Tripod Help

[BullseyePrecision]

Alright I got my first camera right before Christmas. I have no gear or accessories. I have been looking at tripods but have no idea what is good and what isn't. I would like one that can do about anything. Easy to travel with fit in a pack or on the outside, easy to manipulate. Would like to get the price under 150 dollars.

[HDNitehawk]

With all things you get what you pay for.
My first tripod cost right at $200. I still have it and use it for holding lights and such. The lock that holds the angle on the leg broke after 2 years.
I have since used Gitzo tripods and have had two for 6 years or so. Both are holding up well.
Gitzo and Really Right Stuff are top shelf but your starting at $500.

I have no first hand experience with them but manfrotto seems to be recommenced often.
This one seems in that range but is light. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...on_tripod.html
You should be getting one that holds the weight of your equipment several times over.
When looking for new equipment one of the things I do is go to B&H and read the most negative reviews rather than the good reviews. It can give you an idea if you found a good one for the money.

I would stay away from aluminum and go with carbon fiber.

[Kayaker72]

I would also make sure that you consider the three common aspects to a "tripod."

These are:

1. The "legs"
2. Some sort of head, usually a ballhead
3. The plate that allows you to connect your camera to the head.

You might get something that is a reasonable combination of the three for ~$150. The quality lower cost brands tend to include Manfrotto, Induro, and Sirui. Different people on the forum have used and tend to say good things about those brands. If you want something very portable and your camera gear is not too heavy, I would even consider a joby gorillapod. I still use mine now and again.

But, I have to agree with Rick (HDNitehawk). I would tend to favor spending more than $150 and getting something that is carbon fiber. I did a bunch of research a few years ago and ended up with Really Right Stuff plates and case, Markins traveling ballhead, and a Gitzo traveling legs. I did start a thread and, as usual, learned a lot over the course of the thread.

I think this is still a very good read on the subject:
http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

[Joel Eade]

I would not skimp too much here as you risk the problem of buying something you have to replace soon and end up spending more than if you had purchased a better item to begin with.

That being said this looks like a nice one .......

http://www.adorama.com/3PP3AORK1.html

[Sean Setters]

Some of the information in this article is a bit outdated at this point, but the premise is still solid:

http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

The point that Thom makes is – buy the tripod that will cover your needs for years to come the first time instead of buying inexpensive sticks only to replace it them a short period of time.

For what it's worth, I started out with a $200.00 Induro alloy (aluminum) tripod and a low-range ball head and "used" the combo for several years. However, the kit was heavy, the Manfrotto RC2 QR system was not great and the ball head was sticky so I actually avoided using the tripod more often than not After upgrading to a solid carbon fiber tripod with a high end ball head and Arca-compatible QR clamps and plates, I use the support all the time.

Do yourself a favor. Research the gear to figure out what you need. Don't skimp. Save the money and make the right purchase the first time around. You'll end up saving money in the long run.

[peety3]

I was just about to post the same link that Sean posted. I can echo exactly what's said in that article, and I'm very thankful that my wife is into photography, as it gives me an outlet for the hand-me-downs (along with my crazy habits of remote cameras, etc.). I started with the $75 camera store special: aluminum legs with those annoying braces off the center post, geared center post, pan/tilt head with no rigidity, and proprietary clamp/plate system. Garbage. It's in our storage unit for a year, then I'll re-gift it to someone. Several years ago, my wife decided to get me a tripod & head for Christmas, so she called up LensRentals and asked what I'd rented. Based on that, she got me a set of Manfrotto 055CXPRO4 legs (lever latch, four-section legs, goofy center column that can go horizontal but isn't all that stiff in any position) and let me choose a ballhead (so I picked the Markins Q3). That was probably $800 or so, plus another $200+ in additional plates for cameras and collared lenses that I took care of. In July, I was ready to move up, and knew I'd be renting a 600/4 for a cruise, so I got the RRS TVC-34L legs with the leveling base, plus a Wimberley head. I took the old tripod for her to use, but I'm not sure it saw any use. I'll keep it for remote cameras and such, but wouldn't ever grab it first having bought the RRS legs. (I don't anticipate she wants to deal WITHOUT a center column though, so she'll "enjoy" the old tripod for a long time to come.)

[Busted Knuckles]

I too have walked through the cheap to end up at the better. However, there is some practicality that seeps in here. This is your first camera (of hopefully many) and there are different uses and options to consider.

If you are a hiking type and plan to be packing the tripod for days at a time, certainly weight comes into the equation and you may need to use a smaller/lighter for the sake of even having a tripod vs. leaving it at home. Studio work is perhaps the polar opposite. If you are the studio the weight/strength etc become just a joy to work with vs. nudging the tripod and it topples over.

I have 3 regular tripods and a little table top.

The smallest, and least stable is for those really long walks and the photo will be incidental. It can carry the load of my 5d3 and 70-200 w/o too much fuss. I strap my backpack to the legs to give it stability and a bit of rigidity. It was less than $100 if memory serves me. An inexpensive ebay carbon fiber model.

Next up is a pretty stout tripod, about $200 certainly carries the load of everything I have and wouldn't think twice about taking it along on an overnight, etc - but not a multi night effort.

The "big boy" has legs in the 2" diameter range and I bet I could sling a seat under it and it would hold my more than needed weight. It is the one I reach for most often, it is a 3 section, flip lock beast - Would only take it on an overnight if photo was the goal of the overnight. Day trips - every time.

Now the head.

This is where quality really starts to show. I have two primary heads - a mid priced ball head w/ a pano base that is used 50% of the time. It is "over sized" for the little tripod but having a good head is soooo much faster than reframing wiggle and fiddle every shot w/ a cheap head that sags, etc. The other head is a comically large Really Right Stuff Pano/Gimbal head - LOVE IT - but ooof it was a lot of money and really giant overkill for anything other than my longest lenses or a very deliberate multi frame pano (my largest to date was a 202 frame set taken w/ a rented 5DsR - yea the computer was choking).

If you can - go w/ a head leg set in the $500-600 range and you will likely be happy for quite awhile on weekend/day trips, etc. You can cheap ebay for something between 100 and 200 and in 6 months be bashing an unfortunate tree with it. But you will have experienced the fiddle wiggle of a poor head and really appreciate the better ball head that is intrinsic in the better set up and have gotten 6 months of use. If it is a really small and light model (mine was) then it can go into the backpacking role.

I