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Hi all!

I found two competitive (I belive) offers on tripods but I have no clue about which one would be better.

The options are:

Giottos MTL 9240B-5011SB Aluminum Tripod w/ 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head (Quick Release) for AU$170
or
Benro Tripod Aluminium A-250EX + BH-00M for AU$145

Is it worth the difference to get the Giottos?

I know they are not going to be top notches but it is to experiment and learn.

Cheers

What's the maximum extended height for each of these tripods?

Is the Giotto head a trigger grip one? If so, give it a big miss; they seem like a good idea, but in practice they don't live up to the promise. Better to get a pan-tilt or a ballhead.

And I suspect that the Benro head, although a ballhead, is a tiny one, with no inherent strength. What are its dimensions, please?

Giotto seem to be a rebranded Manfrotto, which makes them quite good. Benro are quite good for the money too, but make sure that what you're getting will be light enough to carry with you, but sturdy enough to supprt your equipment.

gstark wrote:Giotto seem to be a rebranded Manfrotto

I would not agree with you there Gary, I have sold them at work...and I would never compare the two as the Giotto is no where near the build of a similar sized Manfrotto. Quality is better than other cheap tripods, but still a bit different to a Manfrotto. Their designs are slightly different as well. I would probably go the Giottos between the two, but this is due to my first experience with Benro (at PhotoShopStudio) was it refusing to lock the leg......

aim54x wrote:

gstark wrote:Giotto seem to be a rebranded Manfrotto

I would not agree with you there Gary, I have sold them at work...and I would never compare the two as the Giotto is no where near the build of a similar sized Manfrotto. Quality is better than other cheap tripods, but still a bit different to a Manfrotto. Their designs are slightly different as well. I would probably go the Giottos between the two, but this is due to my first experience with Benro (at PhotoShopStudio) was it refusing to lock the leg......

Intersting ... the Giottos that I've seen were pretty much identical to some Manfrottos.

gstark wrote:What's the maximum extended height for each of these tripods?

Giottos MTL 9240B-5011SB Aluminum Tripod - 1.29m
Benro Tripod Aluminium A-250EX - 1.32m

gstark wrote:Is the Giotto head a trigger grip one? If so, give it a big miss; they seem like a good idea, but in practice they don't live up to the promise. Better to get a pan-tilt or a ballhead.

The Giotto has a 3-way pan and tilt head with quick release

gstark wrote:And I suspect that the Benro head, although a ballhead, is a tiny one, with no inherent strength. What are its dimensions, please?

The ball is 24mm diameter (I don't know much about this, but it seems small to me, is it the bigger the better?)

gstark wrote:make sure that what you're getting will be light enough to carry with you, but sturdy enough to supprt your equipment.

Giottos MTL 9240B-5011SB Aluminum Tripod + head: Weight ~1.5kg (a bit heavy) and can support up to 2.6kg loads.
Benro Tripod Aluminium A-250EX + head: Weight ~1.2kg and can stand up to 2.5kg loads.

I hope this answers the questions.

Thanks for the help and the interest shown

gstark wrote:Intersting ... the Giottos that I've seen were pretty much identical to some Manfrottos.

I just did a quick double check on their website....and they seem more benro like than Manfrotto like. They tend to use the twist lock legs not clip style.
http://www.giottos.com/