Manfrotto Tripod, what do you think about them?

I am looking at getting a new tripod. So far I have selected the Manfrotto 3021N Classic Tripod with the 804rc2 Pan Tilt head. $208.00 US for the set.

I have two things I need to consider. First, I want a Stable, well built tripod. I have a light weight that just doesn't work well for me. Second, is that I'm 6'3" so I need one that is at least 66" and is stable at full extension.

As for pan tilt vs ball head I haven't used a ball head so what are pro's and con's?

Please, share your knowledge.
Thanks!

My opinion of Manfrotto is dropping rapidly. I have 3 of their tripods and a monopod.List of complaints:The sponge grip on my 679B Monopod was not glued on. So when carrying the pod by the grip , with camera attached , it would slowly rotate. I glued it myself.Rubber pad on one of my plates fell off 2nd time I used it. (lost it)One of my quick release plates needs does not automatically tighten , need to push the lever in to engage properly.All my quick release plates have too much movement IMHO.Recently I bought a set of 055 Pro legs without a head. I'm thinking of an Arca Swiss Z1 ball head : http://www.the-digital-picture.com …l-Z1-Ballhead-Review.aspx

I've got the Manfrotto 3021BPro with 488RC2 head and love it. I think you will find a lot of other folks on here using very similar equipment. I've got an older Bogen pan tilt head tripod and while it worked fine for many years, today I much prefer the ease of using the ball head to make quick adjustments as needed. If possible, check them all out at a camera store because tripods, much like cars, can be a matter largely of personal taste. Good luck!

i also have a 3021bpro and 488RC2 ballhead... it's my first quality tripod and i'm very satisfied with it! kind of heavy... but it feels pretty stable and i like the versatility of it. wish the horizontal column was faster to set up. after playing with a gitzo though, i kind of wish i had a lighter tripod (and i really love the twisting leg locks) as for pros and cons of a ballhead:

pros:
- allows for rapid adjustment as only one knob needs to be loosened to allow for adjusting on both the horizontal and vertical planes
- can be set to many different positions which can allow for creative shots
- the 488RC2 has a panning lock, so you can set the head to pan without rotating the ball
- more compact... so it's easier to store and transport, with no levers and junk sticking out all over the place

cons:
- less precise (important if you do landscape photography)
- levers may make it easier to maneuver the camera at times
- sometimes if you have too long a lens or heavy equipment on the ballhead and you set it to look upwards or downards, the ball might creep a little

Bogen 3021BPRO here, love it. I had pan heads until I bought this pod with a 488 rc2 head, now I have some other pods for sale.

Birdmanc wrote in post #3728205
I am looking at getting a new tripod. So far I have selected the Manfrotto 3021N Classic Tripod with the 804rc2 Pan Tilt head. $208.00 US for the set.

I have two things I need to consider. First, I want a Stable, well built tripod. I have a light weight that just doesn't work well for me. Second, is that I'm 6'3" so I need one that is at least 66" and is stable at full extension.

As for pan tilt vs ball head I haven't used a ball head so what are pro's and con's?

Please, share your knowledge.
Thanks!

I am not sure of your budget, however, I have found that the really stable tripods begin around $300 and are usually of the carbon fiber type to reduce weight. You can always upgrade your ballhead, but I would get the most sturdy, tallest tripod you can afford so as to avoid having to upgrade later as your equipment gets heavier. I had a manfrotto classic tripod that cost around $125 at the local photo place and it was pretty good for awhile, but when I wanted a stable platform for my 30D with 70-200 with no "ball creep" in the ballhead from steep angle setups, my current setup is the way I went (see siggy below). Additionally, the more expensive tripods generally can allow you to tilt your camera with the center post into an horizontal position for macro and other photography that may require the camera to point straight down.

Just a few thoughts...
Pat

Thanks everyone! This is great information.

I'm not realy in a possition to be able to buy a $300 + tripod without a head at this time. I'm trying to stay in the 200-250 range for the whole thing.

I went and looked at a few of the Ball Heads today and they don't look very stable? Does anyone use a ball head that uses a Body + Grip + say a 400mm prime? Does it hold?

well as for a panhead its ok if the tripod is absolutey straight and leveld would be great for doing panorma shooting where you can sitch all the pictuters together.and make it a very wide panorma scene.
but I think pan head is more for large video camera. IMO

I have the 3021 BPRO and the 488 rc2 head and I mount my 100-400L and my 30d with Grip to this setup with no problems.

