Tripod question

Hi I did a search on tripod, but couldn't come up with anything.
I'm looking for one and don't know witch one to buy. I went and got a cheapy at WalMart. And it didn't take me long to return it.

It was very cheap and it had plastic gears and as I put my camera on it. It would not even stay up it would keep falling down the gears slipping.

I took my camera off it right away. I've got to much money in it for it to get broken by a cheap TRIPOD. Anyway I have one of the older models.
It's the Velbon Victory 451. It was gave to my by my Dad, back years ago and it still works great. I just want one with the quick release,

But I wanted to buy a new one. I want one that has the quick release. This one I have to screw the camera on and off. Kind of gets aggravating some times.

What would be good one to purchase that is not to expensive?
I have the G3 camera so don't really need anything very big. Just avg size with quick release. And I will be doing landscape mostly.
Is there may be anyway I could just put a new head on this one with quick release?

Here's one I have been looking at . So what you think is this a good tripod and price?


Thanks. Gail

http://www.epinions.co​m …phic_Tripod__Tr​ipods_343E

Do you have a Ritz Camera near you? They've got a number of tripods that are decent and not expensive. I have one of these, a Sunpak 9001, which cost me $50 at Ritz. It did the job with my 10D until I put big lenses on. Fairly light, pretty solid. They've got smaller, lighter ones for even less, yet they're decent.

Many people express their happiness with their Velbon Maxi 343E in other forums / reviews. I took a look of this tripod in a camera store (in fact, I was looking for something other than tripods). Well, I was not happy with the sturdiness of this tripod. With this price, I would choose SLIK model --though a bit bigger and heavier. (Sorry, I've forgotten the SLIK model number.)

For a small, compact and sturdy tripod, I recommend Manfrotto Digi. But it costs double to the Velbon Maxi 343E.
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …home?O=NavBar&A​=search&Q=

Sorry if my post makes your decision difficult. In fact, you'd better go to the local camera shop to try the tripods yourself for decision.

There used to be several different types of quick release solutions on the market that will work with any tripod. You said that "it still works great.", so why not try to locate one & save some money?

Thanks all for your help and suggestions. I called a few places today.
And going to go there to check them out tomorrow morning.

I live in small town so we don't have much to chose from. We have one camera shop in town. And I called them today and she said the cheapest they have start at $99.00 and go up.
I really didn't want to put that
much into one. Being I have the one already.

And really it's find just I like the quick release. I did do a search for something like PhotosGuy, suggested "quick release solutions" but didn't have any luck coming up with anything. But thanks again for your help.

Gail,

http://www.manfrotto.c​om …?sectionid=100&​itemid=315
Gail,
Check out the aboce link. If your tripod has a centre screw or you can take the existing head off, then this QR should work.

I got this from Manfrotto (costed about 65 Euro... must be like $75 or so)

http://www.manfrotto.c​om …3?sectionid=85&​itemid=781

It's small, light-weight, max height about 40 cm

For me it's ideal, because when I need a tripod, I always have a table, chair or something like that to put it on.

And, min height is about 6 cm, so you don't have to put the cam in the dirt when you want to shoot from very low... (night shots for example...)

IanD wrote:
http://www.manfrotto.c​om …?sectionid=100&​itemid=315
Gail,
Check out the aboce link. If your tripod has a centre screw or you can take the existing head off, then this QR should work.

lanD, I do have the center screw on my tripod. I don't really know if the head come off are not. But went to site I like. But can't find price.
How to you go about finding price? on this item.

http://www.adorama.com …searchinfo=3299​&item_no=2

$27 at Adorama. B&H's site is down right now for maintenance.

Better order soon though, since both of these places will close soon for Passover. (There are other sites you could order from, of course)

Be careful in your search, Gail. You mentioned a few times that you wanted a quick release, and that you wanted it to be inexpensive. Those are mutually exclusive characteristics!

I've found that for the G3, its better to get a NON-quick release tripod. For me, the part that stays on your camera seems to be too heavy, and throws off the weight and balance of a small camera like ours.

If you intend to stay in this hobby for a while (and I really hope you do), save up some money and buy a good, leightweight, quality tripod. Its something that you'll use often, and they really don't go out of style every year like digicams seem to.

Gail, here's how you can find things on the i-net:
Goto www.google.com
Type in:
tripod "Quick release"
There are 41,000+ links that came up! That should keep you busy for a while, no?

The first link at
http://porterscamerast​ore.com …de=16-7120&Category_Code=
shows a close out of 5 for $2.95. Cheap enough?

Another link on the first page is:
http://www.kcamera.com​/main/invnew/newatq.ht​m
It shows 37 different ones.

A last word of advice. If you do buy one, then consider getting 2 or 3 of the same model. After all, you will probably not be just a 1 camera owner in the future & you may not be able to buy the same release a few years from now, so get them while you can.

For more info on searching, goto
http://www.google.com/​help/refinesearch.html

You can find almost anything on the i-net using this.

Oh, and...
Give a man a fish & you'll feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish & he'll spend all his time in a boat drinking beer!

PhotosGuy wrote:
Oh, and...
Give a man a fish & you'll feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish & he'll spend all his time in a boat drinking beer!

Interesting variation of the 'original'.

I often use this saying when I don't want to do something for someone, so I just show him how he can do it himself...

So... next variation :

Give a man a fish & you'll feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish & he'll eat for his entire life
and you'll spend all your time drinking beer!

Gail,

I have a Manfrotto ball head and a 3-way head that use their RC2 quick release system. This is a relatively compact system, and the piece that attaches to the camera (lens, etc.) is not too big or heavy. You can buy an adapter for an existing tripod, or you can get almost all of their heads with the RC2 system. Here's the Manfrotto link:
http://www.manfrotto.c​om …?sectionid=100&​itemid=315
I'm pretty sure B&H sells the adapter, and I know they have most of the heads listed. I have even seen 3-way heads from other manufacturers (ProMaster, I think) made to accept this QR system. I like it because it snaps shut when you put the camera on it, so you can do it with one hand. It also has a lock feature so you can't accidently flip the release lever (big deal with an SLR mounted). I don't know too much about the other brands. Once I found what I wanted with Manfrotto, I stopped looking.

I bought the Velbon 343 to carry on my big bag all the time, based on many recommendations that it is the best travel tripod. It is compact, so I do have strapped to the bag, but I have had stability issues with my Drebel mounted to it, especially if the wind is blowing or the column is extended. The G3 may not be as bad due to less weight and leverage, but unless you want the compactness, I would stay away from it.

Hope this helps.

Have Fun
Rick 8)