Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 supplied courtesy of Bogen Imaging
Check out the Birdfroum - Bogen Competition
http://www.bogenimaging.co.uk/bfcontest
This carbon fibre legset is aimed at the birder or photographer who requires something extremely lightweight to support their spotting scope or photography equipment, but with a rugged build that will endure many years of use.
As for height at full leg extension but without use of the centre column, it reaches 122cm, which doesn't sound too impressive but your tripod head is likely to add extra height and for birders with angled scopes, that should be enough height for most (certainly myself at 6ft 4inch). The centre column will raise the tripod base plate to 146cm, but at a loss of stability.
Weighing in at 1.3kg, it is certainly an extremely lightweight legset, nobody can argue with that. The build quality is very impressive, with no shortage of magnesium alloy being used in the areas that need it. There are no plasticky leg locks on the 190CXPRO4, they are tough units and do not appear to be a weak link as they sometimes can be. However, I'll have to state that my preference is for twist leg locks rather than clips... some clips can make an unfortunate amount of noise for those observing nature, but the action of the locks on the 190CXPRO4 was quite soft and quiet.
For the photographer, this legset offers some nice touches such as the easy to view built-in spirit level and the Manfrotto Q90°system for rapidly putting the centre column into a horizontal position, eg handy for macro work.
The 190CXPRO4 offers 4 different leg angles, ultimately getting you down to less than 10cm if you use the horizontal centre column option. I didn't find the mechanism for adjusting the leg angles to give much positive feel to let you know when you were at one of the set angles, but it could be something you get used to quite quickly.
The base plate that you affix your tripod head onto is quite wide in diameter and offers 3 Allen type grub screws to screw into any appropriate recesses on the head, to secure it without fear of any rotation.
The maximum load stated for this legset is 5kg (11lb) and getting to this level of weight would help stability but I'd be happier sticking to 2-3kg. The bottoms leg sections do look perilously thin, but it has to be said that I am used to the very strongest legsets, which are designed for far greater loads... from a birding and light photography perspective, the 190CXPRO4 will easily cope.
As a birding legset, it does the job admirably, it was a surprisingly stable platform for 85mm spotting scope. Initially from visuals, I didn't have too much faith in the rigidity.
Yes, you can get more stable legsets but from a birding viewpoint with weight being a big factor, this is a pretty good choice.
Specifications:
closed length: 50.0 cm
minimum height: 8.0 cm
maximum height: 146.0 cm
maximum height (with center column down): 122.0 cm
weight: 1.3 kg
load capacity: 5.0 kg
color: black
patent: patented
material: carbon fiber tubing + magnesium castings
leg cross section: round
column cross section: three-faceted
leg sections: 4
bubble spirit level (no): 1
leg angles: 25°,46°,66°,89°
center column: rapid
section center column: 1
column tube diameter: 25mm
attachment (top): 3/8'' screw
legs tube diameter: 24,8 , 20,4 , 16 , 11,6 mm
Check out the Birdfroum - Bogen Competition
http://www.bogenimaging.co.uk/bfcontest
This carbon fibre legset is aimed at the birder or photographer who requires something extremely lightweight to support their spotting scope or photography equipment, but with a rugged build that will endure many years of use.
As for height at full leg extension but without use of the centre column, it reaches 122cm, which doesn't sound too impressive but your tripod head is likely to add extra height and for birders with angled scopes, that should be enough height for most (certainly myself at 6ft 4inch). The centre column will raise the tripod base plate to 146cm, but at a loss of stability.
Weighing in at 1.3kg, it is certainly an extremely lightweight legset, nobody can argue with that. The build quality is very impressive, with no shortage of magnesium alloy being used in the areas that need it. There are no plasticky leg locks on the 190CXPRO4, they are tough units and do not appear to be a weak link as they sometimes can be. However, I'll have to state that my preference is for twist leg locks rather than clips... some clips can make an unfortunate amount of noise for those observing nature, but the action of the locks on the 190CXPRO4 was quite soft and quiet.
For the photographer, this legset offers some nice touches such as the easy to view built-in spirit level and the Manfrotto Q90°system for rapidly putting the centre column into a horizontal position, eg handy for macro work.
The 190CXPRO4 offers 4 different leg angles, ultimately getting you down to less than 10cm if you use the horizontal centre column option. I didn't find the mechanism for adjusting the leg angles to give much positive feel to let you know when you were at one of the set angles, but it could be something you get used to quite quickly.
The base plate that you affix your tripod head onto is quite wide in diameter and offers 3 Allen type grub screws to screw into any appropriate recesses on the head, to secure it without fear of any rotation.
The maximum load stated for this legset is 5kg (11lb) and getting to this level of weight would help stability but I'd be happier sticking to 2-3kg. The bottoms leg sections do look perilously thin, but it has to be said that I am used to the very strongest legsets, which are designed for far greater loads... from a birding and light photography perspective, the 190CXPRO4 will easily cope.
As a birding legset, it does the job admirably, it was a surprisingly stable platform for 85mm spotting scope. Initially from visuals, I didn't have too much faith in the rigidity.
Yes, you can get more stable legsets but from a birding viewpoint with weight being a big factor, this is a pretty good choice.
Specifications:
closed length: 50.0 cm
minimum height: 8.0 cm
maximum height: 146.0 cm
maximum height (with center column down): 122.0 cm
weight: 1.3 kg
load capacity: 5.0 kg
color: black
patent: patented
material: carbon fiber tubing + magnesium castings
leg cross section: round
column cross section: three-faceted
leg sections: 4
bubble spirit level (no): 1
leg angles: 25°,46°,66°,89°
center column: rapid
section center column: 1
column tube diameter: 25mm
attachment (top): 3/8'' screw
legs tube diameter: 24,8 , 20,4 , 16 , 11,6 mm
