Tripods
Posted by: i am simon 2 on 03 February 2005
Having rekindled my interest in photography with the purchase of the D70, I cave started putting together a few essential pieces of kit. One of the first things I bought was a tripod. It was a Velbon X-Photo from Dixons and it cost £24. After all a tripod is just 3 legs and a swively thing that the camera sits on... or so I thought.
I grew quite disappointed quite quickly not only with the plasticy bendy feel of the el-cheapo pan and tilt head, but I didnt get the sharp photos I wanted with longer exposures. Why, because cheap tripods like the one I bought are rubbish and not good enough to serve any purpose.
For my birthday the Wife bought me a monopod which I then bought a ball head for. I bought a Manfrotto 322, which did the job, but it was a bit large for the monopod, so I hacked the old head of the tripod and fitted the 322 to it. Whilst I preferred the 322 to the pan and tilt job, the tripod was still rubbish. I was however so impressed with the feel of the Manfrotto head, that off I trotted to Calumet in Soho to have a look at the Manfrotto tripods.
15 mins later I am walking down Oxford St the proud new owner of a Manfrotto 055PRO-B. I swapped the 322 head onto the 055 and it is the dogs b***cks.
The new setup is so solid and the difference this makes for longer exposures and macro work is unbelievable. Whilst I have not examined the competition such as Sherpa, Gitso or Slik, I am very impressed with the build and feel of the Manfrotto Range, and it does not seem that expensive for how good it seems.
I have now added the 484RC2 mini ball head to my Manfrotto collection, as this fits nicely on the monopod and has the same quick release plate as the 322 head, which means that I can leave it on the camera permanently.
I know this seems like a random post as I am not asking any questions, and I do not work for Manfrotto, but as I know that there are a lot of hobby photographers on the forum, I thought it was worth a mention. No doubt you will all say "have you only just realised the importance of a good tripod?", but for those of you who have not, I can confirm that it is a worthwhile addition to your kit bag.
Simon
I grew quite disappointed quite quickly not only with the plasticy bendy feel of the el-cheapo pan and tilt head, but I didnt get the sharp photos I wanted with longer exposures. Why, because cheap tripods like the one I bought are rubbish and not good enough to serve any purpose.
For my birthday the Wife bought me a monopod which I then bought a ball head for. I bought a Manfrotto 322, which did the job, but it was a bit large for the monopod, so I hacked the old head of the tripod and fitted the 322 to it. Whilst I preferred the 322 to the pan and tilt job, the tripod was still rubbish. I was however so impressed with the feel of the Manfrotto head, that off I trotted to Calumet in Soho to have a look at the Manfrotto tripods.
15 mins later I am walking down Oxford St the proud new owner of a Manfrotto 055PRO-B. I swapped the 322 head onto the 055 and it is the dogs b***cks.
The new setup is so solid and the difference this makes for longer exposures and macro work is unbelievable. Whilst I have not examined the competition such as Sherpa, Gitso or Slik, I am very impressed with the build and feel of the Manfrotto Range, and it does not seem that expensive for how good it seems.
I have now added the 484RC2 mini ball head to my Manfrotto collection, as this fits nicely on the monopod and has the same quick release plate as the 322 head, which means that I can leave it on the camera permanently.
I know this seems like a random post as I am not asking any questions, and I do not work for Manfrotto, but as I know that there are a lot of hobby photographers on the forum, I thought it was worth a mention. No doubt you will all say "have you only just realised the importance of a good tripod?", but for those of you who have not, I can confirm that it is a worthwhile addition to your kit bag.
Simon