Anyone used Vanguard Alta Pro Tripod?

[jnelson]

I was killing time this weekend at the Mikes Camera by my house and this tripod caught my eye, it was the Alta Pro model that appeared to be comparable to the Manfrotto 099XPROB and 055XPROB with the removable center column for macro, etc. I actually preferred the way the center column moves around on the Vanguard vs. the Manfrotto and the build quality seemed pretty good. It was priced at $139 and it rated to 15 lbs. This seemed like a pretty good price but i didn't know if anyone has used this brand of tripods, more specifically, their higher end tripods. I did search and found a few threads but they mostly pertained to their lower end models and there was only a handful of less than informative reviews on amazon.


Your help is greatly appreciated.

Here is the link to the vanguard model in question...
PHOTO / VIDEO

[jnelson]

Woah woah woah, easy guys, dont all answer at once.

Ill take that as a "no"

I still realy like the features of the tripod and $135 doesnt seem like a bad price, maybe ill risk it and see how it works, in which case ill write up a review for you all.

Might have to wait til next month though, just bought the Nikon 35mm 1.8.......sweeeeeeeeeeeet!

[Nobie]

I just ordered the Vanguard Alta Pro 264AT after testing about 40 tripods over the last couple of months. I would have chosen the 264CT (carbon fiber instead of aluminum) to drop a little weight, but I vastly prefer flip-lock latches over the twist-lock that the carbon version uses to shed weight.

[jnelson]

I agree, I have heard too many complaints about the twist-lock style. Please let me know how you like the tripod after you receive it and get a chance to play with it a bit.

[Nobie]

Well I have had ample opportunity to play with my Vanguard Alta Pro 264AT. Basically, I love it. I had the money to burn on the carbon/twist-lock version, but after playing with each during countless trips to the store, I still preferred the flip-lock aluminum version...not too mention it's half as much as the carbon and honestly, the weight difference is very subtle. I would recommend the 4 piece like I got though, the collapsed length of the 3 piece is significantly longer...long enough to make it not work with many backbacks without being a nuisance.

I went with the Vanguard SBH-200 head despite originally planning on a Giottos. I found it very solid and am also very happy with that decision as well. My only beef with the entire set up is that the screw for the quickplate on the SBH-200 does not have a thumbscrew doober, so you have to use a quarter as a screwdriver to get a solid, tight connection to the base of your camera.

I highly recommend both.