Any Manfrotto 290 Xtra users out there?

[Anon Ymous]

Hi

I have a cheapo tripod that doesn't instil much confidence. As they say, desirable tripod characteristics are stability, low weight and low price, but you can only get two of these characteristics in a tripod, not all three. So, I'd like something stable, but reasonably affordable, my budget is about 150€, although this is not a hard limit, it may go up to 200€ if there's something that is worth considering.

I don't use medium/large format, I have a Canon 6D and several EOS/OM film cameras. Considering these and what lenses I'm likely to acquire in the future, I'd guess a 2,5kg maximum weight, perhaps 3. I'm shooting landscapes with the occasional macro stuff, flowers etc. A low minimum height would be a plus. After a bit of searching, I noticed that the Manfrotto 290 Xtra with a three way head is within my budget at ~150€. So, my question is does anyone have first hand experience with this tripod/head combination? And while we are at it, are there any other options worth considering?

Thanks in advance

 

[Anon Ymous]

Uh, anyone? Any tripods worth considering near the 150€ price range or thereabouts?

 

[MattKing]

Around here, you can buy excellent tripods used - there is a lot of them on the market.
So my answer depends on your local market.
One thing that has worked for me is to look separately for legs (used can be great) and head.

 

[Anon Ymous]

Around here, you can buy excellent tripods used - there is a lot of them on the market.
So my answer depends on your local market.
One thing that has worked for me is to look separately for legs (used can be great) and head.

Uh, the local as in my hometown market simply doesn't exist. The only photo related thing I can get around here is prints and that's all... There's a rather small nationwide market of used photographic goods and the truth is that I haven't paid much attention to it. Anyway, any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[abruzzi]

From the look and specs, the 290 Xtra looks like it wold be fine for just about any 35mm setup, except maybe the big telephotos. I wouldn’t put a 4x5 camera on it, but it would probably also be fine for smaller medium format. My 35mm tripod was cheaper and is a no-name, and it’s just fine for holding my smaller cameras.