Vanguard or Manfrotto ?

help with a choice I'm looking Tripod with Lateral / 90-degree Center Column
the main purpose of the macrofoto

Vanguard Alta PRO 263 AT ( Aluminum Tripod W/Pistol-Grip Ballhead ) or Manfrotto MT190XPRO3 without Ballhead
the price is the same

What's your experience if you have any?

Hi Oleg2010.

I have 2 of the Vanguard Alta pro 263s and i absolutely love them, easy to say not having that much experience of other brands.

The 263 is super sturdy and the 90 degree on the center column is easy to setup although this requires the removal of the center column which only takes a couple of seconds, looking at the Manfrotto, the center column looks to pivot to 90 degrees in one smooth movement which is really cool.

There is quite a bit of difference in the weight between both units with the 263 weighing in at 2.6kg with the GH100 pistol grip head and the Manfrotto at 2kg with no head.

My first tripod was a Manfrotto with a pistol grip head unfortunately for me though i did not have a great customer service experience with the company, the pistol grip broke within 9 months and Manfrotto do nothing for me - bummer.

My first 263 developed a problem with a collet in the center column after only a few uses, my first email to Vanguard was to voice my disappointment considering how old the tripod was and could they sort it out, i received an email within a couple of days from the finance director apologising and that they would send me out a replacement.

About one week later i received the replacement part, or so i thought, they sent me a replacement Tripod and head free of charge and told me to keep the other one.

Now, i would not expect this service from any company but this blew me away and made me a customer for life.

Hi Norry
thank you! very interesting and helpful information

Couple of pictures.

And a couple more 8)

You can see the quick release button at the bottom of the centre column to release it from the tripod itself

I have the Vanguard and the center column is a bit quirky but not difficult. I've not had any problems with the Vanguard with reliability at any point.

A photog friend of mine also has the Vanguard and one of the legs was sticking badly. He called them and described the problem and they said that they could send him a replacement leg if he was comfortable swapping the legs or that he could send in the tripod. He was comfortable doing the swap and didn't want to be without the tripod so he opted for the former option. Well, they sent an entire tripod. When he called to clarify, they said "keep it".

I've used (borrowed) the Manfrotto 190, and it's certainly excellent quality. I have several other Manfrotto products (other tripods, lightstands, and Bogen before that). I've never been disappointed with Manfrotto products. Of course, that's why they're more expensive...

Either one will probably be a good choice. The differences between them are visible on a spec sheet, but kindof disappear once you start using them in real life.

I've seen and evaluated the Vanguard tripods at the local store: cheap and hardly sturdy. Manfrottos, on the other hand, are magnificently built.

Consider not using anything off center like that. I do a lot of macro/micro/closeups and have never felt the need for more than a focusing rail to reach the subject. I have always found a way to get into position (usually with a 100mm macro).

I have a strong Gitzo 3530 tripod with a very large and solid Arca-Swiss Z1 ballhead, and even with that, I notice a big difference in stability when I start using the rail. I don't mean it is going to fall over... I mean vibrations are much more noticeable. I sometimes think about getting a much bigger tripod (on the order of the Gitzo 5-series) for such work.

I do use a centerpost, but it only goes up and down, not off center, and I shortened it to just 5" of travel. I rarely use more than an inch of travel.

sawsedge wrote in post #18237722
Consider not using anything off center like that. I do a lot of macro/micro/closeups and have never felt the need for more than a focusing rail to reach the subject. I have always found a way to get into position (usually with a 100mm macro).

I have a strong Gitzo 3530 tripod with a very large and solid Arca-Swiss Z1 ballhead, and even with that, I notice a big difference in stability when I start using the rail. I don't mean it is going to fall over... I mean vibrations are much more noticeable. I sometimes think about getting a much bigger tripod (on the order of the Gitzo 5-series) for such work.

I do use a centerpost, but it only goes up and down, not off center, and I shortened it to just 5" of travel. I rarely use more than an inch of travel.

++1

The centre column is more of an emergency than a normal usage feature. It's there in case you need some extra reach in a pinch, but the stability of the entire rig goes down as the column goes up. If you're gonna use it horizontally, and/or **gasp** horizontally and fully extended, you'll need to use a sandbag to stabilise the rig, hung either at the other end of the column or, if it's fully extended, from the hook in the centre of the tripod.

If you don't have a tripod at all, I'd say go with a 3-section Manfrotto. If you do have another tripod and/or your only interest is macro photography, your best bet would be a mini-tripod with a leveling base, such as the Berlebach Mini-Tripod –that way you don't need a centre column to get close to the ground.

Thanks to everybody
Norry cool photo

Am I correct in thinking that - for macrophotography movable Central column it is not necessarily?

That is my thinking, based on 20 years of closeup photography. I've never needed the tilting column. A tripod that can go to ground level is very useful though.

sawsedge wrote in post #18238346
That is my thinking, based on 20 years of closeup photography. I've never needed the tilting column. A tripod that can go to ground level is very useful though.

And a good tripod without centre colum can go practically flat.

Alveric wrote in post #18237731
++1

The centre column is more of an emergency than a normal usage feature. It's there in case you need some extra reach in a pinch, but the stability of the entire rig goes down as the column goes up. If you're gonna use it horizontally, and/or **gasp** horizontally and fully extended, you'll need to use a sandbag to stabilise the rig, hung either at the other end of the column or, if it's fully extended, from the hook in the centre of the tripod.

If you don't have a tripod at all, I'd say go with a 3-section Manfrotto. If you do have another tripod and/or your only interest is macro photography, your best bet would be a mini-tripod with a leveling base, such as the Berlebach Mini-Tripod –that way you don't need a centre column to get close to the ground.

OK!

Berlebach MINI-TRIPOD WITH LEVELLING -Super! only Maximum height: 40 cm this is enough for flowers and insects?

Oleg2010 wrote in post #18238373
OK!

Berlebach MINI-TRIPOD WITH LEVELLING -Super! only Maximum height: 40 cm this is enough for flowers and insects?

Well, it depends on where they are: planted on the ground or in a hanging pot.

For insects, unless they're lurking spiders, I usually ditch the tripod and use flash and a hand-held camera: they're just too mobile and usually unwilling to wait for me to setup the whole works.

Alveric wrote in post #18238388
Well, it depends on where they are: planted on the ground or in a hanging pot.

For insects, unless they're lurking spiders, I usually ditch the tripod and use flash and a hand-held camera: they're just too mobile and usually unwilling to wait for me to setup the whole works.

flash is more important than the tripod in macro