Tripod or not

mikeanywhere

I could do with a tripod but have no idea which ones are good or not to touch with a barge pole. As a guidline I am after something that means not having to sell my car to finance.

Thoughts and advice would be great!!

FinoBlad

mikeanywhere wrote:

I could do with a tripod but have no idea which ones are good or not to touch with a barge pole. As a guidline I am after something that means not having to sell my car to finance.

Thoughts and advice would be great!!

The worst thing you can do is buy a really cheap tripod. A bit of research into the different models and some shopping around and checking used tripods would be worth it.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is what type of photography will you do with this tripod and what equipment do you use now and will aquire in the medium term future. A more specific recomendation could be made if you post that info and your max budget.

Roen

Yep gotta agree with Fino.
It all very much depends on what type of photography you'll be mainly up to.
As for makes you wont go wrong with Manfrotto, Gitzo or Silk.
But whatever you do don't buy a cheap one as you'll only end up disappointed and replacing it in the future, thereby making it a false economy.

ircoha

agree with others 100% re quality
U need to distinguish between one for video or stills.
Ideally u should be able to stand looking through the lense without too much of the central adjustable column thiny being up as it is less stable, particularly in any wind.
so try it in shop

rymus

Only posting to say I agree with the above. Recently (finally) got a good tripod, my last one was a cheap thing from Argos. It's amazing how much steadier, adjustable and overall useful it is. My old one used to drive me crazy changing orientation from landscape to portrait... untill eventually it broke.

No need to go utterly bonkers money wise, but get something good enough that it will last a while.

Fenster

I have a Silk travel tripod and its a marvel - small, solid and rock-steady. My only gripe is that the spirit level is on the head.

mikeanywhere

Thanks for the info so far.

I am defo doing photography rather than video. I'm heading over to the UK next weekend so will be checking out whats available and from who.

Just out of interest, I understand and agree regarding the not buying cheap situation but what would be regarded as a decent price for a tripod, are we talking hundreds?

Fenster

My tripod set me back 85 euros in the Galway Camera Store, but then again they merely exist to rip off tourists. I daresay you could find it a little cheaper elsewhere.

Fajitas!

I hate/despise/will do anything not to carry a tripod, but at the end of the day they're worth the investment. Spend a few bob on something that will last, or at least get a decent head for it.

Roen

€360 for my legs and head and center column, then again they're carbon fiber as I do long distance hikes and climbs and need to keep the weight down.
I took a gamble on This Crowd. Probably the worst website ever, but I was amazed at the quality of the equipment. Just goes to show you can't judge a book by it's cover
I had a couple of Manfrottos over the years and this lad is every bit as stable but at half the weight.

311

I bought a new manfrotto head at the weekend and I think i'll buy a new tripod aswell now ,so I might have a manfrotto tripod with head for sale.
The tripod is a manfrotto 190 and the head is a 141RC .
Still have the boxes from both and the receipt which is less than a year old.
If you think you might be interested I can find out what ebay is getting for the set ,they were sold as a basic manfrotto set ,good and solid.I just upgraded the head to a quick release ball head .

JMcL

Roen wrote:

€360 for my legs and head and center column, then again they're carbon fiber as I do long distance hikes and climbs and need to keep the weight down.
I took a gamble on This Crowd. Probably the worst website ever, but I was amazed at the quality of the equipment. Just goes to show you can't judge a book by it's cover
I had a couple of Manfrottos over the years and this lad is every bit as stable but at half the weight.

Cool. I've been tempted by Feisol for a while. How long did delivery take, and did you get hit for duty/VAT? I was trying to figure out a while ago how much duty a tripod would attract here, but my head almost exploded from boredom from going through the very long list of items on the revenue website and their respective duty rates. Surprise, surprise, they didn't list tripods.

Roen

Lol so I wasn't the only one tempted by the terrible English on their website
Delivery took one week and was $46, I included that in the price I posted. You have to add that separately via their PayPal interface.
I got the CT-3301N with center column kit and the CB-50H head with the quick release plate (also separately)
You're based in Waterford I think so if you want to take it for a test drive just give me a shout.
I didn't get hit with VAT or tax or anyof that carry on. Don't know what will happen anybody else though, Maybe I just got lucky.

311

The 190 manfrotto tripod I have is 1.7 Kgs ,looks less than any of the fiesol ones .

Roen

_Brian_ wrote:

The 190 manfrotto tripod I have is 1.7 Kgs ,looks less than any of the fiesol ones .

1.2kg for mine with column, 1.4kg

mikeanywhere

Great stuff here for me lads, really appreciate the info so far

JMcL

Roen wrote:

Lol so I wasn't the only one tempted by the terrible English on their website

The website is a bit horrible alright, if they didn't have a very good reputation, you'd run a mile.

I got the CT-3301N with center column kit and the CB-50H head with the quick release plate (also separately)
You're based in Waterford I think so if you want to take it for a test drive just give me a shout.

Yeah, that'd be really cool, thanks! I probably won't be able to take you up on it this week, but I'll PM you next week if that's ok.

Roen

No bother. I'm bad at noticing them so be patient!

mikeanywhere

Why would you buy a different head when you obviously spend a fair bit of cash on the tripod in the fist place. What would one head have over another??

JMcL

mikeanywhere wrote:

Why would you buy a different head when you obviously spend a fair bit of cash on the tripod in the fist place. What would one head have over another??

When you get beyond the cheapie tripods, the heads are separate. Midrange ones usually come with one included, more expensive models you buy the legs and head separately. The reason you'd want to change is that what you have might not suit. The head _Brian_ refers to (the Manfrotto 141RC) is I think a pan/tilt type, but for example ball heads are generally much easier to deal with for still cameras, trying to get horizons level is the best example - with pan/tilt this involves loads of fiddling around with leg heights etc.

311

The head I got is a quick release 322RC2 ,I grab hold of it and move it ,let it go and it stays put.

Manfrotto stuff will last a lifetime ,so it's an investment .

Roen

mikeanywhere wrote:

Why would you buy a different head when you obviously spend a fair bit of cash on the tripod in the fist place. What would one head have over another??

Yep, higher end stuff comes legs only, you gotta buy a head separately. One of the mid range Manfrottos are prob what you're after as you'll get a head with it. I think the head I got was pretty much the same price as the legs.

mikeanywhere

I was looking at the site where I got my camera and bits from and they defo have a huge range of products available. Mind, the price range is just as big too.

Am defo going to have to spend a few bob on a decent tripod and once I have one I'll let you have the pleasure of knowing what I fonally got.

mloc

i have a manfrotto #055 with a ball head. its a bit old now, it was a pro model but it's not the lightest... wouldn't mind getting something a bit lighter.

JMcL

mikeanywhere wrote:

I was looking at the site where I got my camera and bits from and they defo have a huge range of products available. Mind, the price range is just as big too.

Am defo going to have to spend a few bob on a decent tripod and once I have one I'll let you have the pleasure of knowing what I fonally got.

Manfrotto have probably the best range in terms of quality, affordability (from reasonable to expensive), and availability.

At the moment I have a Velbon Sherpa which I'm not happy with. It's not as solid as I'd like it, and has rubber ends to the legs, one of which came off in a river, which Velbon replaced, and another came off about a month later when the leg sank a little bit into some soft earth, and no amount of digging could turn it up.

All this to say that take your time when choosing, and make sure you get something which will fit your needs, or you'll end up replacing it sooner rather than later. Oh, and avoid Velbon!