Cheap, heavy tripod recommedations?

The Home Depot transit tripod posted a few posts up will fit your bill quite well. It would not be to hard to adapt the 5/8"-11 to 3/8"-16 with some items found in the store and would end up still under $100 most likely.

1000arms wrote in post #12421719
I figured you meant to fill a 5 gallon buck with cement and set a bolt in it with the thread sticking up,

Heavy, cheap and stable!

1000arms wrote in post #12421798
Use three long planks to connect the three leg cement blocks in a triangle, drill many holes for bolts to mount tripod head, and one has the semi-portable multi-headed star trail camera mount. Let's call it the Hydra!

At that point, you might as well just replace your hood ornament with a ball head and drive the car up to the photoshoot.

To be honest I think the best option for a very strong tripod would be a speaker stand. Just need to add a ballhead mount solution to the top and you're good to go. They support around 150 lbs usually and only cost about $100.

Here I found one for $35 and it supports up to 100 lbs. You can mount your ballhead to the top of that mounting plate with a bolt, I would get some JB Weld and just weld the bolt permanently onto the plate though so you don't have to fuss with it later.

http://www.parts-express.com …tl.cfm?Partnumb​er=245-010

Here's what B&H coughed up rated at 22 lbs and up to $200:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …+4291757700&mnp​=0&mxp=200

tkbslc wrote in post #12421807
At that point, you might as well just replace your hood ornament with a ball head and drive the car up to the photoshoot.

Nah, the suspension in the car would let things wobble around. If you removed the various "cushiony bits" and bolted the axles directly to the frame then it'd be nice and stable. Might ride a little rough on the trip to and from the shoot, though.

I would check out your local Craigslist if you live in a large metropolitan area.

Here is a used Manfrotto 3251 which holds about 26 lbs for only $150 with head:

http://losangeles.crai​gslist.org/sfv/pho/237​4043423.html

I use Giottos MTL 9271B tripod legs. They are rated at 22 lbs and cost $159. They are very solid aluminium construction http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …B_3_Section_Alu​minum.html

Manfrotto/Bogen 3021. Find em used on eBay, usually around $170 or so. Good solid set of legs.

japhoto wrote in post #12420945
Hey,

How about Slik, I've had a few Slik tripods and they are not too expensive.

From the "better" line there's the Pro 700DX and they also have a "Heavy metal construction" legs available.

Clicky here.

Janne

+1 on this. You could club a bear to death with one of these.

With the heavy metal ones? Or the 700DX?

I have a 700DX and it's amazing! It's solid and sturdy; definitely feels like it can support more than the rated 15lbs.

The Bogen 3040 (second from left here) is a darn steady tripod.

If you can find one...

kurt765 wrote in post #12421191
I'll check with Adorama, though I'm annoyed that they can't be bothered to list whether items are in stock or not.

It truly isn't that we can't be bothered..... because we sell through a number of portals such as buy.com, Amazon, and because we don't charge for items until they actually ship, with the way our website is configured currently, keeping live inventory isn't so straightforward.

However, we are hoping that this will change soon: http://mediadesigner.d​igitalmedianet.com …iewarticle.jsp?​id=1342916

Here is what Adorama coughed up for 20lbs or more (no price filter... so just check out page 1 ):

http://www.adorama.com …Lbs%20%26%20Mor​e&sf=Price