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By Matt Spinelli, 7/25/07
Intro
The Manfrotto 190XB, 190XPRO, and 190XDB tripods replace the 3001 series in the US and the 190 series in other places of the world. Please note that in the pictures of this review, the 3001 is the chrome tripod and the new 190XB is the black one. The 190X series tripods share the same overall build and design. The major differences are that the XPRO has a trick center column that when fully extended can swing to a horizontal position for low angle shooting without disassembly and easier overhead photography. The XB and XDB do not have this feature but do have a low angle adapter that is connected to the bottom of the center column and can be removed from the center column and placed into the tripod to serve as a temporary mounting base. The differences between the XDB and the other models are that the XDB has wing-nut leg locks (instead of quick action flip locks) and no leg warmers.
According to Manfrotto's marketing material the company was trying to improve on the classic 3001/190 series tripods and redesigned them to be the 190X series. The newly redesigned tripods are suppose to be lighter weight, slightly more compact, have improved ergonomics of leg angle release mechanism, and have improved quick action leg locks (XPRO and XB). In addition, the XPRO's trick column no longer needs disassembly to achieve horizontal alignment as mentioned.
Background
I recently purchased the 190XB model and will share my experiences with the tripod to help anyone contemplating whether or not to get one of these 190X series pods. First, I would like to mention that the reason I purchased the 190XB was because I thought my old tripod could no longer serve to meet my needs, the classic 3001. The 3001 I own about 10-15 years old. It has taken a beaten but is still very stable and usable. The tripod head that I was using was the Bogen 3029 3-way head. This head probably was on the tripod for the entire time. It didn't have a quick release plate and did not offer the precision and speed of movement that I wanted. This put me in the market for a new head.
I recently purchased an excellent ballhead from Acratech, called the Ultimate Ballhead. When the new tripod head arrived I grabbed my 3001 and tried to remove the old 3-way head. All I should have had to do was remove the three grub screws from the bottom of the center column's mounting base and turn the head counter-clockwise to release. To my frustration, I found that no mater how hard I tried I couldn't remove it. I even bought a strap wrench and still could not. The reason was that not only was the head on extremely tight and had been fixed on for years, but that the mounting base also now turns independently of the center column (this shouldn't happen). With enough force the mounting base (and attached head) could be pulled out of the center column. Apparently the adhesive and/or spacer pressure of the protruding assembly beneath the mounting base to prevent this from happening had lost its bond. This made it virtually impossible to grip the head and mounting base to achieve enough leverage needed to separate the two. Or at least so I thought at the time. At this point I was frustrated and decided to replace the tripod with its current model as the stability and weight of the 3001 served me well for my heaviest photography setup (Canon XT camera with Tamron 17-50 f2.8 lens) and for it's intended use (for photography while hiking, backpacking, and traveling). When my support and intended use needs increase, a sturdier and lighter-material carbon fiber tripod probably will be on my shortlist.
Positive Observations
So this is where the 190XB comes into play. Please keep in mind any comparisons are with a 10-plus year-old tripod. If the 3001/190 has improved/changed since the model I have was made, newer 3001 models may include some of these changes that I am about to mention below.
Upon receiving the legs, I fully expanded them and examined the tripod. The quick action leg locks were nice and easier to use than those on my one-year-old Manfrotto 681B monopod, as well as much easier and quicker than the wing-nut locks on my old 3001. The leg warmers on two of the 190XB's legs are also a nice welcomed featured as they mean that holding the tripod in cold weather will not be as uncomfortable compared to holding a tripod that does not have them. I looked at the center column and its design was improved from the one on the 3001 as it was not completely round, but instead more like an octagon. This means the center column will not rotate once the lock is released. This forces any panning to be done with the head. More than likely, this also means that if the method of bonding the mounting base with the center column were ever to come loose (as in the case with my 3001), that the mounting base probably would not turn independently of the column, although it still could come out nonetheless. Also noteworthy is that the center column is longer than the one on my 3001.
