Manfrotto

All posts tagged Manfrotto

Manfrotto=No More

Posted by Matthew Durr on September 29, 2012
Posted in: Ramblings. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments

About two months ago to this day, I reported on a couple new tools I had acquired for more stable shooting, a manfrotto tripod and geared head. I was ecstatic with the combination, everything felt generally tight and secure. I believed I had a solid tripod setup, one which would last many, many years. After all, the geared head took the weight of my 300mm f/2.8 like a champ, and the tripod raised up to an extremely tall height even without the center column extending. The multi-degree legs allowed for great macro positioning on subjects literally on the ground, and the aluminum legs locked into place tightly.

But then, the problems started.

Continue Reading

New Tools!

Posted by Matthew Durr on July 31, 2012
Posted in: General News. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Ever since acquiring the Nikon 300mm f/2.8 back in the spring, I immediately wanted to get a “proper” tripod and head. The need for stable and reliable shooting was unobtainable in the small plastic Wally-World tripods; locking position accurately and eliminating camera shake for long exposures just didn’t work. So…after a lot of looking around for various tripod reviews, I decided on a fantastic combo, the Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod Legs and Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head. Both arrived in the mail today!

With camera and lens mounted, the whole set-up is over 13 pounds (enough weight to have great inertia for reducing camera shake), and the maximum height without extending the center column is right about eye level for me with camera mounted–a comfortably high 6’2″.

I may do a full review of this combo sometime, we’ll see. I’m just looking forward to never worrying about heavy camera shake again. At 450mm FoV, simply standing near a non-stabilized tripod (my old one) can induce severe motion jitter. No more. 🙂

IMPORTANT EDIT: I will not be doing a review of this tripod and geared head. There seem to be some quality control issues Manfrotto does not acknowledge.