A Tripod Built for Two

I have done quite a bit of research and have narrowed my search to 2 tripods.

I am looking for a tripod for my wife (5' 4" ) and me (5' 10" ). I am planning to get an 005xprob or 190xprob with the 488rc2 head. Would the 005xprob be too tall for my wife to use easily? I understand that the height can be modified by leg angles and not fully extending legs. However, will this just be frustrating for her? Also important, she will be the primary user of the tripod.

Note: I asked this question on the popphoto forum but then remembered that there seemed to be A LOT of people on this forum who use the 005xprob and 4888rc2...are any of you shortish?

Thanks!

traviswalken wrote in post #6382655
I have done quite a bit of research and have narrowed my search to 2 tripods.

I am looking for a tripod for my wife (5' 4" ) and me (5' 10" ). I am planning to get an 005xprob or 190xprob with the 488rc2 head. Would the 005xprob be too tall for my wife to use easily? I understand that the height can be modified by leg angles and not fully extending legs. However, will this just be frustrating for her? Also important, she will be the primary user of the tripod.

Note: I asked this question on the popphoto forum but then remembered that there seemed to be A LOT of people on this forum who use the 005xprob and 4888rc2...are any of you shortish?

Thanks!

im 5'5 and i was actually thinking of getting the 055xprob but it was kinda tall for me so i settled for the 190xprob which is still a little bit tall but manageable. if im not mistaken i think theres a thread here somewhere comparing both. and the only reason the op of that thread went for the 055x is because he is about 6 ft tall. otherwise everything is the same for both including the horizontal adjustment of the center column.
as you can see on my sig that i have the exact set up youre thinking of getting.

by the way, heres the thread with the review of the 055xprob...https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=529785

You do not have to extend all the leg sections fully, if you merely need a shorter tripod for your wife, and it would not be a frustrating exercise to do. Furthermore, you should consider the height without the center column raised, for max stability, so even with leg sections fully extended, 53" height with fully extended legs will scarcely be a problem for someone 63" tall. Get the 055 unless you are absolutely needing the lightest thing you can find for hiking.

I have a Giottos MT-7371 with MH-3300 head which, when all three sectons are fully extended, is about a foot too tall for me (I am 5'11"). I regularly use it with the lower leg sections not fully extended. As long as the extension required is marked (I used a simple pencil line drawn on the lava tube leg section), there is no problem setting it up.

Maxdave

Thinking outside the box for a bit here... here's the criteria as I understand it.

1. tripod has to be tall enough for you
2. tripod has to suit the primary user (your wife) who is shorter than you
3. 1 and 2 should be achieved with the minimum of fuss, especially for your wife.

since shorter tripods don't get any taller, the challenge is to make a partly-extended tripod super-easy to use.

the answer is to buy one with a leveling centre column, or leveling base. Luckily manfrotto offer such a beast. When you extend the tripod legs quickly and without much regard for perfect balance, it's then a 10second job to get the base level for shooting panos or whatnot.

your wife will find it quite easy to deal with partially extended legs, and even you will get some added ease of use when shooting on uneven ground.

milorad wrote in post #6383767
Thinking outside the box for a bit here... here's the criteria as I understand it.

1. tripod has to be tall enough for you
2. tripod has to suit the primary user (your wife) who is shorter than you
3. 1 and 2 should be achieved with the minimum of fuss, especially for your wife.

since shorter tripods don't get any taller, the challenge is to make a partly-extended tripod super-easy to use.

the answer is to buy one with a leveling centre column, or leveling base. Luckily manfrotto offer such a beast. When you extend the tripod legs quickly and without much regard for perfect balance, it's then a 10second job to get the base level for shooting panos or whatnot.

your wife will find it quite easy to deal with partially extended legs, and even you will get some added ease of use when shooting on uneven ground.

will the leveling bubble on the tripod head accomplish the same thing as the "leveling center column or leveling base" you described?

often not, because the point of pivoting is very often BELOW the leveling bubble on a tripod head.

imagine that, the top is level, but the bottom that spins for panoramas is not... so you get that weird oscilating effect like when a spinning coin falls flat. The leveling bubbles on heads are usually only good for one perspective which just isn't good enough.

it doesn't make it possible to be imprecise with your leg extensions.

Either you get a leveling base, or you get a spinning platform for the top of your ball head... I prefer the leveling base.

I have the 55ProB and 488, and find it a bit short for some situations (I'm 6'1"). It seems quite tall when set up on the kitchen floor, however seems to shrink when I get it out in real world situations...