Your Opinion on Tripods - Bescor TH- 770 vs. Matthews TH- M20 tripods

[Cuauhtzin]

Anybody own/use either of these? What are your opinions?

I made the mistake of buying a $30 Velbon "Fluid" Head about 6 months ago. I've never been really happy with it. It seems like it's never level and the pans usually stick. I need to get something that works better.

I like the fact that both of these have the ability to adjust the level on uneven surfaces and both look like the legs take up less room than my current set up of Slik 700DX legs.

I'm almost 100% sure I'm going to go with one of these tripods. You guys think it will be better than my current set up? Worth the $150? Both are pretty much the same price.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...0_High_Performance_Tripod.html#specifications

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/502679-REG/Matthews_M_25.html#features

 

[deltoidjohn]

I've had the Libec TH-650, which is basically the same tripod sold by another company, for over 2 years now, and it's still going strong. It's awesome value for the money - on par with some of the Manfrotto's which cost 2-3x as much.

The head is not great, but it's definitely workable and I've used it for plenty of weddings without a single hiccup. I'll be upgrading my tripod soon, probably to a Miller Solo, but I'll keep the Libec for filming surfing (salt and sand don't mix well with tripods!) and other times when I want to give my tripod a good flogging without worrying about damaging a $2000 piece of kit.