anyone ever heard of Giotto?

[jann1033]

i was looking at a tripod and a ball head from them that had some different features( and didn't cost 2 arms and a leg) and i found a number of good ratings but haven't heard of them...figuring someone else has ( i have heard of the rocket blower but thinking more along the ball head /tripod ideas)

 

[tinksdad]

I've got the MH1000 ball head, and find it works pretty well. It does have just a tinsy bit of slip at times depending on the angle of the camera and what lens I have on it.

Overall, it's been a great purchase! I do have lust for the Really Right Stuff ballheads thou....... it's going to be awhile before I take that plunge!

 

[fitzperry]

I do have lust for the Really Right Stuff ballheads thou....... it's going to be awhile before I take that plunge!

Lust isn't enough--it would have to keep me warm at night and provide for the kids too, 'cause I have a feeling I'd end up in divorce court if I brought one of those home!

 

[tinksdad]

Ya, I DO know what you mean!!!!

You got to admit, it is REALLY nice stuff!!!

 

[jann1033]

all i gotta say is ..husband was quick to point out how i spent about 3/4 of 1k these past couple weeks on camera stuff ( 70-200 lens plus mono and tripod and head... kind of one of those domino effects ) & most of it was "gift"/contest money but none the less...)I think that head would be the the end of life as i know it

i still want that metz 58 flash but since my hands were shaking with the lens, i figured i should be practical and get the support before i add more weight to the camera i can hardly hold now... and anniversary is only a few months away...

 

[Groucho]

I've got their little $10 mini ball head... it's about what you'd expect for $10... and it would probably not be fair to judge their whole line from it.

I think they're supposed to be decent in general? Not really sure. I don't think they had anything that met what I was looking for when I bought my "good" tripod, so I didn't research too much.

 

[cpbjgc]

I have a Giotto monopod which I really like. It is their midlevel model but I find it has worked really well, is fairly rugged and does not seem to slip at all with my new XTI. Most of the time I used it with my Canon S1 IS, and it was great (and when using it I did not have IS turned on on the camera, as it was usually lowlight, in an audience, and the IS slowed down the focus too much).

When I was looking into the monopod, it appeared that Giotto is more popular outside of the U.S. for some reason.

 

[jann1033]

I have a Giotto monopod which I really like. It is their midlevel model but I find it has worked really well, is fairly rugged and does not seem to slip at all with my new XTI. Most of the time I used it with my Canon S1 IS, and it was great (and when using it I did not have IS turned on on the camera, as it was usually lowlight, in an audience, and the IS slowed down the focus too much).

When I was looking into the monopod, it appeared that Giotto is more popular outside of the U.S. for some reason.

i ended up with a bogen mono and giottos tripod but now kind of wish i had gotten both in giotto as the weight capacity is better ..oh well, it should be ok.

 

[Master Mason]

I spent about double for my mono than I did for the tripod I am using. But I use the mono a couple of times a week, and the tri about once a month maybe. Figure I'll use the tri more at WDW next time I go, or if I can sneak in a DL trip when I have to be in LA next month.

But I shoot mostly sports, so that probably makes sence, at least that's my story.

 

[MICKEY88]

I picked up these 2 heads last year and have been pleased with the performance of both...

http://cgi.ebay.com/PROFESSIONAL-CAMERA-TRIPOD-GRIP-BALL-HEAD-ATH918S_W0QQitemZ200087353005QQcategoryZ30095QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



http://cgi.ebay.com/PROFESSIONAL-CAMERA-TRIPOD-GRIP-ACTION-BALL-HEAD-ATHH93_W0QQitemZ200088820773QQcategoryZ30095QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[jann1033]

they came to day and are really very nice...only thing is i probably should attach a weight to the end hook when i am using my camera with 70-200 on the horizontal arm especially angled downward since the center of gravity would be off, (recommended) and while it stands fine, yikes if it fell..so anyone have any ideas on something good/cheap I could use for a hook weight( probably only needs to be 3-5 lbs or so since whole camera, head and that lens are about 5 lbs+. at first i was thinking of my bag but then thought if it ever fell....could probably make something and fill it with sand but the whole sand/lens thing makes me a little nervous

the bogen/manfrotto monopod was really cheap so i'm shocked it's really very sturdy. only about $10 more than one i saw at walmart and cheaper than all of them at dodd camera( the non wiggle version there was almost $70) and doesn't( bogen) move at all where as the walmart was kind of like attaching the camera to cooked spaghetti
so far thrilled with my purchases....got my repaired repaired 28-135 back as well today.... sigh... 3rd times the charm maybe?