Look at the 3021BPRO and 488RC2. Nice combo and you can get it from B&H for around $275.

I've got the 3021 w 3047 head, Haven't put anything huge on it to date, but I'm meeting up with Borrowlenses.com tonight, and they're bringing a 400mm or 500mm to play with, and I'm renting the 100-400, which will get a run around this weekend at various soccer games.

Birdmanc wrote in post #3728205
I am looking at getting a new tripod. So far I have selected the Manfrotto 3021N Classic Tripod with the 804rc2 Pan Tilt head. $208.00 US for the set.

I have two things I need to consider. First, I want a Stable, well built tripod. I have a light weight that just doesn't work well for me. Second, is that I'm 6'3" so I need one that is at least 66" and is stable at full extension.

As for pan tilt vs ball head I haven't used a ball head so what are pro's and con's?

Please, share your knowledge.
Thanks!

Decent starter set. Stable, but the downside is that it is heavy.

You want to avoid using center columns if at all possible. You are putting a big mass on top of a wobbly single column. Do not count this in the tripod height when you look at tripods. Use the center column as an exception only.

Manfrotto doesn't rate their tripods based on focal length - which is way more important than the rather meaningless load rating specs. I'd be ok with the 3021 up to and including 200mm but I'd probably want a lot more for 200mm to 400mm. That ballhead would be inadequate, IMO, beyond 200mm.

Ballheads you adjust with basically one control. Pan and tilt has three and can be aggravating for most applications. Too, if you carry your stuff around, the pan and tilt controls want to get stuck on everything. Pan and tilt works great for video, most people greatly prefer ballheads for still photography.

The proprietary manfrotto plate system is irritating, IMO. The camera rotates on the plate at times and there are no plates that are specifically for a particular camera. It is a decent plate system to start with but most find the Arca Swiss compatible stuff to be more useful in the long haul. Specifically, look at http://www.reallyright​stuff.com.

I'm sort of tripod obsessed, so I am pretty finnicky about this stuff. I'd go upscale to some of the Gitzo CF and a Markins Ballhead but that is a lot more than you are pricing here. It depends on how serious you want to be about this stuff.

Read these links:
http://bythom.com/supp​ort.htm
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/t​ripods_&_heads.shtml
http://markins.com/cha​rlie/report4e6.pdf

Here is my blog entry on thoughts about tripods, load ratings on tripods, and tripod testing:
http://www.prophotohom​e.com …php?userid=3425​2&entry=62
http://www.prophotohom​e.com …php?userid=3425​2&entry=57
http://www.prophotohom​e.com …php?userid=3425​2&entry=55

Bottom line, you can get "light", "cheap" and "stable" in tripods. You can get any two but not all three.

Hope that helps.

J.

Birdmanc wrote in post #3728205
I am looking at getting a new tripod. So far I have selected the Manfrotto 3021N Classic Tripod with the 804rc2 Pan Tilt head. $208.00 US for the set.

I have two things I need to consider. First, I want a Stable, well built tripod. I have a light weight that just doesn't work well for me. Second, is that I'm 6'3" so I need one that is at least 66" and is stable at full extension.

As for pan tilt vs ball head I haven't used a ball head so what are pro's and con's?

Please, share your knowledge.
Thanks!

Very happy with my Manfrotto Neotec. I'm not very smart, and this tripod is the one for dummies like me. No levers or knobs to adjust height. See my signature.:p

Rating with the ballhead is around 16 lbs.

I have had the Manfrotto 055 tripod with super 3D head for many years now. It is heavy and built like a tank..but that is why I love it so much.

Even have their 681 Monopod. No complaints here. Good equipment.

I don't know much about the 3021N tripod, but I love how manfrotto build their tripod...you can beat it up....

I had a 190MF4, love it....light and witht he strap, easy to carry around for a full size I call. And the 804RC2, great head...pin point adjustment, but sometime when you need to adjust something else..then it take up a little more time... I was about to go with the 322RC2...so it would be faster.....

alan'07