Manfrotto Tripod, what do you think about them?

I have a Giottos MT 9170 (bout $140 New) and a Bogen Ball Head 3262QR (Sell Forum for $25 LN)
It's very sturdy and I'm about 6ft the easily extends to my needs.
The Bogen Ball Head 3262QR is very sturdy....Holds my 20D with Grip and my Sigy 80-400mm rock steady!
I agree that Bogen TP's aren't what the used to be.
Their Mono Pods and heads are still very good tho.

I also own a Manfrotto 679B Monopod with a Bogen 3229 head and love it.
Also extends to my needs and is VERY well built.

Here are Manufacture shots of my Giottos MT 9170
(Very flexable Pod for Nature stuff!)

http://public.fotki.co​m …1/giottos_mt-9170_tripod/

The ONLY way your gonna get a light weight sturdy TP is to go Carbon Fiber and they are VERY costly!!!

another vote for the 3021BPRO and 488CR2 combo.

what about 055X Pro B? improvement on the 3021 as far as the "horizontal column"

good for macro

I'm jurassic - I use a old 028 and a basic 141 pan and tilt head.

Suits all my needs fine, and I don't feel the weight anymore when I tote it around all day. Rock steady except when I extend it to the maximum height, which is somewhere about 10+ feet (I know it goes a little more than 2.82 meters high), but at even at that height, I confidently grab the legs to steady me when I climb up a platform, and that's with a DSLR, large ultra-wide zoom, hammerhead flash and seperate Metz batt pack hanging off the top.

Would not change it for anything, but would get a smaller set-up for travel, back-pack work or if I need to shoot low to the ground, which is probably never.

scot079 wrote in post #3749996
what about 055X Pro B? improvement on the 3021 as far as the "horizontal column"

good for macro

It's pretty nice.. and solid enough to beat intruders with.

Thanks to everyone for your input. There is a lot of good information here. After a lot of consideration I think I'm going with the Bogen 3021 and the 322rc2 ball head.

I did look at a few of the CF tripods but they are just too much cash for now. I've never done much tripot photography and I want to try it with a mid level rig before I invest a lagre amount of cash into something I may not use much.

Thanks!

Seriously consider swapping the 488 for the 322.

I don't believe the 322 has panning capability and the handle can get in the way of things.

J