Tall tripod

[sergiofigliolia]

Hi all,
I currently have a Manfrotto 190XPROB on which I use a Manfrotto 410 Junior Head (1.2Kg) and a 045F1 Chamonix view camera (1.6kg) with small lenses.
The tripod gets up to 146cm with column fully extended and only 122cm without extending the column. It weighs 1.6kg.
I would like to have a taller tripod to be able to use it without extending the center column without having to duck.
Also I think it would be nice to have the ability to extend really high as for most of my pictures (urban landscape) it would be beneficial to have a higher viewpoint (to avoid obstacles: cars, etc. and also to provide an unusual viewpoint).
I have found tripods going up to 190cm but I'm not so sure about those brands (Giottos and Triopo for instance).
I have had a Giottos head before and I did not have a great experience with those. I have also read bad experiences with Giottos tripods and users seem not to be impressed with build quality of Triopo tripods.
I came back to appreciate Manfrotto 055 series because of its quality but price is high if you want to get the carbon fiber ones and they generally don't get really that high(max 170).
One should consider the old 055 aluminium series maybe.
I found the 055XDB weighs 2.1Kg, 137,5cm tall without center column, 178cm tall with center column.
Any thoughts?

[Ari]

Sergio,
You are correct about the quality of both Giottos and Triopo; don't trust them with expensive gear.
I had a Triopo which was ok for MF, but it would still wobble no matter what I put on it. And after a few months, it started to come apart.
Extending it and closing it were not pleasant experiences, and the poor build quality was obvious everywhere.
But it was light and cheap, I'll give it that.

If you're on a really tight budget, I'd suggest looking at Induro tripods; they may have one model that is extra tall, and they offer a decently-made tripod for the price.

If you have a few more shekels to spend, I can suggest a CP30-XL4S tripod from FLM: http://www.flmcanada.com/carbon-fibre-tripods-xl.html
It reaches 217cm in height and weighs 1,9kg.

Buy well, buy once.

[sergiofigliolia]

Thanks Ari!
Those FLM look amazing but they're in the Gitzo price range :(
Induro I have seen once and they looked well made. The most interesting one looks like it's the CT313 which gets up to 185cm with 2.2Kg weight.
Manfrotto 055XDB gets only 7cm lower with the extended column. (Of course the legs of the CT313 are longer than the 055XDB without column).
The induro costs also 2-3 times the 055XDB.
Has anyone had experiences with Vanguard? Sirui?

[Peter De Smidt]

Does it need to be new?

[SergeiR]

basically - with new cheap tripods you get what you paid for, unfortunately. So is with heads. It is sad and sounds icky but true.

If you want decent price and good height - look at used Majestic and other old american aluminum tripods - my Davis with Tiffen head holds up 20x24 without as much as a blink or model sitting on it. And it did cost me about 50$ on flea-bay. My carbon-fiber Gitzo is lighter, and can extend just as tall, if not taller but without center column but i wouldn't trust it with bigger than 11x14 and it cost quite a bit more (even used, as i am cheap).

[sergiofigliolia]

not necessarily new but I wouldn't mind

[sergiofigliolia]

I'm afraid majestic tripods are generally too heavy to be carried (I'm not in a studio)

[Peter De Smidt]

How about a used Gitzo 504 or similar?

[SergeiR]

I'm afraid majestic tripods are generally too heavy to be carried (I'm not in a studio)
Meh... Thats what muscles are for. I hiked with 8x10 Korona and my T&D tripod quite a lot ;)

[Jac@stafford.net]

Meh... Thats what muscles are for. I hiked with 8x10 Korona and my T&D tripod quite a lot ;)

Excellent! Are you for hire at mule rates?
.

[Carl J]

Sergio,
You are correct about the quality of both Giottos and Triopo; don't trust them with expensive gear.
I had a Triopo which was ok for MF, but it would still wobble no matter what I put on it. And after a few months, it started to come apart.
Extending it and closing it were not pleasant experiences, and the poor build quality was obvious everywhere.
But it was light and cheap, I'll give it that.

If you're on a really tight budget, I'd suggest looking at Induro tripods; they may have one model that is extra tall, and they offer a decently-made tripod for the price.

If you have a few more shekels to spend, I can suggest a CP30-XL4S tripod from FLM: http://www.flmcanada.com/carbon-fibre-tripods-xl.html
It reaches 217cm in height and weighs 1,9kg.

Buy well, buy once.


Hi Ari,

Sounds interesting. Love the CP30-S3S but do miss ability to go higher at times. At 1.9kg (vs. 1.5kg, if I'm not mistaken) weight of the CP30-XL4S is only marginally greater.
Have you used one?

Carl

[Ari]

Hi Carl,
Glad you're enjoying the tripod!
Yes, I've used the XL, and if you like to shoot higher on a regular basis, it is indispensable.
It's only offered in a 4-section version, but most of the time you end up needing only 3 sections, so retract the thinnest leg section.
It's a very steady and stable tripod, even at maximum extension.
And yes, it's only about 400 grams heavier than your tripod.

I'll send you a PM with more details.

[SergeiR]

Excellent! Are you for hire at mule rates?
.

Nope :) But you can pay me my hourly developer rates, and travel expenses and i can oblige ;)

[Leszek Vogt]

Been using Feisol CT-3371 for over 2 yrs. Not sure I'd slap 8x10 on it, tho I have used 520mm in FF. It's a 3-leg CF rig....appx 4.85lbs....and pretty solid...and it suppose to support 26lbs. Legs have presets at 25/70/90 deg and it extends to 155mm. You add 410 head and you have around 170mm (+/- few). Hmmm, no mule required.

Les

[sergiofigliolia]

How about a used Gitzo 504 or similar?

Can't seem to find the proper specs but by seeing an ebay auction I saw it is 3m high and weighs 7kgs!!!

Yesterday I visited a local camera shop looking for old 055 Manfrotto line. I "only" found the new 055 series and though being skeptical about those they impressed me.
I tried both the MT055XPRO3 and the MT055CXPRO4 and both were sturdy as hell (provided hell is sturdy!) even with the center column fully extended. The new leg locks are impressive.
The thing is they weigh respectively 2.1 and 2.5 kgs and honestly couldn't find any difference by weighing them in hands at the same time.
The first costs half the price of the second so among the 2 there is no game (I'd buy the slightly heavier MT055XPRO3).
Now I was considering the old 055CXPRO4 as it is 1.7kgs. I think one starts to feel the difference between 1.7 and 2.5 kgs!
I wonder if anyone has got the old carbon one to tell me whether that is sturdy enough.
Manfrotto claims the new tripods are by a fair amount (50%, I'm reluctant to use numbers in this case) sturdier than the old ones

[sergiofigliolia]

I ended up getting the MT055XPRO3. Thanks everyone for their thoughts :-)