Budget Tripod

[mdaddyrabbit]

I have 80.00 to buy a tripod, I know I wont get much but any reccomendations besides Walmarts?

[robertwgross]

I have 80.00 to buy a tripod, I know I wont get much but any reccomendations besides Walmarts?

You may get some advice if you can describe what kind of photography you do. For example, there are completely different tripods depending on whether you shoot weddings, or shoot closeups of insects. Are you tall, or short? If you take your camera with your heaviest lens, about how much does it weigh? Do you transport your tripod by vehicle, where the weight of the tripod does not matter, or do you have to walk and carry it over long distances. Does the tripod include a head? If so, then ball head or pan-tilt? Do you need a quick release with that? Give us an idea of what you do, and then you may hear some ideas.

---Bob Gross---

[mdaddyrabbit]

The tripod would need to be compatiable with the weight of a 20D 18-55mm and possibly a 70-200mm as soon as the money comes in. I also would need a quick release with pan and tilt. My favorite form of photography is landscape and weather. The only accessories I have now is a shutter release cable.

[snibbetsj]

I have the Slik pro 330 which I like a lot but it's $90. plus s&h. Excellent tripod.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=234289&is=REG

[chtgrubbs]

A good tripod is a long-term investment which will greatly increase the quality of your photographs. A bad tripod is an annoyance which you will eventually just leave at home because it is too much bother for too little gain. I would wait a buy a good tripod when you have the extra funds.. Both Bogen and Slik make good tripods in the $100-125 dollar range which would be considerably better than a sub-$100 tripod.

[MarkoPolo]

Take a look at the Velbon EFS-4 "Chaser" tripod. Very good value for the money. It is my extra light weight tripod I use when I travel by airplane or just want the lighter set up. It is $80. I use the Giottos med ball head ( I think 1002?) for $90. If I win the power ball, I'll go Gitzo Carbon fiber and acratech for my light weight rig! :D

[robertwgross]

If that budget figure holds, then Slik offers some tripod models. One has a quick release built onto the top of its pan-tilt head. Most of them are aluminum. For the gear you expect to use, a Slik model might hold up.

One I'm thinking of costs about $50, but they change their model numbers periodically.

---Bob Gross---

[thomasrhee]

If you can spend just a little bit more, I'd recommend the Slik Pro 700DX. B&H has the legs and head for $130.

If you can't budge on your price point, go with the Slik Pro 330DX which is $40 cheaper.

[Noah]

I have the Vivitar PL200, you could say this is a "wal-mart" tripod because they have a similar (PL300) on their website, but I am quite impressed with the construction. I bought mine off of ebay for $35.00 including shipping and it works great. I would recommend this tripod to anyone.

http://www.vivitar.com/Products/Accy/tripod.html#Tripods

-Noah

[Todd Jacobsen]

Take a look at the Velbon EFS-4 "Chaser" tripod. Very good value for the money. It is my extra light weight tripod I use when I travel by airplane or just want the lighter set up. It is $80. I use the Giottos med ball head ( I think 1002?) for $90. If I win the power ball, I'll go Gitzo Carbon fiber and acratech for my light weight rig! :D


Velbon EFS-4: Good tripod, crappy head. I've got it and use it but difficult to pan since it's one handle for three degrees of freedom.

This is now my backup tripod. It has been very reliable. I just needed another one and got a carbon (Velbon 640).

Why Velbon? I like their QR's and their mounts tend to be shaped for them.

[magicmikey]

You might want to consider this tripod from Amvona: http://www.amvona.com/v7/shop/?page=shop/flypage&category_id=89769b2f73d9d7e940440e867abba4d0&product_id=2054 While it's selling for $99 on their site, they regularly auction tripods on eBay so you might be able to get it in your price range.