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After a 40 or so year absence I am thinking about getting back into photography a bit.

Recently I had to purchase a heavy and strong tripod for a particular heavy (about 19 pounds) binocular so went with an older Manfrotto. That's a great tripod but not exactly something to carry around.
So, for some camera work and spotting scope use, would you all have any suggestions that really stand out?

The local Photo store suggested the Giotto (sp?) carbon fiber--Very nice at about $370 or so.

When I bought my Gitzo carbon fiber tripod, I checked the stiffness of several other brands in the store. Nothing else even came close.

Gitzo carbon fiber is the gold standard, but if you're not going to put the tripod to hard use, or put heavy loads on it, some of the Chinese Gitzo knock-offs aren't that bad. This Dolica at Amazon is a good example:

http://www.amazon.com/Dolica-ZX600B...;sr=1-1&keywords=dolica+carbon+fiber

Thanks, Guys.

I won't be putting it to hard use. I'll look around a bit but haven't seen any large numbers of tripods to compare locally. Lots of whatever brand they carry but no good way to compare.

Read the reviews on the current crop. Or look for a deal on a lightly used one. Don't settle for anything less than rock solid.

Camera Land carries Promaster tripods. They are very well made, similar in quality to those that cost a lot more. They are worth checking out.

Adorama has a house brand carbon fiber tripod that has gotten some good reviews as well.

I like the Manfrotto 055XPROB, with a Manfrotto ball head 496RC2. I bought it when on sale for a lot less.

Thanks. I'll be looking at all of these suggestions. I need a tall tripod. Would like to be able to look through a straight spotting scope from about a 6 ft eye level. The Manfrotto would work. Will just have to shop carefully.

Most of the readily transportable tripods don't go that high.

For a spotting scope you can use a pan-head. Some of the Manfrotto video heads cost around $69.00 at Amazon, but there may be cheaper (shop around).
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&am...=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_ka6f1iqpv_b

I had an Adorama Flashpoint and replaced it with an Induro CT314. Weighs about 5 pounds, but can get high enough without raising the center column, which doing so can give a source of vibration. I pack it with my camera gear with an f-stop pack. The CT314's legs do not vibrate noticeably in the wind like the Flashpoint did. After a couple of years, the Flashpoints rubber grips on the leg twists starting splitting and the leg spikes came loose.

Here's a wholesale place you can purchase heavy duty tripods for the music and photography fields at a reasonable price some capable of 100 pound or more capacity. Do a thorough search...

MCM Electronics;

Link

Good people to deal with.

Phil

I just purchased a SLIK Pro 700DX set of legs to use with an
Outdoorsmans head. This would be great for a six foot fellow with room to spare. I use a straight eyepiece spotting scope.