Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro Tripod Legs (Black)

I have bought many tripods througout the years. Lightweight tripods, a sweet carbon fiber tripod, and several that have proved to be nothing more than junk.In all that time, my favorite go to tripod is this Manfrotto Pro Tripod. It is well designed, looks great, and holds up well with extensive use.I go hiking 2-3 times a month, and use my tripod several times a week outside, I also use it inside some.The benefit of this tripod is, it is built like a tank. It can support your heavy body camera with a heavy telephoto lens.Please note that this tripod is a professional tripod, and as such, they expect you to have your own head. I highly recommend this Head, as it is the most versatile out there, and works perfectly with this tripod.  Manfrotto 322RC2 Horizontal Grip Action Ball Head with RC2 Rapid Connect Plate (3157N) Recently I went shooting with a friend in the mountains, I had my camera with battery grip hooked up on this tripod and head taking photos of some ice formations, when the wind started blowing hard, my friends tripod flew out from underneath him, causing his camera to drop and break (always wear your neck strap, you use it to protect your camera, its not a fashion statement!) my tripod didn't budge.The only downside to this tripod is the weight, and the fact that it does not come with any carrying device, meaning you need to carry it with your hands (how much would it cost to throw in a cheap bag?) must we have to pay 25 for a strap? 90 for the bag? But I digress.If I had to do it over again, i would always buy this tripod. If it got stolen, or fell off a cliff, there would be no choice. I love this tripod, you cannot go wrong with it, and I highly recommend the head I mentioned above. It will support a heavy camera with a long lens. They also look well together, as if they were designed to be together =).5 out of 5ps, another cool feature, is the tripod has "hand warmers" meaning when your out in the cold freezing, the grips do not freeze your hand off, so you can still work with and touch your tripod (but try not to touch the cold metal!).Overall I'm really impressed with this tripod. I do not think you can do better. If your wanting one for the studio, you could use this one as well, it will be harder for little kids to accidentally knock it over. (but can still happen) but it will NOT turn over because of a breeze. I mainly use my on nature hikes and trips.I recommend buying one of the following if you go hiking (I own both) Manfrotto Tripod Bag Padded 80Cm  or  Manfrotto 3044 CARRYING LONG STRAP - Carrying strap - gray

Bought this to use mainly in nature photography and it has been worth every penny. You can't get much better than this for the price. I bought this to replace a small simple tripod I got for nearly free and have not regretted it.Pros:-nice and tall, I'm 6' and use it fully extended with legs together (as a monopod) when walking and can easily and quickly set up that way.-love the ability to adjust the center column, you can flip it out sideways and get supper close or have it extended over a table top for macro. I have also flipped it upside down for getting great shots super close to a small stream.-independently adjust each leg. This is great for extending the tripod over a small brook, taking shots on a hill, or basically any awkward shot you can't get with the cheapos.-great quality. Very sturdy tripod with strong legs, great rubber feet, and simple and easy to use clamps.- I have had absolutely no problems or complaints about this product and have been using it for over a yearCons-heavy? Some may consider this tripod too large to carry around but for all the positives, I consider it a minor detail. I typically walk a few miles through thick brush when taking pictures but stopping to actually take pictures gives me plenty of breaks. Would I recommend this for a hiking trip? Probably not, but if the purpose of the hike is to take pictures, this would be just great given that most of the time would be spent taking pictures, not simply carrying it.For me, this tripod pros greatly outweigh the weight, which in my opinion isn't bad. Overall, I plan to use this tripod for as long as possible and I'd anything happens to it, I'd be happy to replace it with the same one.

