New Tripod

This past week I invested in a more substantial tripod. I have a Manfrotto tripod with a pan and tilt head that I bought a number of years ago. The tripod is great and, at the time, what I could afford. It was a combo deal at B&H Photo. The tripod is light and easy to carry around. However, at any serious extension, it is a bit shaky and the pan and tilt head is sort of fussy. But the build quality is excellent and it has served faithfully and will continue to do so.

All this notwithstanding, I did need a more solid and stable platform for certain jobs and for odd setups. I wanted to stay with Manfrotto because I believe that they make quality products at affordable prices. I have always been a "bang for the buck" guy. So I did some on-line research and selected a tripod and a ball head to go with it. I have never used a ball head but I thought that it would be easier to use than the standard head with three controls. I ordered the 055XPROB tripod and the 490RC4 ball head. You can look 'em up to see photos.

They arrived this past Wednesday. After thanking the UPS man for the delivery, I ran upstairs and put the components together, mounted the D700 with the 105mm f2.8 macro lens, and went out in the yard to shoot some macro shots to test out the new shooting platform. The ball head came with a quick release plate which works very well. This tripod extends to 72 inches and the legs have three angle settings. The center column can extend and then swivel horizontally. So you can put this puppy right on the ground and get the camera on top of the subject within inches if necessary.

The ball head was a pleasure to work with. There are two knobs controlling the movement of the ball. One to loosen tension and the other to control how much friction remains when you do loosen the first knob. So, using only one knob, you can pan and tilt at the same time and then lock it down with a small turn of the knob. There is a lever that controls panning of the entire head if you need it. There is a calibrated ring through 360 degrees that you can use for pano shots, and bubble levels, on the head, for both horizontal and vertical camera setups.

All in all, it was a great experience. Easy to use, very sturdy, and while heavier than my other tripod, not too heavy. I can recommend the Manfrotto products. Great stuff at a great price. And, they are made in Italy where my family originated!