Any Tripod Recomendation

[Stoneh]

Ive been looking at the Velbon CX640 TRIPOD selling in the uk for £39.99.

Has anyone used this? what do you people use and is what features do i need to look for as I dont want to spend money and decide to upgrade later. Any recommendations?

Regards

[RedShoesGirl]

stoneh wrote:
Ive been looking at the Velbon CX640 TRIPOD selling in the uk for £39.99.

Has anyone used this? what do you people use and is what features do i need to look for as I dont want to spend money and decide to upgrade later. Any recommendations?

Regards

I just bought the Benbo Trekker because of the unique way its legs and center post operate. You can get all the way down to take ground level photos. I also got the ball head that goes with it. B&H

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh2/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=248944&is=REG

Lightweight but very sturdy. It is a little awkward to get used to but I love the way the center post swings out of the way parallel to the ground even!

lara

[GPR1]

You don't say what kind of equipment you're putting on the tripod, and I don't know the exact model you're talking about, but it's fairly inexpensive. If you have fairly heavy equipment (D-SLR and long lenses) you might find the head of that tripod will not hold the weight.

The primary reason you purchase a tripod is to hold your camera still in slow-shutter situations. Stiffness is key. Compare it with other models (eg. more expensive models). Open them both to full working height. Set your equipment upon them. Push down hard with your hand and wiggle them.

If you're purchasing from a camera store with good staff, ask them for a description of the features.

I look for stiffness, weight, ease of operation, durability, and how close to the ground I can get. I recently upgraded to a Manfroto #3444, a carbon-fiber tripod costing almost US $500 without head. You don't have to spend that much. The aluminum Manfroto I owned before cost only US $200, and I sold it back to the camera shop when I upgraded. If you want a better tripod for less money you might haunt camera shops until you find a good used unit.

Just my thoughts, but I'm a gear-head.

[Stoneh]

cheers for the advice people

Its was for a 10D, the tripod was the most sturdy in that price bracket (£50)

Its seems to be doing its job for the lenses I own (28-135 & 75-300)

[PacAce]

stoneh wrote:
Ive been looking at the Velbon CX640 TRIPOD selling in the uk for £39.99.

Has anyone used this? what do you people use and is what features do i need to look for as I dont want to spend money and decide to upgrade later. Any recommendations?

Regards

I've always had a cheap tripod, less than US$100, which I used for both cameras and video camcorders. But it wasn't until I bought the Bogen/Manfrotto 3221 tripod legs and the 486RC2 ball head w/ quick release that I truly appreciated what "solid" and "sturdy" meant in a tripod! It has a removable column so you can taking ground level (actually more like 3 or 4 inches off the ground) pictures with the tripod but I don't think I'll use that feature much...don't like the idea of crawling on the ground, GI-Joe style, to take pictures. :D

The minus is the weight. The head is all metal and the tripod setup is heavier than those using plastic.