Vanguard vs Manfroto

[Trevor Harris]

Hey guys,

I went the photo store will full intentions on getting an Manfroto 055XPROB. I told the guy what I wanted it for (backpacking, landscapes, long exposure, occasional star trail). He then pulled out this Vanguard tripod. He currently uses manfroto but is getting rid of it for this Vanguard. It does have more features plus it's cheaper. I'm pretty much sold, but my only problm was that I've never heard of the brand before. I put the two tripods side by side and they seem very similar as far as stability goes. When the neck of the Vanguard is off to the side it does wobble a bit more than the Manfroto in the same configuration - however a full extension the Manfroto wobbles more than the Vanguard. The only reason I didn't walk away with it is because I didn't hear of the brand before so I wanted to do a little research before I commit. Just wondering if any of you could commit. The Vanguard I'm talking about is the Altapro 263 AT. It also comes with a head that has an independent pan lock as well. Thanks.

Trevor

 

[Derrel]

I looked on-line--the two models seem to be priced virtually identically...so, I would say buy the Manfrotto. If you sell a Manfrotto, it has resale value, due to the brand...a Vanguard...has no brand reputation whatsoever.

 

[tron]

for what its worth i have a vanguard sbh-100 ball head and manfrotto 055xb legs (your legs are the same, just yours is the pro version with the spot to place the vertical support horizontally). i love my vanguard head though.