Most commonly used manfrotto tripod + head

[Luke McMillian]

Hi,

I've been debating tripods for a while. I've been looking for a decent pair of manfrotto legs and video head for use with mini dv cams. I've heard good things about the 701 Rc2 head, but still confused about what to look for in the legs.

Also considering some kind of legs I can use with a dolly system of some sort.

Please help

Luke

[Wade Hanchey]

Luke,

I noticed this buy at B&H. It includes a dolly and a case. It may not be the quality you're looking for though.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

[Vito DeFilippo]

A quick search will give you lots of results in this forum, because tripod and head recommendations is one of the most common questions asked here.

As for heads, I think in the Manfrotto line, the 503 is considered by many to be the minimum acceptable head. I've actually had the 701rc2, and it's pretty good, but not for anything large. I sold it because I found it too small for my Z1. But it would be a great head for a little camera.

As for Manfrotto legs, I absolutely loved the 755B MDeVe legs, but couldn't use them with the Gitzo head, so I sold them. I highly recommend them as a good pair of video legs that aren't an arm and a leg.

I use Gitzo now. G1380 fluide head with G1325 Carbon fibre legs. Really, really good, but not cheap...

[Luke McMillian]

Hey,

I'm looking at this:

Kit contains 701RC2 Video Head, 745B Tripod, and MBAG 80, for payloads up to 9 lbs.

Seems like a popular kit, anybody familiar with these legs, how much am I gaining with the 755B legs?

Luke

[Carlos E. Martinez]

Originally Posted by Luke McMillian

Kit contains 701RC2 Video Head, 745B Tripod, and MBAG 80, for payloads up to 9 lbs.

The 701RC2 / 745B which I bought last year continues to be a surprise for me.

When I tried it along with other Bogen heads at B&H, it was much better than the 501 and felt better than the 503.

Perhaps the demo was not well adjusted, but on the test I do, which is panning to one side and immediately to the other side, the 701 worked better than the other two.

You probably would have to spend a bit more to get better. At that time I bought it for my PDX10.

The combo worked great on the PD150 and PD170 too.

Some weeks ago I rented a Z1 that came with a large Libec tripod. Once again the Manfrotto combo did better, and I ended up using the Z1 on it, leaving the static shots for my PDX10 on the Libec.

It's very important to try a fluid head yourself, if you can.

[Luke McMillian]

Hey,

Thanks a lot for the help. Yeah I have tried out the 701rc2, I liked it, felt similar to the 128RC but with the spring, and adjustable for carious cames that are front or back heavy. I'm worried that the legs are heavy duty enough, and not quite sure as what to look for exactly for a video tripod legs. I understand quick locks are desireable, and spiked feet, bit what about tripod spreader, how important is that? anything else I'm missing?

Luke

[Jason Strongfield]

Originally Posted by Vito DeFilippo

As for heads, I think in the Manfrotto line, the 503 is considered by many to be the minimum acceptable head.

agreed, this is the general consensus.