Originally posted by gaweidert I'm glad you like you tripod. I have 3 Vanguard tripods.
1) An Auctus Plus 323CT beast. Got it when they were half off and discontinued. Very solid and a heck of a deal.
2) An ABEO Plus 323AT. Nice medium size tripod I like a lot.
3) An Alta Pro 283CT. I was using it in the house and suddenly the center column would not secure. Looking down I found a small square metal piece that is supposed to be attached to the tightening mechanism. I was able to reinstall it but is is not real secure and can fall out again if I am not careful. Not really sure how to secure it in place as the glue that was used did not work. No problem unless the center column is removed. Then there is enough of a gap for the piece to fall out again. But of course you need to remove the column in order to mount it at an angle. Kind of a bummer, but it is what it is. I just need to be careful if I use that feature. I like all the other aspects of the tripod.
Yeah, I was disappointed with the Vanguard 35 degree twist lock system, because on paper it seemed to be exactly the tripod I wanted for the features it had at a price I could manage. However going through two of the tripods in 2 months was too much (and same fault each time). In other regards the tripod seemed fine, the ball head looked high quality etc, I just lost my will to try for a third...
Australia can be a very restrictive market, Manfrotto seems to dominate the physical stores, and online places (like Pentax for example) have formed alliances with only certain few brands (Vanguard seemingly being one of them). The choice just isn't there, and importing tripods from overseas lose so much value on any special offer once you factor shipping costs and possible customs tax. So we get stuck with what we have and so I took a gamble with this iFootage but thus far it seems to have been a decent purchase. I'm not sure it's worth the $389AUD that it typically runs for, but I paid $311AUD and next day delivery for mine so can't complain too much.