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A decent tripod can make all the difference. Not only for those long exposure shots, but also for framing and macro work. I’ve looked around for a while, deciding on a lighter monopod that accompanied me on our vacation to Australia.

The black Manfrotto 680B is useful, but certainly no substitute for a tripod. Any advantage gained by its reduced weight whilst travelling is quickly lost due to lack of proper camera support when the need arises.

Eventually, I made up my mind and splurged on the Manfrotto 055XPROB.

It’s heavy, weighing about 2.4kg, and not much fun to carry around, but once setup it is absolutely stable and offers various configurations and height adjustments. The maximum extension or height the tripod can muster is just under 1.8m and amazingly, the lowest setting is 10cm. That is accomplished in part by the wide spread the supports achieve and a rather ingenious mechanism that permits the central camera support arm to swing from a vertical to a horizontal position. No assembly is required and the configuration is easily modified as required. Heavy duty plastic clips provide easy height adjustment on each leg and an integrated spirit level makes accurate setup possible. The tripod is rated for a maxium weight of 7kg. When collapsed, the 055XPROB is only 65cm long.

None of these monopods or tripods include a head unit. That’s another expense to consider. I pair the 055XPROB with the rather convoluted-looking 804RC2.

Since I don’t intend collecting various heads to suit special purposes, I decided on this multi-functional three-way head, permitting adjustment of all three planes. That suits video work as well as macro photography. The head is very robust, featuring large handles that tighten down properly. It is rated to carry 4kg and provides a quick release bracket that attaches to the camera body, making removal of the camera very easy.

The Manfrotto range is high-quality, though possibly on the expensive side. If you’re looking for a decent tripod/head combination, I can nonetheless highly recommend the above.