Manfrotto Triaut 058b Tripod Argenté

I was gifted this superb piece of kit over 40 years ago I used it with my super 8mm movie camera and got great results.It is very easy to use making sure the three internal fasteners are loose you place the tripod to your chosen location press the nylon levers and the legs drop down and if one part is lower/higher than the rest it does not matter glancing at the leveller once set just let go and all legs are locked in ,simple, all thats left is to fasten the internals and your set with a rock steady tripod, my only gripe is this item is very heavy!

I use this for Studio and some location work along with the manfrotto 410 geared head. It is rock solid and the leg release system is just magic to use, no more up and down unscrewing each leg to get the right balance. Also to compliment the adjustability and probably one of the main features of this tripod is the geared centre column absolutely essential to fine tune angle and height when shooting product.

I bought one of these many years ago and found it exceptional. Quite possibly the most stable tripod I have ever used, but I sold it. Not because of any fault at all, but simply as I am a landscaper and this is just so heavy to cart around the hills. If it were lighter [that can't happen] or my wife becomes more tolerant of what I carry [that won't happen!] then I will stick to my 055 carbon. Perhaps worth pointing out is that I use a DSLR with my 055 and I used a Mamiya RZ67 with the Triaut.

I bought a Manfrotto 058 with an 029 head at the Norwich Camera Centre 30 years ago, and I still have it, still use it, and it works perfectly. The only thing I have done is squirt some WD-40 at it after hosing it down because it has been in the sea. And changed the head for a 410. Big, heavy, solid, reliable, very adjustable, cracking piece of kit.

A tripod is for stability and being rock solid. They don't come better than this and despite the weight, I use mine in the field a lot. In fact I prefer it to any of the flimsy so called lightweight solutions. Not one for trekking, but a real studio quality podium on which you can be assured of stability. Its still light enough to carry around in its bag for an evening if you really care about getting pin sharp Pro images.