you're changing your hand's orientation with each flip lever and having to make odd angular changes in movement to lock/unlock each lever.
If there was anything I didn't like my old Manfrotto, it was my fingers being knocked by the flip locks on multi-occasions, especially in hurry, and it hurt! Use twist now, and took quite some time to master (and not that slow once I did), but my fingers stay intact. I do miss the good old Manfrotto strap though.
My first good tripod, a Velbon 540A, had flip locks that I really liked. I was worried when I bought my first Gitzo, a G1228LVL, about the twist locks, but after just a few uses it makes no difference to me now. Just a different routine that I quickly adapted to. Flip locks and twist locks can both be very usable, if they're good ones. I'm sure the newest Gitzo's, with the ALR, are even better.
That said, I have both locks and I positively, absolutely, detest those darn flip locks. I just hate 'em. I don' t find them as easy to set up, they can make a 'snap' noise at times, and they are hard to control the friction in between open and closed - like when making a very small adjustment. They also need to be tension adjusted at times.
There are lots of different twist locks, but I really like the ones that Gitzo puts on their gear. Work great and highly recommended.
I might add that while I like the twist locks on my Gitzo tripod, I really dislike the twist locks on my Feisol monopod. They're not very precise with regard to controlling the amount of friction, they need to be twisted very tightly to lock firmly, and some of the internal friction rings cracked when the monopod was barely out of the box.
Generally, the best lock mechanism is the one that's on the tripod you buy based on other criteria.
I have both and see little difference in functionality. Of course, the twist-locks on my Gitzo have never given me blood blisters or scared off wildlife, unlike the flip-locks on my Bogen....
If you want speed and flexibility, I've been using a Manfrotto Neotec tripod for over a year now. Just PULL the legs down and their locked! Press a button at the top of the leg to collapse it and let go - its locked.
It's going to be heavier than a carbon fiber - but if you want to avoid all the turning, twisting and flip lock tightening, take a look at the Neotec.
I much prefer flip locks, but I really don't like Manfrotto's locks. Their older ones were absolutely BRUTAL... like finger guillotines! Their newer ones are better, but don't have a positive feel to them. Other makers have good flip locks, however. My Velbon has very nice flip locks.
I like flip locks because it's very quick to set up and tear down the tripod. Even with ALR on the new Gitzos I find I have to crank on the twist locks more than once to make sure they're secure, whereas flip locks simply fold over 90 degrees and they're done. Not only that, but flip locks give you a positive indication of their status. If they're out, they're loose. If they're in, they're closed. There's no real "in between" with flip locks. With twist locks, when mounting a heavy lens I want to crank the locks down hard to be sure I don't have a collapse.
I'd probably have a Gitzo right now instead of a Velbon if Gitzo made flip locks.
Like John said, it's a purely personal preference.
I've been using fliplocks for several years on a couple of Velbon and Slik pods. Not apparently as adjustable for maintenance/tightness as the Bogen but never had a problem. I'd had a twist monopod so wasn't averse to them either. Just got a new Giotto and even w/o anti-twist, doesn't seem that big a difference in effort. Two things that may change in handling - I'd walk along with the flip locks and simply allow the legs to drop to full extension, the new one is taller so will need to pay more attention. That and I'd open a leg on the "high side" to level and allow the pod to slip down and then snap when "level." This may not be as easy with the new one but will see.
The "noise" of the snap seems to be the only impact difference and that would be an issue in nature photos but less so elsewhere.
