Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Just bought this from Best Buy......

Is it any good or is it worth the money I should say ?

200.00 bucks for it.

What are your thoughts ?

good tripod at a good price since its Carbon fibre if you shoot stills

great price for a carbon tripod with ballhead. I paid about $300 for this a year ago and have been using it 80% of the time because of its light weight. considering the gear I have to carry, this is a big help.

Henrys also has a deal on MANFROTTO M-Y KIT 732CY W/484RC2 BASALT for today - also $200

http://www.henrys.ca/59014-MANFROTTO-M- ... ASALT.aspx

just to be clear, this is not a full on carbon fibre model but a carbon basalt, correct ? If it was indeed all CF, great bargain and I'd be inclined to get one.

best buy website has it at $350 - was this on sale which has ended?

all CF will cost at least twice as much.

http://www.manfrotto.com/product/8374.58969.76932.0.0/732CY/_/M-Y_Carbon_Fibre_Tripod

Yeah....was a boxing day sale item. I also got 10% off

ok i just went to henrys and pick up the 732CY/484RC2. It turns out to be the 7322CY. Picked it up for $200 - sale ends tonight

saw a review here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002WT ... XHC96QA5EG

let us know how you like it.

Carbon Basalt is in no way related to carbon fibre - basalt is a volcanic rock that is crushed into a powder which is then used (mixed with epoxy etc IIRC) to create the tubes. Basalt is not as light or as strong as carbon fibre (20% lighter than aluminum and has many of the same qualities at carbon fibre - thermal dimensional stability)...

it's a very good alternative to aluminum for those who want something lighter and extremely strong, but can't/don't want to afford the cost of carbon fibre

you learn something new every day - i liked this tripod because it could easily hold a DSL but be compact and light enough to carry around

Tripods are definitely something you need to touch and check out in store.

does anyone have any thoughts on this tripod? It is still on sale for $199. I have a buddy looking for a 190 or 055 Manfrotto with ballhead so this basalt tripod might suit his needs.

Apparantly it's the same tripod as I had bought.

So now that we know this is a Basalt CF tripod, is it decent for the money, or should I take it back ?

I allready have a tripod, don't use it a whole lot, but thought if this was lighter and with a ball head, maybe it would better suit my needs.

unless you're doing some serious trekking, weight shouldn't be a priority when choosing a tripod - rigidity is more important in creating a stable platform for your camera.

The main concern I have with this and any four section tripod is the rigidity (or lack thereof) offered by the narrowest legs in the last section of the tripod. My experience is that four section legs flex and wobble even under modest loads when there is anything resembling a breeze.

Generally speaking, the larger the diameter the tube the more rigid (regardless of whether it is cf, basalt or aluminum). Gitzo makes series 1 (narrowest diameter tubes) - series 3 (widest diameter tubes) and as nice as the CF tripods are, the 4 section series 1 tripods flex noticeably more than their series 2 and 3 tripods.

IIRC Gitzo 3 section tripods load ratings are generally about double their 4 section counterparts (if you compare the same material and series). Not sure about the Manfrotto's but you can check for yourself.

Ken,

Thanks for your insight. Aside from the 190 and 055, I am not all that familiar with this line. I have a Gitzo 2531EX, which is a three section tripod and I choose it for the exact reason you mention, a three section is sturdier than four. That said, four section tripods tend to be more compact.

It is always a trade-off, weight for rigidity. My combo of tripod, ballhead (Markins M10) and RRS clamp is rated for roughly 200mm 2.8 glass, perhaps 300mm tops. For those that will need to go tele beyond that then they are into gimbals and heavier ballheads and legs. I wanted to buy one setup 'for life' but have found that it is not the best combo for travel in terms of size - there are more compact (1541T comes to mind) options available.

Kind of like no one lens is perfect for all situations.