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We clicked with:
Sturdy
Affordable
Light
Shots in the dark:
Horizontal central column design a little flawed
Spirit level on the head poorly placed
Could do with higher extension available
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Manfrotto make good professional tripods at affordable prices - the 190X Pro-B being no exception.
190X Series
Replacing the 190 series in the UK, the Manfrotto 190X Pro-B aluminium tripod comes in at a svelte 1.8kgs, but is capable of holding up to 5kgs. This means the vast majority of DSLR and lens combos will sit snugly on top - even pro bodies with batteries and fat f/2.8 70-200mm zooms will make the grade.
Its not only light, but compact too, measuring just 57cms when closed, and extending to 146cm maximum. Plus it's good value... so it's not going to break the bank nor the back.
On Location
Without the availability of wind tunnels or research labs in the ThinkCamera offices, it was to the fields to test: Wind and water? No problem!
Those aluminium legs are designed to be light and strong, the quick release latches easy to handle; essentially you could throw this off the top of a house and it'd still be in one piece (don't try this at home, kids).
Hardened photo-backpackers may know the experience of picking up a heavy tripod and it feeling as though the cold frame has welded itself to your hand - the 190X has some excellent 'spongy' upper legs that thankfully wont freeze your mitts off.
Legs are arranged in three columns, each adjustable by the quick release flip level leg locks (try saying that quickly without sounding like a slurring drunk). Whilst these locks look a little 'plasticy' - and without actually trying to wrench them off - they hold their own with no issues. The legs themselves are manoeuvrable enough to befit many angles and much terrain whilst still standing up to the job.
Horizontal flaws
One of the key features of the 190X range is that the central column can cleverly flip into a fully horizontal position by the push of a button. This may be useful for getting the camera down to some low shooting points or for getting offset shooting vantages, but when turning the central column from the vertical to the horizontal position it has to be extended to full vertical length in order to flip over. If the tripod isn't extended particularly high at this moment, or if the legs are at an awkward position, don't let go! The central column alone has enough leverage to topple the tripod.
3 Way Head: 804RC2
The 804RC2 is a basic three-way pan and tilt head with quick lock. It weighs in at 0.75kgs taking the overall leg and head package to 2.5kgs. You can pan left and right with one handle, tilt up and down with the other, or rotate through 360degrees with the third.
The handles fit well to the hand and, like the upper legs of the tripod, are 'spongy' to prevent your hands from completely freezing.
The quick release camera plate on the top fits in tightly to both the tripod head and to camera via thread. Some plates in the past have been known to be a little 'slippery' when fixing cameras down - but the 804RC2 doesn't suffer any such problems.
There's also a small spirit/bubble level towards the front of the head. Unfortunately, when the camera is on the tripod, it's very difficult to view easily from any angle.
Conclusion
Overall - to those looking to get a tripod to support a DSLR: this is small, transportable, as ergonomic as they come and up to the job at hand. And, despite the joys of image stabilisation, a tripod still has its uses - just try and handhold a two second early morning exposure.
The Manfrotto 190X may seem expensive for three bits of alloy, but you'll find that if you're using a cheap tripod already then you will have probably noticed that it's flimsy and rubbish. The Manfrotto isn't. So go and buy one. Or put it on a Christmas list (preferably your own).
