Light, portable tripod

[FScott]

Hi all. I have more tripod questions but what I need is a little different than the previous tripod thread. What I need is a light portable tripod I can take traveling. I'm off to Asia and don't want to carry a heavy tripod but I need more than a monopod. This will be for landscapes. I would like it to be very light and of course not expensive. $100 would be good. It will need to hold a 20D + 70-200 4.0L. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[DocFrankenstein]

I think the budget is unrealistic... you can buy a plastic cheapie, but it's gonna be flimsy.

If you start looking at carbon fiber tripods and light heads... you need like 500-600 bucks.

[rubberchickenguy]

Agreed. Unless you find used. I travel with a Manfrotto 190 and a ball head. Have had no problem with it as a carry on, and lugging it around is not a grossly unpleasant experience. In reality, FScott, i think if you want to shoot with a 20D and a 70-200 you need a decent tripod - anything less than the size of a 190 is likely pointless. My last trip to Paris i looked into smaller tripod and it's a question of size vs. weight vs. cost - pick two. Hope this helps. Remember - once you get home and have cards full of images with blur you'll wish you had either spent more money or lugged a bigger piece of kit with you.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Bogen 3001

[cheme]

I purchased a slik pro 400dx tripod ($110) the last time i was at B&H. The salesman said that it would be able to support my 20D + 70-200 f/4 L and up to a 100-400 L. I've used it a couple times with the 70-200 L and haven't had any trouble. It's a tad on the heavy side, but it's not too bad to travel with.

[FScott]

Both the Slik 400 dx and the Bogen 3001 look like a good fit for what I need. The Bogen is a little lighter (and a little more expensive) but comes in many different configurations. Can someone help me sort them out? I understand that the heads come in pan and tilt and ball configurations. I've never used a ball-head so I don't know what I'm missing. Also even within those two categories, B&H has 5 pages of the 3001 with different head configurations. Help? Thanks!

[SkipD]

A small ballhead will give you a more easily carried package. Bogen's 486RC2 is what I use presently, but I am going to use that on a monopod and get a 488RC2 for the tripod because it has the ability to pan around (in a horizontal circle) without loosening the ball and thus changing alignment.

I prefer the Bogen 3021 legs to the 3001 because of a couple of feature differences. The main one that I like is the center column that can be mounted horizontally for some very different applications such as supporting your camera over a wall or supporting the camera looking straight down.

[nater]

This review addresses your question:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/VEL/VEL.HTM
I bought one off ebay last year, and I like it. But I don't know how much weight it is rated for, and I haven't used it yet with my SLR setup. So I can't promise that it will hold your 20D and 70-200.

[lostdoggy]

I was shopping for a head for my monopod yesterday and came across the same dilemma as you a support capable of supporting a 20D and 70-200 lens. The combination weights over 5.6lbs, that is something to consider. The Bogen 3001 weights about 5.5lbs, the 3427 3D head, the lightest, weights slightly less then 1lb, with most ball head weighting around 1/2lb and up. Any carbon legs will be 2lb less. So, the consideration would be either carry 6lbs for non carbon or 4lbs for carbon. This is for a decent set of legs. Again you could go with the cheapy $10 job.

[Timm]

I have a Giottos P-Pod for when I don't want to carry a full tripod rig.

$80 from B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=318592&is=REG) + shipping.

The tilt head has a basic quick release built in, there's 3 'feet' in the base to make it self standing and two can be attached to the neck for low level usage.

The only downsides I can see are the need for level ground to use it free standing and its 2.2kg weight if you're trying to travel really light.