So I went to my local camera shop and had a snoop around and came across the hole line of Manfrotto and Gitzo and other cheesier brands.
Looked at the 679, 680 and the 681 Manfrotto and after all the hipe I read on this forum, they looked cheesy to me. In the same range as the Pro Velbon they had there.
You are getting a great value for the money, but when I pulled out a leg on them and they wobbled alot, for me that was the turnoff. Also the fact that the clips get undone and loose and Manfrotto actually supplies this cheap plastic key to screw them back in again.
The funny part is I'm Italian and I didn't buy the Manfrotto.
I went ahead and grabed the Gitzo 1564 and let me tell you, you could feel the difference in build quality. The paintjob, the solidness, the screw locking system, even the hand strap. The salesman and my girlfriend were with me on this. The salesmen showed me the difference between the two brands and told me the the Gitzo is one notch higher. I believed him after my tests. Yeah its double the price, but its double the quality.
Well I now own a Gitzo 1564 with a 3229 head. Great value for my money.
Anyways. the Gitzo is da bomb...
Thx
