A new pair of legs maybe?

I tend to take photos of stuff that doens't move much, so I pretty much always use a tripod and have always recommended to people that they get one and a decent head.

Recently I got a new pair of legs, the old ones needed a good over haul and the parts alone were pretty pricey so I decided on an upgrade.

I decided to go for the Manfrotto 055 Xpro legs, these were hot off the press with a swanky new centre column arrangement that allows you to take the column from vertical to horizontal in one swift move.

Now this may seem a little OTT for most people's use - how often have you needed to go horizontal? Be honest? ever?

Well for me, I need to get really low with my shots - part of my style is to have a sweeping forground that leads you into the shot. I often have the camera around 6 inches off the floor to catch reflections in the puddles or to get the composition I'm after.

When the column's vertical, the lowest you can get is around 18 inches, so I now just flip the thing sideways and the legs go flat to the floor.

Would I recommend it over the cheaper 055 PRO?

Yes - but only if you do low shots or Macro.

For macro you could benefit by the horizontal movement getting you in closer to the subject I guess.

But if you're a straight down the line "shoot from standing up" kind of photographer, just get the normal one.