I'm looking to get the Vanguard 263AT with SBH-250 ballhead and the local prices are prohibitive compared to the US sites (e.g. Amazon). any idea where i can get it locally for a reasonable price?
thanks!
Local shops all sell it at around the same prices. You can try SLRR or TK.
One word of advice though. I have tested both the aluminum and carbon fiber versions of the Alta Pro series. Not good at all. The center column vibrates like a bobble head even with a slight tap on the legs.
Even the much cheaper Manfrotto 190xprob or 055xprob are way way way more stable.
Consider Sirui..... personally I prefer this to vanguard
i'm attracted to their super light weight tripods, but afraid it'd defeat the primary purpose of having a tripod to begin with... (stability).
This is assuming you are looking at a tripod with variable centre column function.
If you are not, Sirui is stable as tripods go.
i was reading through the reviews for both 190XProb vs 263AT, and many recommended the 263AT for the feature set it had (most importantly the flexible centre column). The only reason I held back for the 190XPROB is that the centre column cannot do angles other than horizontal/vertical, and it lacks basic features like bag hook.
how about the Benro A2970T? any comments on it? that is also one of the models i'm looking at.
Anyway, I am boycotting SLRR as their customer service is EXTREMELY POOR. I called yesterday to check the price for the tripod, and this guy made me wait for a few minutes, then told me to 'call another day as they are attending to customers now'. To top it off, his tone was extremely unfriendly.
okay, enough ranting and back to topic.
how would you guys rank Sirui for stability? T1004X vs 263AT vs A2970T vs 190XPROB?
there doesn't seem to be a lot of Sirui reviews online.
i would love a light tripod, but strong winds result in camera shake easily.
how would you guys rank Sirui for stability? T1004X vs 263AT vs A2970T vs 190XPROB?
there doesn't seem to be a lot of Sirui reviews online.
i would love a light tripod, but strong winds result in camera shake easily.
There's a reason why everytime someone starts a tripod thread the de facto recommendation is Sirui.
Sirui is also twist lock, much easier to strip and clean compared to the fliplock that comes on Manfrotto legs.
I don't think people can find one shop to test all, so you'll get all sorts of subjective comments. I can tell you for a fact that Vanguard doesn't feel stable at all, the rest are about the same to me.