Manfrotto or Slik Tripods

[mary13]

Hi
I am looking at buying a Tripod and have been looking at the different brands and am now down to the Manfrotto or Slik Tripods.

The Manfrotto Tripods seem to come with the Tripod legs only then you have to purchase the extra bits to go with it.

The Slik Tripods seem to come with all the bits and pieces.

I am not sure where to start and what pieces I will need to buy.

Would be interested to hear your opinions on the two.

[achee]

I have a Slik and used Manfrottos and am happy with both, but I don't have much experience with comparing comparable models to give you much advice... but to get this started... Slik is a lot cheaper I believe.

Others might be able to give you more advice if you give more details on what you need and what your budget is.

[nightbringer]

I personally view tripods as an investment, like lenses. You will carry your tripod with you between camera bodies, or heck, even between camera systems. You can use them for your camera, for flashes if you have off-camera flashes, as light stands and so on.
With that in mind, I would suggest sinking as much money as you're comfortable with into them, since they will last you a LONG time. Manfrotto is the go-to brand for most photographers when they want a good tripod no questions asked, and I would not fault that claim. I bought a Manfrotto tripod a few months ago and couldn't be happier, after the old tripod I had been using, an almost twenty year-old inheritance from my dad began falling apart.

I view the buying extra parts as a bonus, since you can customise how you want your tripod. Of course, it adds cost, but this also makes it more modular.

[Wazza999]

There seem to be some specials on carbon fibre Manfrotto 190s in several variants incl heads at Aust on-line stores at the moment. With digital photography there are so many things you can do on a tripod (e.g. HDR, panoramas) that you'd never try in film days without lots of darkroom expertise that a tripod is a bit of a must. But I'd urge you to consider carbon fibre, my perfectly adequate original Manfrotto from 1987 that I'd pull out once in while in film days could really be utilised a lot more, but it's so big heavy and awkward that it gets taken on shoots a lot less than it should. One other consideration is your height, the base models of even the better brands seem only to extend to about 135 cm or there abouts before you need to use the centre column which destabilises the tripod particularly in poor conditions. One time in addition to sitting in the back seat of small cars it pays to be vertically challenged!
Cheers
Warren

[terry.langham]

I have a slik and can't kill it, and I do try. It gets tossed in the back of the ute, buried in sand, dunked in saltwater and is still working perfectly. I have often been tempted to go for a fancier carbon tripod but I don't think I could bring myself to put in the same places as my mid-range slik. Tripod weight is a personal thing, heavier ones are more stable and less prone to vibration and lighter ones are easier to carry. I am a big boy so will pick a heavier one every time.

Terry

[I @ M]

Mary, before rushing into any purchase, do a lot of research.
Asking on here is a good place to start and if you do a search on the topic you will find plenty of threads to read through that will help.

The first thing that I would ask is --- what will be your main use of the tripod? --- different types of tripod and then on top of that, different types of head on the tripod suit different uses.

Are you wanting to do a lot of landscape work, portraits, sport or birds and wildlife in particular as there can be quite differing requirements for tripods and heads between those genre.

[PH005]

I know that you have narrowed it down to two, but may I throw another into the mix ? Have you looked at the Vanguard range. I bought one recently after a lot of research and could not be happier. Award winner. High quality, design and manufacturing. Very competetively priced. Please check them out.

[kai boogie]

I agree with Wazza999, I've been using an old velbon that my dad had. even though its metal its not as heavy as some but its no where near as ridgid as a decent carbon tripod and still fairly awkward. i managed to get a Gitzo tripod on hold and should be picking up in a few weeks. at the end of the day it just boils down to you get what you pay for.

[gordon_l34]

Hi All,

Just to throw another one into the mix. I have a Manfrotto 075 with a Manfrotto 029 head but it is very heavy. I have for any long treks a Gitzo 3531, which is carbon fibre, with a Manfrotto 229 head. I can't speak highly enough of either of them.

Regards.