Giottos Tripod, opinions

Alfie1

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has got or used one of these or if anyone could recommend an alternative at about the same price range

Also what are people's opinions of ball heads V's £-way heads

http://www.fotosense.co.uk/giottos-mtl9351b-3-section-aluminium-tripod-with-2-way-column-1.html £112 inc ball head.

Mycroft H

My opinion? There very well built and very expensive.

Friend has one and its very big and solid, so solid that you could sit on the top without any problems (well almost)

I personally dont like ball heads but they serve a purpose but not mine.....

af_thefragile

Its slightly cheaper here with a better head:
http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Tripods/Giottos/Giotto%27s-MTL9351B-Tripod-%2B-MH5011-3-Way-Tripod-Head

I like manfrotto tripods as they're among the lightest and have a good rep. Easy to carry around and such.

Alfie1

af_thefragile wrote: »

Its slightly cheaper here with a better head:
http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Tripods/Giottos/Giotto%27s-MTL9351B-Tripod-%2B-MH5011-3-Way-Tripod-Head

I like manfrotto tripods as they're among the lightest and have a good rep. Easy to carry around and such.

They won't post to Ireland tho if the item is over 0.4Kgs as I found out last week when ordering a monopod

So much for the "free delivery on everything" statement :rolleyes: & I even emailed them to see if I could pay the postage & was told that it is not an option which is a pity as they are very good on price

af_thefragile

Aah, that kinda sucks...
Did you check out Gunne's store on wexford street?
They've got very good prices and will probably cost you the same if you order the tripod online with the postage charges and all...
I got my Manfrotto 190XPROB from there for about €150.

Alfie1

I'm in the real capital Cork


I'm considering these also & shipping is less than £14 which isn't bad as I want to get a few other bits & pieces from there also Now if only the exchange rate would improve again :pac:
http://www.fotosense.co.uk/manfrotto-190xprob-pro-tripod-black-new-model.html
or
http://www.fotosense.co.uk/manfrotto-190xprob-pro-tripod-black-804rc2-3-way-head.html

af_thefragile

Ah, should have had noticed you live down in cork... =p

That looks like a decent deal if they aren't ripping you off with the postage charges.
That tripod rocks, its really light, easy to use and carry around. Looks pretty slick too...
While that head looks pretty good too. Gonna be better than those little ball heads which don't have much precision imo.

Looks like pound is working its way back up... its good i bought my camera when the pound was at its lowest. Absolute bargain!

Alfie1

So many choices, decisions, decisions


:pac:

majiktripp

Have the same combo thats on the fotosense link given there, nice setup and very sturdy. I would recommend the manfrotto bag listed underneath on the page aswell as its quite tidy for storing and transporting. Considerably cheaper too than what I paid for it on ebay roughly 2 years ago!

Alfie1

Yeah, I'm now leaning towards the Manfrotto 190XPROB with the 3 way head I probably won't use it much but the way I look at it is if I get I decent tripod & head now I'll never need another one

af_thefragile

Go for it mate. It looks like a good deal. And that head is gonna be much better than those little ball heads. They're a lot more precise and more controlled.
I don't use my tripod much either but they're very handy if you wanna take proper long exposure shots (better than placing your camera on a rock and hoping for the best!) or for use in a studio.

Thirdfox

Oh, and have a look at SLIK too - I use the 330dx (got it second hand for 50 euro). Solid as a rock when loaded with my little camera and all its accessories (D40, 55-200, SB600 flash) - can probably handle a lot more weight than that too.

Ergonomics are very important! - the SLIK has foam grips for when you're out in freezing weather and don't want to glue yourself to your tripod. And the centre column revereses too.

wersal gummage

af_thefragile wrote: »

Aah, that kinda sucks...
Did you check out Gunne's store on wexford street?
They've got very good prices and will probably cost you the same if you order the tripod online with the postage charges and all...
I got my Manfrotto 190XPROB from there for about €150.

