Are all table top tripods crap for DSLR use?

[Kadath]

Title pretty much says it all... I was reading a thread on another forum where they asked what the most useless photo related thing people ever bought was, and 4-5 people said the table top tripod....

It sounds like it would be useful to me, but if it cant handle the weight of an SLR I guess I can see where it would be pointless...

Sam

[Jon]

Depends on how you use it - If you want it to hold the camera up, it's a waste. If you want it to help you hold the camera steady, it can help. It's like a monopod that way. I keep an Ultrapod II in my bag for help bracing against trees, rails, rocks, or whatever may be around. I'd never try using it for self-portraiture (leaving aside the impact of that subject on the health of my lenses!) with anything bigger than a Powershot A- series.

[sGu]

it'll hold camera body, it'll crash it if you wanna use the body with lens mounted.

[elbirth]

yeah, I have a table top tripod that just completely topples over if I try to let my 20D sit on it with no support from me. I agree with Jon, though, I still use it sometimes to help keep the camera steady when taking a picture, if I'm close enough to something at the proper height I can rest it on.

[Kadath]

Sounds like a real market opportunity for someone... Thanks for the info.

Sam

[abel]

i use a table top tripod... i finally found one that i could not do without...

http://www.nitrocross.com/images/pad/2004-06-Jun/24jun04a.jpg

its a Manfrotto 3007 mini tripod with a 482 mini ball head attached. It ran about $40 but this thing is VERY slick. The legs spread out far enough to keep my camera balanced and the ball head is nice to have in order to get the right angle I'm looking for.

i use it for low angle shots where i need to use my angle finder in order to look down into the viewfinder etc...

[Jim_T]

I've got one.. I carry it in my camera bag If I come across an interesting night shot, I can plunk the tripod on top of my car or on a fence or bench and take time exposures.

You can get the same effect with a small bean bag or sand bag. I've even used my camera bag to hold the camera steady in a pinch...

[yenoram]

I have the same table-top tripod as Abel and it's very solid for its size (made of metal and not flimsy plastic).

[Kadath]

kick ass, thanks!

Sam

[DaveG]

Title pretty much says it all... I was reading a thread on another forum where they asked what the most useless photo related thing people ever bought was, and 4-5 people said the table top tripod....

It sounds like it would be useful to me, but if it cant handle the weight of an SLR I guess I can see where it would be pointless...

Sam

I have a pair of Minolta Table top tripods. I'm pretty sure that they aren't made anymore and I'd be really surprised to find out that they were made by Minolta. I suspect someone else made them and sold them through licence.

They are very similar to the Leitz table top tripod and all things considered a knock off of that. They also are very good. The small ball head is quite robust and the legs are made of metal, probably aluminum. A very solid small tripod that folds up into a shape that looks like a gun. As such they get packed in my luggage when I get on an airplane!

As a tripod I use them rarely but when I need to be down on my hands an knees doing macro work in the field then they the tool for the job.

What they get used for mostly is as a mini light stand. I've placed a third 420EX flash on one to use it as an accent light with the Canon Wireless TTL system and I can place it on a book shelf or behind the subject (sort of). They don't replace a "real" tripod or even a real lightstand, but they do fill a need.

[mdude85]

for taking shots really low to the ground, such a thing can be useful.

[Mikelite80]

I've been using a Velbon mini-F and I love it! It may not be consided talbe top, but it is small and compact. The legs not only extend in lengh, the can also spread out farther. Sounds funky till you see it. But very stable. I have no problem using it with my 70-200 2.8

Mike

[Kadath]

for taking shots really low to the ground, such a thing can be useful.

That part I never doubted. I only doubted their ability to actually perform as advertised with a heavy SLR and lens combo vs. the assumed performance with a lightweight digicam.

Sam

[DaveG]

for taking shots really low to the ground, such a thing can be useful.

That part I never doubted. I only doubted their ability to actually perform as advertised with a heavy SLR and lens combo vs. the assumed performance with a lightweight digicam.

Sam

If I was going to dismiss a product as useless I would have to start by asking what its designers had in mind when they developed it. I'm sure my Minolta tabletop tripod would make terrible screwdriver, but the designers didn't design it for that. It would also make a bad tripod if I was trying to use it at eye level. Now if it didn't function well on the table or ground, then fair enough, it's terrible; and there are any number of bad mini-tripods out there.

But it's funny how this product seems to be OK when it get used for what it was designed.

[Kadath]

It's right there in the title of this thread. DSLR use. =) As I said, I dont own one yet, and I am going by OTHERS opinions of the equipment. They found them lacking for this use.

People in this thread have pointed out a combination of minilegs and head that they feel work well given the paramaters of weight involved. I will surely be checking it out.

Sam

[PaulB]

Why specify DSLR use only though?
Sloppy question which could show that you have not yet decided if you personally really need a table-top support..............