Not that anyone will ever see this post but I got mine about 9 years ago and I still use my 284 CT. It has been to the beach, through deep snow, rugged terrain and is still in really good shape. I can't justify getting a new one. I still have the original ball head as well, although I do swap between it and a Benro gear head.
I +1 the enthusiasm for this tripod. I have the aluminum version with the little clamps for extension, not the twisty-turny version. I bought mine with the pistol grip. Did a commercial architecture shoot and it never failed me getting the camera into position, over five months of shooting. It goes very low as Glyn showed. Also, you can reverse the center post and hang your camera upside down for on-the-deck shooting. As I said, never failed me, and even more, gave me infinite positions to get interesting shots. Way to go, Glyn...
I'm curious what you would expect to pay for kit that you should buy once and will last a very long time. If you can point me to something I'd gladly contact the company and review it.
Liked this one as I'm mostly a landscape artist I'm looking for a lighter model, and I'm liking it, the one thing you did not show or do which I would have liked to have seen was the tripod extended to show it's height, I am assuming it will be pretty tall but with it next to you would have shown some sense of size
You can buy a decent tripod second hand if you put the work in and there are hundreds of tripods, heads to choose from and you could probably get a good set up for under a hundred quid. I agree, this like a lot of reviews, seems like an advert.
sorry to ask on more than 1 yo videoposte. Do you ever take that spike tripod in flight? because my detachable spike has been taken by TSA guy once. Thank's
Glyn; I love your work so please don't see this too negatively. Just an opinion. I'm all for "buy cheap, buy twice" but photography markups really get under my skin. I've heard every excuse in the world from promoters trying to justify their ridiculous prices. Just because it has "photography" in the title. But thanks for sharing :)
My issue to why I bought a Manfrotto head with this tripod is the camera attach plate does not have a finger twist option, you need a tool to mount/unmount the plate.
Glyn, great concise review - I have the 283CT which has one set of extensions less, but is exactly the same otherwise. Like you,I'm not really a tripod fan, but this one ticks all the boxes for me. One quick note on the Arca plate with the screw-lock on the head....you don't need to 'fanny' around sliding it in; half a turn on the knob is all you need if you use the lip on the plate to angle into the receiver-groove at about 30/45 degree angle then bring the the rest of the plate down and a quick twist of the aforementioned knob and it's locked solid - the little pin stops any slide-out if you have failed to engage it fully, so no need to worry about calamities. Keep up the good work, Andrew
Andrew, is the 3-section 283CT shorter in height than the 4-section 284CT ?... Or is the 284CT just more compact and portable when folded (because it has 4-sections) ?
Thanks for sharing! Good Review! Just got a very similar setup (Alta Pro 263AT with BBH-100 head)... i'm loving the tripod but i expected the head were more fluid, can't really say if mine is normal or with some problem, i found it harder than usual ball heads...
Your demo of the leg extensions didn't look very precise.You have to turn and twist nine separate locks to open and close them. You haven't shown us how tall it is. I think that's important.
They did for me however I no longer use this tripod and have moved to 3Legged Thing. Still a great tripod but made a decision to move because of the weight for travel.
I think the issue for me here is that it does not come across as a review to me. Just a blatant advert for an expensive tripod. You never mentioned the price for good reason I suspect. You are undoubtedly one of the best presenters on the web so I think I was just a little disappointed to watch this. I never ignored what you were saying but I was questioning the integrity of it all. Photography online is plagued by adverts dressing up as reviews. Do you think it is worth this price?
Carbon fibre.... Tripod weight 1.73 KG 3.81Ibs! you got be kidding me. Too expensive too heavy. Less is more ! Jake peters has got a very important point '' Your demo of the leg extensions didn't look very precise.You have to turn and twist nine separate locks to open and close them...'' I think thats little time consuming.
Yep...I'm lovin' it!!!
Review:
*VANGUARD ALTA PRO 284CT Tripod + BBH 200 Ball Head*
VANGUARD ALTA PRO 284CT TRIPOD + BBH 200 BALL HEAD
Glyn Dewis Bald heads are the best. Oh... wait... I meant... Ball heads!
Ivan Boden LOL :)
Not that anyone will ever see this post but I got mine about 9 years ago and I still use my 284 CT. It has been to the beach, through deep snow, rugged terrain and is still in really good shape. I can't justify getting a new one. I still have the original ball head as well, although I do swap between it and a Benro gear head.
