adi arifin

Sturdy and absolutely flexible, I have never been so happy in making a purchase. In almost all cases my buying decision has always been a compromise between my desire, functionality, availability, price, etc. After weeks of online research I decided to get a Manfrotto 190XProB - state of the art professional tripod - winner of the European Photo & Imaging Awards 2007 by TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) plus a patent pending 804RC2 three ways pan-head.

Thinking that light ones are easier to carry, I have always chosen light and simple tripods to support my camera. Thinking that it was just a stick to put something on, I always think that cheap ones should be more than enough. I have bought more than 5 tripods in my life … all of them were either broken somehow or I found not sturdy enough to support my gear. Lightweight D40x was always okay and I have so far never considered to get a heavy pro body, but when more thinks added up … like old 200mm telephoto lens with reversed 50mm attached for macro shots, and bulky SB800 speed-light, then sturdiness becomes a critical problem. To find out more on why you would want to get a good tripod check here.

So I decide to surrender extra pain of carrying heavier legs in the sake of better shots. Weeks of research led me to a final decision to get Manfrotto 190XProB tripod plus Manfrotto 804RC2 three ways pan-head. It came into my mind to get a simpler ball-head … but I hope this time my tripod will become a lifetime investment … when it comes that I get lucky enough to have heavy pro lenses attached into my camera … ball-head maybe a bit too clumsy. John Shaw rightly written in one if his book that our camera body will become technologically obsolete every a few years and we may want to change our lenses accordingly as well - but good tripod will lasts forever. Just like J. Ramón Palacios wrote in  one of his  article  “a good tripod will outlast you”.

Taking outdoor landscape picture where availability of flat ground is very close to never, sturdiness is a must. Something I learned is that weight supports sturdiness somehow. A slight breeze will easily throw down a lightweight tripod on a sloping rock. Sometime we even need to hang an extra weight to ensure steadiness. 190XPro gives it at no compromise with its well-balanced sturdiness and flexible legs adjustment. Flexibility is also very important for field work of macro photography. 190XPro offers extra flexibility with collapsible center column into horizontal position, allowing to take macro shot from above the subject. It also offers a minimum working height of as low as 8 centimeters - about 20 centimeters including the head.

The shift from small and light cheap tripods which fit into a small bag is quite a painful experience. Now I have to sling a 70 centimeters height and about 5 lbs weight on my shoulder. As it does not fit into any mean of carrier - even the largest Loewepro backpack - I also bought an MBAG70.

Bookmark to: