Benjamin Eckstein

I wasn’t planning to do a review of my new purchase, but some Twitter buddies were curious about my new tripod, so I thought I’d post a little overview. It just arrived yesterday and has not gone on a shoot yet, but I played with it a bit today and can go over some of the features. The tripod in question is the Manfrotto (Bogen) 535 Carbon Fiber legs with the new 504HD head. I wanted a second tripod and when I was at NAB, in April, that was one of the things I was looking for. For about 7 years I’ve had a Sachtler DV8 tripod. It’s fantastic, and I think Sachtler makes some of the best tripods on the market. They are pricey, but they can last forever. I think a good tripod is a great investment because of how long you can use them (and how important they are for good camera support/control). More often, though I’ve needed a second tripod for 2-camera shoots, or to secure both ends of my Pocket Dolly, etc. I wanted something that was a little different than my Sachtler, namely something that could go higher and lower than my current system, and if it was lighter weight that was an added bonus, but not a priority.

At NAB I had zeroed in on the (similarly configured) Miller systems, but then went to the Manfrotto booth and saw the new 504HD systems. (I owned a 501 system before buying the Sachtler and was unimpressed, and generally thought Manfrotto heads were just so-so.) This new head was very impressive though. Large and beefy. It has really nice adjustments for drag and tilt and counterbalance, which seem like an upgrade over previous models, and reminded me of the Sachtler heads. The 535, and taller 536, carbon legs fit the bill for sticks that could go really tall or really low. So I finally ordered one last week. Oddly B+H had the kit (for $989), but it said 6-10 weeks delivery. Then I saw that they had the sticks and head separately and in-stock so I ordered the two, with a cheaper bag, and the total came to $850. Score. And it was about $600 cheaper than the similar Miller system. (A note on the B+H specs online: It lists the kit as weighing 8lbs. It also lists the head as weighing 6.4lbs and the sticks at 5lbs. That does not add up to 8lbs. I don’t have a scale at home but it weighs about the same as my DV8 with carbon legs.)

So let’s take a look at the system (with a sort of side by side comparison to my Sachtler DV8):

As you can see, they unfold to about the same height, but the Manfrotto can go much lower and higher than the Sachtler (according to the specs the minimum height is 16″ and the maximum is 72″).  This totally fulfills my top priorities in a second set of sticks.  If you’ve used the Sachtler Speed Lock leg system, you immediately fall in love with the way that one lock on each leg adjusts both stages of the legs.  The Manfrotto does not do this, so it requires 2 latches per leg.  Not a big deal, as this is the norm on many tripods, but just something to know.

Let’s move on to the head.  As I mentioned, the drag, tilt and counterbalance adjustment knobs feel top notch.  This really does seem much nicer than the price ($399 for the head), and is certainly comparable to the DV8 (now called the Sachtler FSB-8) head, which retails for almost $1600.  The whole thing feels built like a tank which is important for a piece of gear that could last decades.  I love that it has a light on the level bubble, so you can easily level it in the dark.  I know this has become a more common feature on newer tripod heads, but this is the first one that I’ve owned with that, and it will certainly come in handy.

The head seems really smooth.  Settings of “0″ on drag and tilt are as close to friction free as you could want, and the heaviest settings will help to produce nice slow tilts and pans on heavier cameras.  The stops and starts are very smooth, and the overall balance is perfect.

The only hitch is for people looking at this system for DSLR video use.  The head is certainly bigger than it needs to be for just a DSLR, although many times people kit out their DSLRs with a lot of accessories and will appreciate the heft of the 504 head.  The majority of the time I am shooting with my Canon 7D, I have it mounted on a sort-of custom rails system.  When I do that, the Manfrotto plate (which is longer than previous plates, I believe) is just short enough to not get in the way of my Zacuto Z-finder.

But, if you plan to mount the DSLR directly to the tripod, then the plate extends off of the back and I cannot fully attach my Z-finder as it hits the plate.

I have a hunch that you could use a shorter Manfrotto plate on this head, which would remedy this problem but I don’t have one here to try.  If you are looking for a tripod head/system to ONLY use for a DSLR, this may be overkill, but I would rather have a head that is over-rated, because I assume that the next generation of cameras will be larger, more like my EX-1.  The legs, though, are great, so you could certainly pair it with a smaller 75mm ball head if you like.  I tend to find, though, that the smaller heads lack a lot of the adjustments, and are generally not as smooth as the bigger heads.  Overall, it is not the lightest tripod you can find, but it is by far the heaviest I have used, and it does feel super sturdy.

So that’s the system, in a nutshell.  I look forward to taking it into battle next week as my shooting schedule ramps up again.

Tags: 504HD, Bogen, Canon 7D, director of photography, DV8, equipment, EX-1, Manfrotto, NAB, Sachtler, tripod

Posted Thursday, August 5th, 2010 and filed under Blog. Both comments and pings are currently closed.