cheap tripod for MKII and 70-200 IS

[santa]

I'm going on a wilderness float trip soon. I need a cheap tripod that can be horribly abusd for two weeks. It should just barely handle my camera and lens. I'll use it mostly for group shots around the campfire kind of thing. Most of the day I'll be in a boat on a river shooting hand held. The tripod shots will for the most part be just fun shots with friends. I have a big heavy Bogen and two other vid tripods that I'm not taking. I have a really small, light Cullman that might barely be adequate. I can't throw money at a carbon fiber gitzo at this point although I will get one at some poin. I don't care if the action is smooth or if has good three-d axis control or any of the normal things. It just has to hold the tripod reasonably well, be reasonably light (probably plastic of some sort) and hold the camera securely with a 70-200 f2.8 lens. Any suggestions?

[SnJPhoto]

I understand the predicament, but really.... ~6 grand worth of gear on a "cheap" tripod? Bogen makes a few smaller units that may work for you, but I would really rethink the decision.

Scott

[CyberDyneSystems]

No suggestions.. :(

Wall,mart sells some for dirt cheap ($15.00) .. I'd say the ony safe bet is to go into a store that has these cheapies (Ritz) and see what you'd be wlling to settle for..

JUST BRING A CABLE RELEASE! Otherwise the tripod will be useless.. as it will still "wiggle"

[mikeg]

JUST BRING A CABLE RELEASE! Otherwise the tripod will be useless.. as it will still "wiggle"

Or use the self-timer...

[GenEOS]

I don't undderstand the theory of a "cheap" tripod for 7K worth of gear.
I think the word is "compact". There are numerous compact tripods on the market that will give adequate stability for your monster 1DMKII.

Or Wal-Mart sells a $19.95 version, that is flimsy as hell. It's cheap though.