+1 for gunne's. bought a manfroto 055xPROB tripod and the 322RC2 head off Kathy in there about a year ago. its a bit heavy but i'm very happy with it i must say - not sure what the on-line prices are (i never looked) but I think i paid about 330 euro. fantastic people working there. Have bought my filters and little bits and bobs and one or two of my cheaper lenses off them but unfortunatley i couldn't justify buying my last camera and few lenses there. would have loved to give them the money.

Alfie1

Thirdfox wrote: »

Oh, and have a look at SLIK too - I use the 330dx (got it second hand for 50 euro). Solid as a rock when loaded with my little camera and all its accessories (D40, 55-200, SB600 flash) - can probably handle a lot more weight than that too.

Ergonomics are very important! - the SLIK has foam grips for when you're out in freezing weather and don't want to glue yourself to your tripod. And the centre column revereses too.

I had a quick look at some SLIK tripods in a shop but the cheapest one was €100 & the next one up was €150 inc a 3 way head so the Manfrotto 190XPROB inc 3 way head seems like a good deal & it also has the foam grips.
I'd like to see one in the metal before ordering tho, hopefully next week

Tactical

Lagging as used in plumbing can often be used to solve the foam on the tripod legs issue.

It bothers some people more than others. If I find it cold I use gloves.

Thirdfox

Bubble wrap I heard is good too. (Air is a great insulator!)

Oh and OP, I managed to use my dinky little 5 euro tripod for quite a while before moving onto the "ultra-expensive" 50 euro one. Keep an eye out on adverts.ie and you might get lucky!

Alfie1

Had a look on adverts alright & nothing there

af_thefragile

Just get the manfrotto tripod. You can keep it for the rest of your life and you won't regret it!

Alfie1

Your probably right, tho now I've a €300 wish list now at fotosense :eek:

All I wanted to begin with was a few faster SDHC memory cards & a monopod, now I've added a quick release head for the monopod & a tripod :pac:

af_thefragile

I don't know how much difference a faster SD card would make. I've got a basic 4gb SD card and its more than enough for me. I just take pics, throw away the crap ones and then transfer the good ones onto my laptop.
And i don't see the point of a monopod. Sure its easier to carry and such but its better to develop a steady hand imo and the manfrotto tripod is really light and pretty compact so it really shouldn't be much of a problem carrying it around.

So i say save your money and just get the tripod. Thats what you'll mostly need. Monopod is useless when it comes to long exposure shots and setting up good scenes.

Alfie1

I've a Nikon D90 & the new Sandisk SDHC Extreme III 30MB/s version is optimised for the D90 (AFAIK the D90 is the only camera currently capable of using this write speed ) I want the extra speed for sports photography as when shooting in RAW the write speed & buffer is currently limiting the FPS after a few shots

I'll probably end up using the monopod a lot more than the tripod especially for kayaking & surf photography ( I can hand hold for pics with the 70-300VR lens but it's too heavy when using the video mode & looking at the LCD especially on windy days )

I want the tripod to experiment with long exposure shots & possible some HDR at some point

longshanks

there is a manfrotto going cheap on adverts right now
http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=108656&cat=51

af_thefragile

Alfie1 wrote: »

I've a Nikon D90 & the new Sandisk SDHC Extreme III 30MB/s version is optimised for the D90 (AFAIK the D90 is the only camera currently capable of using this write speed ) I want the extra speed for sports photography as when shooting in RAW the write speed & buffer is currently limiting the FPS after a few shots

I'll probably end up using the monopod a lot more than the tripod especially for kayaking & surf photography ( I can hand hold for pics with the 70-300VR lens but it's too heavy when using the video mode & looking at the LCD especially on windy days )

I want the tripod to experiment with long exposure shots & possible some HDR at some point

Aah, then... i see your point.

I don't really do any action photography so i was thinking on my terms... my bad.. sorry!:p

Yeah, then i'ld say you'ld need a monopod more than the tripod and i'm really not sure how much advantage a faster HD card might give you though it should give you a fair some.

And for the long exposure shots and HDR, you could always use a rock or a ledge as i usually do! :pac:

Alfie1

Any links for where I might get a good deal on a rock or a ledge postage could be a bit of an issue tho :pac: