UKC

I think I've reached the limitations of my 21 year old Manfrotto 055XBD. One of the legs does not work fully with one of the ratchet settings sheared off and I can't get any spares. Also I'm restricted how low I can go to the ground with the centre column. I can rotate the column 180 degrees but this takes time and leaves my camera upside down. Quite tricky to operate at that angle.

I'd appreciate any suggestions for another Manftotto, simply because I have two heads. However happy to choose another brand with an Arca Swiss head.

My requirements are that the tripod can set up low to the ground while filming and last me another two decades.

In reply to The Lemming:

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/manfrotto-057-carbon-fibre-3-section-tripod-1...
centre column by is removable so gets pretty low

Unfortunately very expensive new, I did manage to pick one up second hand practically unused very cheap of eBay 😏

The tripod heads can be used with any set of legs so it doesn’t have to be Manfrotto  but they do make pretty solid tripods.

there seem to be plenty on eBay various manfrotto 055

In reply to The Lemming:

Leofoto are worth looking at. Very well reviewed and affordable. No centre column and their heads are good too. Or FLM if you have more to spend and I expect easier to get parts from them. Their heads are exceptional.

In reply to Brian Pollock:

I just so happen to have a Leofoto monopod MP-285C which I am very impressed with. Its got the tiny tripod foot.

https://www.leofoto.info/product/mp-285c/

In reply to The Lemming:

Another 055 if you have been happy with it?

Does the latest model 055 not have horizontal column mechanism which if you use a ball head (and positioned as close as possible to the tripod centre) would hold the camera stable in correct orientation and be very low to the ground?

I’ve a 190 model and can do this horizontal column fixing which then allows the camera height to be as low as around about 30 cm (I don’t do video though so stability is not as important for me). 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

That ratchet at the leg/head end scares me at that price. Its one of those ratchets that has sheered off over the years reducing the leg angle options of one limb. 😥

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Manfrotto do a bewildering amount of permutations of tripods and heads.

In reply to The Lemming:

Does the centre column of your tripod not have removable ends? I had mine for years before I realised i could take the main column out and leave the head mount in place

Just had to pop the two spring loaded pins .

I have a 3021BN which I think is the 055BN sold under the Bogen brand in the US.

In reply to Professor Bunsen:

Nope, atleast on the non-expensive range.

As for the OP. Have you checked ou 3 legged things?

I have their CF Leo (and some other non as compact CF tripod).

You can get the Leo without a head (well, it might come with an arca swiss compatible ball head, but you can always sell it). And without a head you can get as low as 7cm or so (no inverting the center column... you actually remove it as the chem prof above says).

It's also quite sturdy, and can be accessorized enough to suit most situations.

I'm actually thinking of getting rid of the Leo, because the not as compact version suits my needs better. But shipping from Finland would not work for you (and the brand being from UK, you should have them more readily available locally).
https://www.3leggedthing.com/row/3-legged-thing-leo-2-0-carbon-fibre-tripod...
 

In reply to The Lemming:

It might be good timing as I'm just selling a few tripods I purchased to make a test for On Landscape magazine. I still have a Feisol, Three Legged Thing, Benro and two cheapies (K&F Concept).

https://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2020/12/travel-tripod-review/

The Benro is very good and includes a short column to go low to the ground. It's only been outside for one photo session (as seen here) and is in mint conditions.

I'm happy to sell this for £140 if you're interested. I can send further photos. Or if anybody else is for that matter. It's going on ebay next week.

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/benro-rhino-14c-tripod-vx20-ball-head-kit-175...

Tim

In reply to timparkin:

Thank you for the kind offer.

It will take a few weeks to drool over potential candidates. It's not something that I need to rush into. 

Hopefully somebody here will snap up your offer.

In reply to The Lemming:

This might not be too helpful, but I can't help being reminded of a comment that a fellow geologist in Greenland made over the morning radio, when he was asked by Base Camp how he was today.

"Just cut me off at the knees - and call me tripod!"

That had us all in hysterics.

In reply to The Lemming:

No problem... It'll be on ebay

In reply to HeMa:

3legged stuff looks good but i really can't see where they get their pricing from (along with most Tripod manufacturers) tripods seem to have the heavily applied hobby tax along with camera bags...

I had a bit of an exchange a while back on FB with somebody from 3Legged thing, basically all i could summarise from it was that their R&D and sourcing costs were huge so that's why they cost what they do, he was blathering on that it took them 6 months to find the right material for a fastener and even longer to find the right plastic for certain parts, so you are basically paying for their poor sourcing skills...

In reply to Dark-Cloud:

I agree. They are spendy. But so are pretty much any other namebrand (manfrotto, sirui). And they do feel better than the china copies. 
 

but If you think 3legged things are spendy. Don’t look with Sachter tripods go at. 

In reply to The Lemming: I’ve just got one of these, very pleased with it so far

https://www.harrisoncameras.co.uk/pd/benro-travel-angel-series-1-carbon-fib...

In reply to kevin stephens:

Looks exactly the same as a K&F concept only twice the price!

In reply to HeMa:

Never heard of them, i have now and you are right!

I like the Peak design travel tripod but again, very spendy.

https://www.peakdesign.com/products/travel-tripod

My cheap Chinese one will do for now for the amount of time i actually use it.

In reply to Dark-Cloud: With a similar head?

In reply to kevin stephens:

KF is one those Chinese knock-off brands, albeit on the spendier and more quality side of spectrum. They Copy Benro, Sirui and others… so similar appearence is no wonder. And instead of developping something, you buy one and do a carpon copy.. makes it clear why they cost less… no r&d costs, that the name brands actually do.

In reply to HeMa: that makes sense . Appearances can be deceptive. The quality of the fittings and mechanisms on the Benro impressed me. A lookalike knock off may not be so good?

In reply to kevin stephens:

Yep, my Chinese clone has a pretty good ball head to be fair, it’s the best part of it.

In reply to kevin stephens:

Yup… but the best are from what I’ve seen 80 to 90% as robust and good as the name brands.

so it boils down to the fact, that do you want support when things go wrong. Name brands continue to support them, even years after the models has been discontinued. Knock offs, you might not get any service, even from day one.

In reply to The Lemming:

If you want to get really anal about it, there's plenty of digits to mull over here: https://thecentercolumn.com/

In reply to The Lemming:

I use a 3 Legged Thing (Albert) and find it fine for my use which is mainly landscape. It replaced my ageing Gitzo (pre carbon) which just wasn't as flexible as I needed for my current work. To replace it with another more modern Gitzo would have cost me probably three times more than the 3LT and still not be as versatile. 

I've had mixed experiences with Manfrotto. I had one many years ago and it was really well constructed but bought one about four years ago (Befree) for stashing in hand luggage and the quality and durability just wasn't there. I suspect that they're more expensive tripods are much better as many pros use Manfrotto.