The 190XB had other design features that I liked. I appreciated the ability to remove the center column and use the low angle adapter to do a couple of things. First, this will help in shooting at a low angle as the name implies. The 190XB will get down as low as 3 inches. My 3001 couldn't get anywhere near this low. Second, removing the center column and using the adapter also reduces weight if that is desired. Also worth mentioning is that a tripod not having a center column, and instead only having the mounting base, usually improves stability too. Using the low angle adapter is not exactly the same as a tripod without a center column as the adapter still gets placed inside a clamping mechanism (this clamping mechanism would not be on a tripod made without a center column and thus the stability improvement probably is not the same). The low angle adapter should be viewed more like a mini short column that is not adjustable. I also noticed the angle that the legs adjust to have wider presets than on my 3001. No doubt this was added to allow low angle photography when using the adapter. This also helps in providing more stability as it lowers the center of gravity for the tripod.
Negative Observations
Despite the added features the 190XB has to offer, I found this tripod to be unsatisfactory overall. I mentioned that this newly redesigned tripod is less weight and slightly more compact and this is probably the case compared to more recent 3001/190 series models. Nevertheless some of the additional features add weight and when compared to my 3001 more than likely means compromises have been made. It appears that the primarily compromise was by reducing the amount of aluminum used in the legs. The legs of all sections on the 190XB have a smaller diameter than the corresponding sections on my 3001. See the pictures shown below of the upper (largest) leg section of the two tripods. This helps reduce weight and size of the 190XB when compacted, but it causes stability to suffer. In fact, the strength of the tripod is reduced so much that any of the new designs that may have added some more stability to the tripod fail to make up for the deficiency here. To illustrate this I preformed a simple test on the tripods.
Both the 190XB and the 3001 tripods were setup with legs fully extended, center column not extended, and no head attached. When picking up the 3001 by one leg, holding it in the upper section of a leg, I would then take two of my fingers and thump one of the other legs. The tripod resonated a bit but was only slightly noticeable and lasted a fraction of a second. On the other hand, when picking up the 190XB and performing the same test the tripod vibrated considerably and took about 2 seconds before the resonating was no longer noticeable. I then placed the tripods on the ground and performed the same test while holding one of the legs. The 3001 had no noticeable resonation but the 190XB continued to be a vibration generator resonating almost 1 second.
To me this is unacceptable as I often place my tripod in running water or use it on windy days and the failure to provide sufficient damping of vibrations on the 190XB more than likely would provide less stability in my photography resulting in softer images. This is an Achilles heel for the 190X series, and potentially more recent 3001/190 series tripods if they use the same leg diameters.
Conclusion
The 190XB, and by extension all 190X series Manfrotto tripods offer a lot of features and look good on paper for US $100-150 depending on the model. Unfortunately, the number one most important requirement of a tripod is stability, and this is where this Manfrotto falls short. It has often been said that for any tripod only two out of three of the following things can describe it: inexpensive, stable, and light. Although to some people, $100-150 might sound expensive compared to a tripod bought at Wal-Mart, it is quite inexpensive in the world of photography. I will leave it to you to choose which of the other two descriptors does not portray to the 190XB.
As a side note, I finally figured out a way to separate the Bogen 3029 tripod head from the mounting base of the legs. The metal spacer/bolt assembly that protrudes from the bottom of the mounting base, which normally is bonded to the center column, was the key to removing the head. I pulled the base out of the column with a moderate amount of force, wrapped the metal assembly in plastic grip/antiskid material used to help open cans and for other purposes. Next I took channel locks and griped the assembly. Then I simply unscrewed the head, which still required a lot of force, but at least I was able to remove it.
Now I can continue to use my old 3001 (as long as I don't turn it upside down for fear the mounting base could come out) and return the 190XB. I really should replace my 3001 eventually and plan to do so in the future with a carbon fiber tripod.
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