Alloy 8M Tripod AT-313 68-Inch Max Height 33lb Load Capacity

I have to say I really like this tripod. I purchased this to replace my Manfrotto 055XPROB I purchased about almost 2 years ago. The Manfrotto is a pretty good tripod, max height without the center column raised placed my Canon 60D's viewfinder at 64 inches, which is pretty much at my eye level, probably around an inch or two below my eye level, and I am six foot tall. And it seemed pretty solid, but when I needed a little more height, and raised the center column I had to pretty much use the ten second delay and hope that the vibration settled by the eighth second of the delay timer or there was definitely going to be blur in my photo. And the vibration really, really reared its ugly head when I was shooting video, for my son's High School band performance during halftime shows. So it was then I had realized that it is time to go tripod shopping.I looked around and my criteria was a tripod that would place my Canon 60Ds viewfinder at around 66 plus inches. The Induro AT-413 allows my 60D's viewfinder to sit at around 75 inches. Just to be clear the camera sits at 75 inches without the center column raised, just to compare the Manfrotto sits at 64 inches column not raised and at 78 inches with the center column fully raised, but my camera will be subject to a whole lot of movement. And just in case you were wondering the AT-413 places my cameras viewfinder at around 80 inches, with the center column fully raised.Another criteria was a tripod that would be able to carry a pretty good load. Again just to compare to my Manfrotto its load rating was around 15.5 lbs., so I wanted a tripod that would have a load rating of at least double that of the Manfrotto. So that would be a tripod that would easily handle at least 30 lbs. Guess what the Induro AT-413 handles 44lbs, that is almost triple the rating of the Manfrotto. So during my tripod research I saw a Gitzo video of a guy of I have to say probably weighed well under 200 lbs. grab the neck of a fully raised rather small Gitzo and raised his whole weight and the tripod managed it with no problems, so it got me thinking. So I put pretty much my whole weight on just one leg of my Manfrotto and the legs started to collapse, oh by the way I weigh well above 250lbs, so I said I have to tighten the legs on my Manfrotto, but after tightening the legs, it still collapsed under my weight, but it is only rated at 15.5lbs. so a long way to get to this part, I said what can my new Induro do, I grabbed the neck of my fully raised tripods neck and slowly started to raise my legs, and guess what, It held me up, no leg collapsing or anything, with my legs off the ground the tripod held up.Overall I love this tripod, great height, and terrific on the load rating. But like every positive thing that happens a negative or two shows up.Number one, folded height of the Manfrotto is about 25.5 inches and the Induro measures at around thirty; by the way those measurements are without the ballhead.Number two, the weight of the Manfrotto is around 5.25lbs and the Induro weighs in at a little over 7lbs. But Induro throws in a decent tripod bag, and by the way it seems pretty easy to carry and with the ballhead mounted it still fits in its bag.Other than the few negatives for me all the positives won me over, and with a price of around $217, I said what the hell do I have to lose, and I can tell you I am pretty impressed with Induro, and will soon probably purchase an Induro ballhead soon.

After a year of using a Dolica AX620B100 62-Inch Proline Tripod and Ball Head I decided to give it to my son "forcing" me to upgrade. I did a LOT of research and narrowed my choice to the Induro AT-213 and the Manfrotto 055XPROB. Price was about the same but I was a little put off by some of the reviews of the 055XPROB talking about plastic parts breaking. I liked hat the Induro came with warmers on all three legs (I shot in bad weather a lot) and that it came with a bag. Additionally, I really liked the hook on the bottom of the center column I used the one on my Dolica constantly. I ordered the Induro and have been very happy.Along with the legs you get a bag for the legs and a small accessory bag with wrenches and the spikes. The spikes are quite substantial and should last a long time. I may order a second set now in case they wear out after this model is discontinued. The bag for the legs is a nice, basic bag with a padded handle and padded strap. The legs themselves have a nice heft to them. They feel strong and so far have been strong. And I am really glad the legs have warmers. I shot for about an hour in the cold recently and the legs stayed cold for almost the same length of time once I was back inside - a good indication of the thickness of the legs.I matted mine with a Manfrotto 498RC2 Ball Head (which I love). Together they make a great tripod but they also create the only negative I have. I am 5' 6" and between the legs, the ball head and my K200 with battery grip, I have to stand on my toes to see through the view finder - and that is with the center column down! On the positive side, with the column up and only the small legs extended, my camera sits at about chest level which is where I like to shoot a lot of the time. Having only two sections makes the AT-213 more sturdy and solid but the three section 055X is more flexible. Of course being two inches taller would solve the issue too!!Overall a GREAt piece of gear and at a very nice price.

Customer support for Induro products are almost non existent. So if you go this route, pray nothing ever breaks. The web site does a great job of putting as much interference between you and an actually support person as it can. Links to PDF manuals and a 10 question FAQ does not equal good customer support! They do however seem all to eager to sign you up for an additional 5 year warranty" Oi, I regret ever buying into this brand.

The picture showed no center post. It has a center post there for I am not happy with it!!