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doing a search - it seems that many members here have manfrotto and a few seem to have the 055 series but I could not find much on the carbon fibre models.

I am in need to upgrade from my 25 year old velbon

I want something lighter. My kit is not too heavy at the moment but I want to get something solid and not too heavy.

at this stage, the current "favorites" are either the 055cx3 or the 055cxpro3. I think these are relatively new but someone might have one they can comment on.

the gitzos look great but sadly just too far our of my price range.

you may want to include the following info if you want advice to fit your needs...
- what will you be mounting on it, (ie: what lens)
- what head do you have ?
- what sort of conditions will you be using it in
- what do you primarily want it for ? slow exposures ? super slow ? etc

good questions.

I want it for primarily landscapes and need to carry it for some distance - although I don;t plan to hike for miles and miles.

heaviest lens at the moment is my 70-300VR but don;t plan to stop there. I don;t think I will be getting a super long "big" lens.

my next lens is very likely going to be a 105Vr as I am interested in also doing some macro work.

I don;t have a worthwhile tripod head right now and plan to get a markins m10 or m20 and an l-bracket.

i'll chip in a bit but my experience for landscape is limited so i'll leave it to others to comment there.

for the 70-300, assuming you;re talking action type shots or birds etc, i'd be thinking about a monopod rather than, (or aswell as), a tripod. small, light, easy to carry. if your not taking super slow stuff this could suit your hiking needs alot better.

one thing i've noticed about tripods from talking to friends that shoot landscape is that its all well and good for it to be light and easy for you to carry around and get to location, but the lighter it is, the more likely its gonna potentially suffer from slight movements from wind, and the like. if you;retaking longer exposures, like more than a few seconds, this could really become an issue for you.

I have an aluminum 055 PRO B and it does the trick nicely. I take a fair few long exposure landscapes and have found that this tripod is quite good although heavy. I am also looking to eventually move to a Markins M20 head in the future.

The 055 CX3Pro will be a nice choice, lighter than the aluminum (which will be helpful when carrying it around), and with the current lens kit this tripod will be a nice match. The Pro model allows you to switch the centre column to a horizontal position which will prove useful for macro work. Can I ask how much you have budgeted for the CX legs?

I have a very small, sweet Benro carbon fibre with a small ball head that would probably do all you ask of it. Easy to carry and remarkably sturdy for its size. And cost less than $300 from memory.

aim54x wrote:... Can I ask how much you have budgeted for the CX legs?

another good question

at this stage - the ballhead and an l-bracket will cost ~$650 landed

the best I can see at this stage is 055cxpro3 will cost about $550 landed from the States. onshore they seem to cost upwards of $700 - $750.

I am still not sure whether the articulated arm of the "pro" version is worth the extra cost.

how stable is the tripod when a camera is in this position?

Rooz wrote:i'll chip in a bit but my experience for landscape is limited so i'll leave it to others to comment there.

for the 70-300, assuming you;re talking action type shots or birds etc, i'd be thinking about a monopod rather than, (or aswell as), a tripod. small, light, easy to carry. if your not taking super slow stuff this could suit your hiking needs alot better..

thanks for the thoughts but I have no real plan for "action" or bird shots. I mentioned the 70-300 as it is currently my heaviest lens. Bird lenses are waaaayyyy out of my league

I have the older style Pro legs...and in the horizontal position stability is not too bad, I have even reversed the head to shoot macro down between the tripod's legs. It is definitely not as stable as the centre column in its normal position but in my experience it is still useable (Sigma 180 f/3.5 Macro on D300). In the newer version I guess it would be roughly the same.

aim54x wrote:I have the older style Pro legs...and in the horizontal position stability is not too bad, I have even reversed the head to shoot macro down between the tripod's legs. It is definitely not as stable as the centre column in its normal position but in my experience it is still useable (Sigma 180 f/3.5 Macro on D300). In the newer version I guess it would be roughly the same.

do you think the lighter CF would make a difference?

do you hang anything as a counterbalance?

From what i've read CF is better at absorbing vibrations, apparently.

no counterbalance.....not sure if CF would affect it.