Tripod recommendations? CF or Aluminum?
 

Hey guys,

Just curious what your thoughts are regarding CF legs compared to Aluminum.

I'm thinking of picking up the Manfrotto 055CXPro (CF/Magnesium) or the 055XPROB (aluminum).

I'm stuck with Manfrotto as my GF got me a gift cert from Broadway Camera (i don't really consider their other t-pod brands any good for a lifetime investment compared to an italian made manfrotto).

Now the question is, i'll be forking out a bit of cash for the CF leg compared to the aluminum. do you guys notice any difference other than some weight savings and pimp factor/cost?

I only wished they sold Gitzo...oh well, those are my choices.

I will give you a detailed answer later, but in short, go for the 055CXPRO3 or 190CXPRO3. :)

well, i went to broadway camera yesterday and spent a little bit more than my original plan...

turns out, they can order in Gitzo without any problems and they were willing to give me a decent discount as well..

i ordered the Gitzo GT2531 CF tripod....it's....beautiful :)

looking forward to your input Senna! thanks for your help :thumbsup:

Just curious...why did you settle on the Gitzo? The Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 is half the weight, and it has a centre column that can be rotated to a horizontal position, which you can't do on the Gitzo. Gitzo tripods tend to be much heavier than the equivalent Manfrotto tripods - the carbon tripods can weigh as much as the aluminum Manfrottos.

Well, i went for the Gitzo after researching as best i could online regarding which would be the 'end all' of tripods as i hope to never upgrade in the future :)

From what i've read so far, the Gitzo 2541 is 1lb lighter than the 'frotto 055CX as well, and being 4-section, it folds down to very decent travel size.

a friend of mine has the Gitzo 2530 and when i played with his, i prefered the twist lock mechanism over the flip lock mechanism of the 'frotto's.

i was debating the ability to flip the column around and i'm still on the fence about the option for that, however, the guy at broadway camera said i could change my order by monday the latest. the similar feature to that articulating column would be the Gitzo 2451 EX...i haven't been able to find many reviews on that particular tripod but one guy did say it was as stable as could be even though it's not mounted the same as the standard columns...

(sorry for the confusion, but so far my order is for the 2541 4-section, not the 2531 3-section as i had typed earlier!)

I still have the 'frotto RC488 ball head...should i keep that one? any recommendations Senna?

thanks!

ballin with the camera gear now, damn that must be nice

how much was the gitzo?

i'd love to get the traveler.

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lots of ppl are happy with the feisol CF tripods (not heads), + a 488 ball head that can pan, that's about the cheapest and sturdiest CF route that ppl were happy with. i read countless threads on this since I was deciding on which tripod to buy

i just went the cheap route, don't have 5 bills to blow on tripod+head. came out to half the price for a low end manfrotto for almost double the weight (~1kg vs 2kg | $250 vs $450)

side question, any tripod bag recommendations? senna4ever?
popular ones include the manfrotto unpadded ones, and the thinktank ones that TCS sells. i just got the tripod holder to go with my kata bag.

The Gitzo legs are approximately $750.

I found the Traveller to be a bit too short when fully opened...they had one on hand at Broadway Camera in Aberdeen...it's nice for travelling (obviously), but i don't travel enough to justify the cost of it since it's not much cheaper than the GT2541 i ordered.

wow Jason you're going all out on camera gears now lol.

My experience is that the CF doesn't really save you that much weight, especially from Manfrotto. I have a bit of Manfrotto equipments (10 parts including suction cups, stands and arms) so I'm a bit biased. I love Gitzo stuff but they're $$$ for me. But anyway the CF is nice when the weather is cold and it's definitely stiffer on some models compared to the aluminium.

The Traveller is $800+, but it does include a small ballhead. I'm thinking of getting one myself. The Traveller Titanium is the baller one - all the metal parts are made from solid titanium, it weighs half of the already light traveller.......and costs $2,500 USD. O.O

I personally like the Manfrotto padded tripod bags. Gitzo and Think Tank also make nice ones. The Think Tank ones expand up to 70cm, but are of the rigid type.

hahah, matt, i just feel that i should spend the money on a nice tripod and keep it forever. i never plan on upgrading after the Gitzo as it suits all my needs. :)

i had a manfrotto 190 but i wanted something nicer so i returned it and was looking at the 055 aluminum version instead for something taller. once i picked that up in my hands, it was heavy. that's when i started to look at the 055CX carbon version. it was a bit pricey so i though, why not spend a bit more and get a nice Gitzo instead!

the tripod legs i purchased weigh in at 3lbs so it's pretty light for me. and the twist locks sold me in the end compared to the flip locks :thumbsup:

The Traveller is the 1541 model numbers? If so, that is a really nice and compact/light tripod! a bit short i found, but if it's for travelling purposes, it's pretty nice and stable too!

i've seen that Titanium version online...damn nice, but ouch at the price tag!!

What kind of ball heads do you guys prefer? I've got a regular Manfrotto 488 RC2 currently...seems like the Really Right Stuff, Markins, and Arca-Swiss are the best ones out there?

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Get it if you can...they probably bought the 055 at the old dealer prices. Do you really need a big tripod like the 055 though? If you don't have a big lens or medium/large format gear, a 190 series tripod is good enough.

A good head IMO would be the 468MGRC2 Hydrostatic ball head, but then again, it may be overkill depending on your gear. A 488RC2 is good enough if you don't have a big heavy lens.

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Oh, in that case, get the 055.

The differences are the type of plates that are on the head. For a mojority of users, the RC2 plate is more than enough.

yup, i have the RC2 plate as well and it does the job for me. i would love to get something 'nicer' such as a Really Right Stuff or Markins, but i don't want to cough up the 600+ bux for those ball heads for my amature needs :)

i had a 190 series for a few days but also felt that it was a bit short when the legs were fully extended. if anything i would prefer not to extend the column incase i induced more vibration so i was looking at the 055 height as well (i'm 5'10" and it was perfect height with my 488RC2 and camera attached, didn't need to stoop over).

check out broadway camera and see if they can beat the price or match it. they're local :)

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