Ideal Tripod for 350D?

Hey all.

I'm out looking for a tripod to buy for my new EOS 350D. I was wondering whether any of you had any suggestions or advice? I WOULD like to shoot panoramas with my camera, so I think I should opt for a 3-way pan/tillt head. right?

I did find this at B&H:

Bogen / Manfrotto 718B Digi Tripod (Black) with 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head - Supports 5.5 lb (2.5 kg)

I don't really know much, so I was wondering if anyone could help me.

I'm looking for something light but sturdy, preferably with a fluid levelling attachment.

You couldn't do much better than a Bogen/Manfrotto 3021BPRO leg set with a Bogen/Manfrotto 488RC2 ball head (which has a separate panning release lever). This is a solid enough combination to handle even long and heavy lenses in the future. It is extremely versatile in where/how you can position the camera (from virtually ground level to pointing straight down, etc.).

you can get a tripod wo/a level and get a separate level block for 35.00 that fits on the hot shoe thats what i did

I've got the 718SHB and it is a great travel tripod. Not sure if it would be great for panoramas tho. It has a slightly non-conventional pan-tilt head. Rather than having seperate knobs for locking pan and front tilt, the main control knob on the 718SHB locks both front tilt and pan. Great for quick adjustments, but for panorama, i'd i'magine that you'd want to lock the front tilt and just pan.

I use a Dynatran carbon fiber tripod with a ballhead that offers separate locks for panning and tilting. And it already has a built-in bubble leveling device. I can use it to do some basic pano. It's sturdy and very light, good for my hiking.

You can think about selecting a tripod for your camera only if you use fairly short lenses. As soon as you start dealing with long lenses, then you do not select the tripod for the camera. You select the tripod for the long lens. My tripod never touches my camera. The lens mounts on it.

---Bob Gross---

thanks for the advice, guys.

I am using short lenses, the kit lens in fact. so i don't think the lens should be an issue. Thanks for that, btw. Didnt know that, will keep that in mind for later purchases.

Does anyone else use a Dynatran tripod? Because....well, it sounds ideal. cfcRebel, how much did your tripod cost? sorry, its kinda late here and I will check online later myself, but I thought i might post somethign here first.

Sigh....1 am again. right, off to bed. thanks a lot guys, appreciate it.
Any other suggestions?

i would not get the shoe mount levels. just use the focusing points to "eyeball it" and then straighten it in post processing. those dynatron tripods do appear to be pretty sturdy.

skip, the tripod leg/head combination you mentioned is a tad bit heavy. All I'm going to be using are small lenses. Does anyone know of perhaps a relatively cheap carbon fibre or other light metal tripod?

Thanks all.

You should consider the versatility. Few, if any, cheap tripods are going to let you do the following:

...Put the camera within inches of the ground and still have it on the tripod and right-side up.

...Put two legs on the ground and the third up on an adjacent boulder or wall.

...Hang the camera, fully supported, over a wall and allow it to aim straight down.

...Point the camera straight down over a table to photograph items on the table from directly above.

These are things that I have done because I needed the positions. The 3021BPRO can easily do all of this. The tripod and head (488RC2) I recommended can do all of this and also fairly easily support longer (heavier) lenses with minimum movement.

There is a carbon fiber version that saves maybe a pound of weight, but is more pricey.

Think of your future. Are you always going to limit yourself to flyweight lenses? This one tripod could last you a decade or more. I suspect that with a little common-sense care, this one will last several decades. It's that well built.

My Dynatran carbon fiber allows me to reverse the center column and do macro photography. Like other carbon fiber(gitzo, manfrotto...etc), each leg has three different degrees of adjustment. Pretty slick for the price.

You've got a point there, skip. youve almost got me convinced. bit pricey, but you're right, it IS a good investment. but ill have to wait a month or 2 before I can get it. worth the wait, i spose. thanks.

question, though:

"...Hang the camera, fully supported, over a wall and allow it to aim straight down."

eh??

cfcRebel, where dyou find Dynatran dealers?? your tripod sounds ideal, like i said. Do you know of a reliable online dealer that sells these? your tripod, to be specific? id like to compare the price and the features one each.

Saad, i went straight to their online website http://amvona.com/v7/s​hop/ to get the wholesale price. So far they have been pretty reliable (shipping, customer service...etc.) I don't know if any other retailers carry their products though.

I use a Bogen 3011BN and 486RC2 ballhead combo.
Works fine with my 350D and 75-300mm lens + 18-55mm kit lens.

Yep. At Yosemite - up on Glacier Point - I wanted to take a photo with the camera over the stone wall that keeps visitors from falling over the edge. The wall isn't too high, maybe three feet or so. I mounted the center column of the 3021BPRO tripod horizontally and swung it and the 486RC2 ballhead (with the camera mounted, of course) out over the wall with the tripod having two legs on the ground and the third, very short, leg at a sharp angle to support it on the wall. The camera wound up over the wall, several hundred feet above what it would have hit had it dropped. Got some great shots in that position, looking virtually straight down. I was using a Canon G2, and could look at the LCD display to frame the shots.