Manfrotto 529 Hi Hat with 100mm Bowl

I buy this thing as a tabletop tripod for macro photography. It's heavy enough for balancing the total center of gravity of the camera-rail set back to a central axis of the tripod so I don't need to worry about the camera set would tilt and fall inadvertently. The reasons I don't give five stars are as follows. 1. The leg can only be oriented and positioned on a single angle so it's impossible to adjust a height of the camera set on this tripod; and 2. The bottom rubber pad on the leg is attached by an adhesive instead of screws and under such high weight of this tripod it is expected that the rubber pad will be torn, deformed, and detached away very quickly, and replacement parts these rubber pads would be another issue. It's undoubtedly a very good tabletop tripod but Manfrotto should modify this product.

Pretty nice little hi-hat, not much else to say. I use it to get the low angle shots that my sticks just won't get to. Using this with the 75mm adapter for a 502 head, and a DSLR rig. Works perfectly for this application. I liked that the 529 was heavier than the Manfrotto alternative, as it helps with stability. If you're planning on a lot of movement, though, you'll likely want to screw it down to a pancake/apple box/etc. Two things to be aware of: 1: The leg latches are sticky. Not sure if it's just my sample, but they don't seem to be spring loaded. So I have to find the preset notches on my own, and physically push the locks into place. Slightly annoying but not huge. 2: Even with the 319SH shorty handle, you're not going to get this thing much lower that it appears in the photo. Build quality is the usual Manfrotto standard: solid.

It does exactly what you think it would do, but it is way heavier than I had expected. I guess that is for stability, but it would be nice if it was a bit lighter.

This is the perfect Hi-Hat. I can be on my 509 sticks, simply screw off the head and transfer it on to the Hi-Hat extremely fast. Would buy again and again.