That’s great to hear Joyce
I +1 the enthusiasm for this tripod. I have the aluminum version with the little clamps for extension, not the twisty-turny version. I bought mine with the pistol grip. Did a commercial architecture shoot and it never failed me getting the camera into position, over five months of shooting. It goes very low as Glyn showed. Also, you can reverse the center post and hang your camera upside down for on-the-deck shooting. As I said, never failed me, and even more, gave me infinite positions to get interesting shots. Way to go, Glyn...
Cheers Peter Gregory :)
I'm curious what you would expect to pay for kit that you should buy once and will last a very long time. If you can point me to something I'd gladly contact the company and review it.
Liked this one as I'm mostly a landscape artist I'm looking for a lighter model, and I'm liking it, the one thing you did not show or do which I would have liked to have seen was the tripod extended to show it's height, I am assuming it will be pretty tall but with it next to you would have shown some sense of size
You can buy a decent tripod second hand if you put the work in and there are hundreds of tripods, heads to choose from and you could probably get a good set up for under a hundred quid.
I agree, this like a lot of reviews, seems like an advert.
sorry to ask on more than 1 yo videoposte. Do you ever take that spike tripod in flight? because my detachable spike has been taken by TSA guy once. Thank's
Glyn; I love your work so please don't see this too negatively. Just an opinion. I'm all for "buy cheap, buy twice" but photography markups really get under my skin. I've heard every excuse in the world from promoters trying to justify their ridiculous prices. Just because it has "photography" in the title. But thanks for sharing :)
My issue to why I bought a Manfrotto head with this tripod is the camera attach plate does not have a finger twist option, you need a tool to mount/unmount the plate.
Glyn, great concise review - I have the 283CT which has one set of extensions less, but is exactly the same otherwise. Like you,I'm not really a tripod fan, but this one ticks all the boxes for me.
One quick note on the Arca plate with the screw-lock on the head....you don't need to 'fanny' around sliding it in; half a turn on the knob is all you need if you use the lip on the plate to angle into the receiver-groove at about 30/45 degree angle then bring the the rest of the plate down and a quick twist of the aforementioned knob and it's locked solid - the little pin stops any slide-out if you have failed to engage it fully, so no need to worry about calamities.
Keep up the good work,
Andrew
Andrew, is the 3-section 283CT shorter in height than the 4-section 284CT ?... Or is the 284CT just more compact and portable when folded (because it has 4-sections) ?
Hello, nice Review, which one do you prefer Manfrotto ir vanguard? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing! Good Review! Just got a very similar setup (Alta Pro 263AT with BBH-100 head)... i'm loving the tripod but i expected the head were more fluid, can't really say if mine is normal or with some problem, i found it harder than usual ball heads...
Your demo of the leg extensions didn't look very precise.You have to turn and twist nine separate locks to open and close them. You haven't shown us how tall it is. I think that's important.
Thanks for taking the time to do the review.
Do the spiked feet actually help when one is in mud/gravel/soil with the tripod on an 80 degree low-spread ?
They did for me however I no longer use this tripod and have moved to 3Legged Thing. Still a great tripod but made a decision to move because of the weight for travel.
Thanks a ton Glyn. Just thought of clarifying if the large diameter of the rubber feet actually prevented the short spikes from 'digging-in'. ;-)
Ah right. No I did use the spokes a few times when I had it and they worked fine mate.
There's no 'pity' about it. I've purchased tripods in the past trying to keep costs down and been 'very' disappointed.
Nice!
Thanks...
great vid
Nothing is cheap in photography *LOL* Nice review
and the ball head is £160...you have got to be kidding. A serious omission on your part Glyn.
Just realised this is from 2 years ago, so my previous comment may be moot!
see this one Glyn Manfrotto 055CXPRO3
The tripod is priced at £350 and you couldn't think of anything negative? Don't lose your credibility over an advert. Pity :(
I think the issue for me here is that it does not come across as a review to me. Just a blatant advert for an expensive tripod. You never mentioned the price for good reason I suspect. You are undoubtedly one of the best presenters on the web so I think I was just a little disappointed to watch this. I never ignored what you were saying but I was questioning the integrity of it all. Photography online is plagued by adverts dressing up as reviews. Do you think it is worth this price?
there is NO perfect tripod
A single review is never as good as when you review a number of products together
say 5 tripods form different manufactures and price brackets/
Carbon fibre.... Tripod weight 1.73 KG 3.81Ibs! you got be kidding me. Too expensive too heavy. Less is more ! Jake peters has got a very important point ''
Your demo of the leg extensions didn't look very precise.You have to turn and twist nine separate locks to open and close them...'' I think thats little time consuming.
Quite an advertisement