Good quality tripod

emul

I am going to invest in a good tripod, the aldi one has served well but doesn't allow to get low or reverse the centre column. I need a light tripod (have bad back), something that I could change the head in time to a joystick control. Budget is about €150 - any recommendations for tripods. Living in Cork or ebay an option.

CabanSail

Manfrotto have a good name.

Have a look at their range. You will normally need to select a head seperately.

Check out www.mymemory.co.uk for prices, but be warned that they will not ship outside the UK if it's over 2kg. You may need to order the tripod & head seperately.

sasar

Click here
and then Find Now
That might help you find the right tripod.

houseoffun14

Manfrotto and you will not got to far wrong. I use a Manfrotto 055Pro and wouldn't be with out it.

davmigil

Something from the Manfrotto 190 (XB or similar) range would suit you in that price range. Not too heavy either.

dakar

Hi emul,

You've seen my tripod, it's a Manfrotto 190 as suggested above and I'd say you can't go wrong with it. Mine has the magnesium fibre legs which may be a bit beyond the €150 mark, but the standard aluminium ones should be close enough. They'll still give you all the versability and flexibility of my one you were playing with and still be quite light.

Don't forget you'll need a head too! Something like a Manfrotto 484RC2 would probably be a good start, and should support your kit pretty well. My joystick head is a Manfrotto 222.

emul

I wandered into Sam McCauleys yesterday and found a Slik tripod model Pro 330 AF, with an AF 1100E Head (trigger / joystick type). Unit is nice and light, centre column can be taken out to reverse, and legs can be splayed. Only issue is that there is no "short" centre column, so when the tripod is splayed the centre column ends up quite high. The price is good at €149.

Anybody thoughts on this tripod / Slik in general?

thefizz

Check Barker Photographic in Cork. They sell Manfrotto and would have some you can look at.

ike

I have the Slik Pro 400DX for about a year now (got it for €99.99) and find it does everything I need. Its solid and sturdy, nice foam padding on the legs, the clasps on the legs are nice and secure - as a brand they are quite good probably not as well known as Manfrotto, Gizto, Giotto etc which are all good by the way.

A simple test open up the tripod and extend the legs fully and wrap your hand over the top where the camera goes and give it a good shake, it should feel solid no rattle or shakes etc.

TJM

Another vote for the Slik 400dx. Very good piece of kit for the money. On my one the centre column is in two parts so you can shorten it when splayed / using reversed. Maybe the 330af does the same? It's not obvious from looking at the tripod in the shop as the two pieces screw tightly into each other and unless you look closely it appears to be a single column.

emul

@TJM thanks for the tip, went back and checked and the centre column is two pieces. Now happy owner of tripod (BTW comes with no bag,but fits old tripod bag!!) I did check online / ebay and couldn't find a similiar deal.

Thanks for help - Emul