I was looking at tripods to finally capture those perfect shots on hikes or in the city. I recently decided to buy a Hoya ND400 filter to take long exposures of waterfalls or to capture cloud movement on the trail, and of course you're going to need something steady to mount your camera on. I saw the reviews for the 055XPROB and knew the reputation of Manfrotto, so I decided to give this a go. Additionally I bought the Opteka TW-1 Tomahawk Joystick ball head to use with it (which is an awesome ball head for the price). For your reference, I take my shots with a Canon T3i and a Sigma 10-20mm lens - only about 3.3 pounds of gear.I was drawn to this tripod because of the user reviews, price, and usable height of it (as opposed to foldable height). I'm 6 feet tall and wanted something that was easily functional without bending at all. I figured that I would need at least 65 inches in order to do that, and this has you covered seeing that it extends to 70 inches... but I drastically OVERestimated how much height I really needed. When you take into consideration that most ball heads will add 4 inches to the tripod, and the length between bottom of the camera to the viewfinder is another 3 inches, I really only needed a tripod that extended to 58 inches to be comfortable. Again, this was something that I failed to take into account when looking for a tripod. In addition to the extra height I didn't need, it also came with additional weight.At 5.3 lbs (really, it was 7.1 pounds with aforementioned ball head), I figured this wouldn't be that burdensome to bring along on hikes or in the city, however, it gets heavy quick, especially factoring in a ball head. At first, I thought the weight would be a good thing... weight = stability, and it does, however the trade offs for hikers or city dwellers are too high in my opinion. The tripod is too tall for it to fit in any hiking day pack, and if you leave it popping out the top, it's awkward to carry. I decided to buy a separate tripod carrying case for it, but carting around 7.1 pounds on a single strap got old quickly. I found myself not wanting to bring a tripod out on hikes or in the city anymore, which was the whole reason why I bought it in the first place.Once I figured out what I was really looking for, I realized that it was totally worth getting something more compact and lighter. After much thought, I decided on the Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 carbon fiber tripod with a Manfrotto 494RC2 ball head. That combination is literally half the weight of what I was carrying and although it's only a 3.5 pound difference, it's quite noticeable for people on the go. As mentioned earlier, I really like my Opteka Tomahawk ball head and still use it when I'm not running around on the trail; fortunately for me, Manfrotto's RC2 mounting plate is the same as the Opteka Tomahawk's. Translation: I don't have to switch off mounting plates on my camera's body each time I change ball heads, which is incredibly convenient.There were tradeoffs involved with the new combo though - lighter weight makes this more wind prone, and the 190CXPRO4 can only extend to a 48 inch height without the center column extended as opposed to the 55 inch height of the 055XPROB (which makes the 055XPROB's base to be wider, and therefore more stable). However the 190CX has a 25 degree leg angle (as opposed to a 23 degree leg angle of the 055X) to correct for this and still extends to the ideal height of 58 inches for me. It can get a bit top heavy, but if you need to add stability, you can always hook your day pack to the tripod to weigh it down.Additionally, my old combo (055XPROB + Opteka Joystick) was roughly 34 inches tall folded, and again, could not fit in a day pack. The new combo (190CXPRO4 + 494RC2) is only 23 inches tall, easily fitting the the water bladder pouch of my day pack. Another thing to think about even if you're not a hiker or city photographer is its travel ability. You're not likely to fit the 055XPROB in a carry on, but you can with something shorter.Don't get me wrong, when I did use it, it was solid as a rock - it really is a high quality product. My only complaint of the 055XPROB is the cheap plastic wing-nut that locks the center column - there is aluminum everywhere else besides this one critical point. Obviously, my personal bias towards this tripod is its size. When looking for a tripod, be honest in what you are looking for. If you're mainly using this around town or do not plan on taking it with you for long walking trips, then by all means you should get this. However, if you looking to capture neat city shots or landscapes on the trail, look for something lighter and more compact. Really think about what you will be using a tripod for before you buy. Although this is a relatively low cost tripod for the quality you're getting, do not be afraid to spend a little more to get something that's travel friendly. I got my new combo at a heavy discount, but you're really only looking at an extra 60 dollars for something lighter in weight and more compact if you're a deal hunter. Even if you plan on walking with your tripod just a few times, I'd encourage you to look towards something lighter. Hope this review helps you to analyze your purchase a little more.

This has beem the best tripodci have ever used.Excellent stability even in strong winds and with the heavy setup like canon 7D+Battery Pack + 70-200 F2.8 IS2 this does not even move a mm.A must buy and tripod for the price it is offered at.This can be adjusted in so many positions and you can go very low levels with its height.MUST BUY IT...

This is my first Manfrotto tripod and it is an awesome set of legs I use this tripod mostly for landscape and night photography I hike lot's carrying this tripod over my shoulder and although a little heavier than my old one, A small price to pay for the security knowing that the wind is not going to blow over my equipment are that my camera and the lens are to heavy for the position I have the tripod in and that they could come crashing down.This tripod is really sturdy in all position and to have the ability to extend to its Maximum height of:70.28 inch and then down to its Minimum height of: 3.94 inch and being able to swing the centre column to the horizontal position just makes it a great addition to my camera equipment.

Awesome! Heavy to carry but that adds to the stability.

Very good tripod we using tripods from some years but most of the time we shoot hand held because they create pain in mind for attaching camera finding angles.But with this we always shoot on tripod because its easy can find any angle we need.

This is the first tripod that I've ever purchased and I'm extremely satisfied with it. I was debating on whether to buy this model or the slightly cheaper one and I'm glad a spent a little more for the added height. I'm using it mostly for DSLR video and macro photography and love the versatility with the centre arm turned vertically. This feature definitely sold me on this model. It includes a level on the tripod and is built solid. If I need a second tripod, I would definitely purchase another. I also purchased the  Manfrotto 804RC2 Basic Pan Tilt Head with Quick Release Plate 200PL-14 - Replaces 3047 (Black)  for the head of this tripod and it works great hand-in-hand for taking video. Manfrotto 804RC2 Basic Pan Tilt Head with Quick Release Plate 200PL-14 - Replaces 3047 (Black)