Tripod/Head recommendation $100-$150

[arondee]

Hey everyone,

I've rarely ever shoot on a tripod so I know very little about them. For the most part I do amateur portraits with a a handful of strobes and I'm always shooting hand-held. I rarely ever shoot landscapes. I want to pick up a tripod and a remote so that I can do more portraits of myself and my family without having another person behind the lens. My heaviest combo is the 50d w/grip, a 70-200 f4 lens, and there may be a 430ex II on the camera which is a total weight of about 5.5 pounds.

I want to find a tripod/head combo that will hold all my gear without tipping over. I don't have a tripod collar for the 70-200 so with that lens attached the whole setup is a little front heavy. Can anyone recommend a setup for me in the $100 - $150 range?

[Koui]

I bought THIS (http://www.buy.com/prod/davis-sanford-provista-tripod-with-f12-head/q/loc/111/210255524.html) 10lb beast delivered for $109.20 after Bing cashback. It should handle your 50D, 70-200, and other gear just fine. Has a fluid head for video use as well.

[arondee]

Cool thanks for the recommendation. Do you think it is strong enough to hold my setup in a portrait orientation?

[soze]

For that price range, a lot of people like the Slik 700DX Pro tripod.

Here's one with the legs and a pan/tilt head for $140
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131427-REG/Slik_615_315_Pro_700DX_Tripod_with.html

I was considering these legs, but I ended up going with the popular, but expensive Manfrotto 498RC2 head + 055XProB tripod combo.

[Koui]

Cool thanks for the recommendation. Do you think it is strong enough to hold my setup in a portrait orientation?
I don't have any problems setup for portrait with my config. I think the weight of my 17-55 and your 70-200 is close to the same.

BTW, the seller on buy.com also sells that tripod on eBay. With Bing and Mr Rebates the total would be $104.40.

[plasticmotif]

Koui, that's looks like a video tripod. It's huge.

Save some more money, get the manfrotto 190xprob and an adorama flashpoint ballhead.

[Koui]

Yep, it's a video tripod. It's huge and heavy for supporting large camcorders and to allow smooth pans and tilts. I do shoot a lot of video with my T2i. Note: The pan/tilt handle should be removed for portrait shots or the head won't go full vertical.

The OP has a 5.5lb rig that's weighted towards the front. In the portrait position he's wanting I doubt any typical low mass photography tripod (I own one of those too) is going to handle that situation without becoming unbalanced and/or tipping over.

[Wilt]

Go to the For Sale forum and buy the Bogen 3021 that was listed today!!!

[Wilt]

The for sale post on POTN listed the Bogen 3021 as a 'Manfrotto 3021'