Recommend me a tripod

Ive searched and pawed through b&h and im stuck.

I have a gripped xti with 70-200 f/4 non IS, and a cheap walmart looking tripod, copy of canon's but its unstable, and doesnt hold my camera worth a damn.

to get the camera to stay level, i have to turn it about 10* portrait mode and aim it upwards more than one would think, stable shots? those require the self timer because its that shaky, im better off hand held. i use this tripod for my 430ex off camera and it works fine.

my 4th of july 1st camera experience was a total let down, all the fireworks came out blurry and squigly, i managed one that came out really funky but thats all.

so what im looking for, is something that can handle this setup steady, and id love a ballhead.

i ordered a canon knockoff tripod ring for the 70-200, i dont use the tripod alot but id like to at night.

my budget is a maximum of $200.

I'm upgraded to a 40D and will more than likely get a grip. i wont be having any 300-600mm primes so no heavier lenses, may get a 70-200 2.8 when i get rich.

i looked at a bogen/manfrotto 725B for $115, b&h # BO725B

is this a good buy, or is there something thats beefier for the price?

Really the bottom of what will work well is the Manfrotto 3021 and the 488RC2 head that is often recommended here.

Read some of these links:
http://bythom.com/supp​ort.htm
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/t​ripods_&_heads.shtml
http://markins.com/cha​rlie/report4e6.pdf

Buying a tripod is not as simple as it appears and the tripod is much more important that it appears too.

In reality, if you cannot get the rig above, I'd save until you can. Much of the cheaper stuff is, as you have found, pure trash.

J.

I sold my Manfrotto when I tried a friend's Giottos. It's the most stable thing I've ever used.

This one with this head would be within your budget.

Will support 13lbs on that head and 17.6lbs on the tripod.

a giottos mt-9261 with a manfrotto 488rc2 head comes to $260 shipped on adorama. seems like a good setup to last me along time

Check out http://www.reallyright​stuff.com. They have some good information about tripods and give recommendations as to what tripod to use with various camera/lens combinations.

I bought my Manfrotto in London in 1993 just before going to Africa for 6 months, to this day its still like new and was reasonably priced.

finally got to see an ex-cop's gear, hes into wildlife and birding, nikon user, 35mm film, no digital. i know he has 1body with a 600mm on it.. wow.

showed him my dinky gripped xt with 70-200 and he said i bought the wrong brand whats he know

he pulled out a gitzo tripod, didnt see name of the head, but said it was $500, something about he got the tripod setup when carbon fiber was just coming out?

so im going to take a look at Gitzo and see if theres anything ill be interested in.

on a sidenote, i seen 4 cop cars outside a bar talking to some people so i stopped and took pictures across the street (bout 12:30 at night) cranked it to iso 1600 f/4 at 200mm and my shutter speed was bouncing -2/3 to + 2/3 from the flashing lights, the shutter speed said 1/25 was good enough, so i rattled off some shots, chimped and seen some were blurred, but some were sharp on the lcd. used the human tripod shoulder cup method for 3 shots, rest were standing normal, havnt uploaded.

but from chimping, i was suprised i could get clean pictures at 1/25 handheld at 200mm no IS

Ridebmx wrote in post #5926848
finally got to see an ex-cop's gear, hes into wildlife and birding, nikon user, 35mm film, no digital. i know he has 1body with a 600mm on it.. wow.

showed him my dinky gripped xt with 70-200 and he said i bought the wrong brand whats he know

he pulled out a gitzo tripod, didnt see name of the head, but said it was $500, something about he got the tripod setup when carbon fiber was just coming out?

so im going to take a look at Gitzo and see if theres anything ill be interested in.

on a sidenote, i seen 4 cop cars outside a bar talking to some people so i stopped and took pictures across the street (bout 12:30 at night) cranked it to iso 1600 f/4 at 200mm and my shutter speed was bouncing -2/3 to + 2/3 from the flashing lights, the shutter speed said 1/25 was good enough, so i rattled off some shots, chimped and seen some were blurred, but some were sharp on the lcd. used the human tripod shoulder cup method for 3 shots, rest were standing normal, havnt uploaded.

but from chimping, i was suprised i could get clean pictures at 1/25 handheld at 200mm no IS

I don't think you'll find a new Gitzo carbon fibre tripod within your $200 budget... they're usually rather a lot more than that and that's before you even get a head...

If you want quality CF for less try Feisol? I have their CT-3442 and it's pretty darn good.

HankScorpio wrote in post #5923725
I sold my Manfrotto when I tried a friend's Giottos. It's the most stable thing I've ever used.

This one with this head would be within your budget.

Will support 13lbs on that head and 17.6lbs on the tripod.

I have a larger Giottos setup, but if the 9261 and the ballhead is like the larger versions, it should be satisfactory .... smaller ballhead's main problem is that it does not take Arca standard plates.

Maxdave

I went through the same thing and went with the SLIK 700 DX. It's on the heavy side, but very stable and inexpensive enough that I won't feel bad replacing it someday. It comes with a pan head that works fine. I'd recommend buying something like this and finding out how much you use it, cart it around, exactly which type of head you want/need, etc. before you invest big bucks. Mine is usually in my house or in my trunk--ready for use, but I don't carry it into the field, so weight is not a huge factor. The SLIK seems well made. Directions suck, but it's not very complicated so that's not a big problem!
Mitch

the main problem, is that the one i use now SUCKS

if i want the pictures to not be blurry on the tripod, i had to use the 10 second timer otherwise it gets shake from pushing shutter.

better off handheld.

if i had a nicer tripod id use it more often, i have a monopod which helps alot, but i use portrait for alot of stuff so it doesnt help with that which is where a nice tripod comes into play.

id like to stay in the $150 range with a ballhead if possible. but i dont mind spending a few extra hours for something that i will enjoy bringing out more often.

thing that got me wanting one, is 4th of july, all my pictures were scrap because of my tripod.

so the first thing i want to do is get a nice tripod along with a new body.

i have a gmc jimmy=chevy blazer so room isnt an issue nor is weight, but i dont want a 10lb tripod.

and i dont want a carbon fiber.

i want something cheap, but a QUALITY brand, that makes tripods that are top notch, even when on the low budget range.

No matter what, people will always recommend what they know and trust which won't really help you unless you know and trust the person recommending it. All I can tell you is that I've had a Slik and sold it for a Manfrotto then sold that for a Giottos and I've yet to see anything that can beat it for stability.

I think you need to go to a store or a photography club and play with lots and buy one based on experience of it instead of what its brochure says it can do or what it costs.

Ridebmx wrote in post #5929587
it gets shake from pushing shutter.

That will always be the case. Get a wired or wireless remote.

Jim G wrote in post #5926873
I don't think you'll find a new Gitzo carbon fibre tripod within your $200 budget... they're usually rather a lot more than that and that's before you even get a head...

If you want quality CF for less try Feisol? I have their CT-3442 and it's pretty darn good.

For $200, you can, on a good day, get a Gitzo monopod.

I'd recommend that you go for the good stuff right out of the chute if you are serious about this. You will save money in the long run. A fallback I'd agree with is the Feisol if you go for knockoffs (I don't).

If you are looking for Gitzo stuff, for the gear you have, a 2540 and a Markins Q3 would work very nicely.

J.