Help! Looking for a Good Tripod

$300 sounds about right for a decent tripod...for a bit over $200 you can get a carbon fiber Feisol 3401 that will go as low as 6 inches or so. Get a Flashpoint ballhead from Adorama (fairly inexpensive, but decent reviews), and you'll probably come in under the $300 mark. Factoring in the cost of a POS like the Dolica, plus shipping, etc. may put you at or near $100 anyway, and its $100 that you won't be able to recoup if and when you 'graduate' to a better tripod down the road.

Link: Feisol 3401

argyle wrote in post #10510564
$300 sounds about right for a decent tripod...for a bit over $200 you can get a carbon fiber Feisol 3401 that will go as low as 6 inches or so. Get a Flashpoint ballhead from Adorama (fairly inexpensive, but decent reviews), and you'll probably come in under the $300 mark. Factoring in the cost of a POS like the Dolica, plus shipping, etc. may put you at or near $100 anyway, and its $100 that you won't be able to recoup if and when you 'graduate' to a better tripod down the road.

Link: Feisol 3401

Feisol is a good choice. I especially like their travel tripods. One of these paired with a Markins Q3T is a great choice especially now since they have ALR legs.

If you have to compromise, compromise on the ballhead first. For the focal lengths the OP has specified, something like the Manfrotto 488RC2 is a great choice and quite cheap. It will do well until something better can be acquired. The same is not true for the legs which are what gives you the stability and performance you need.

Here's the deal: You can't get anywhere near the resolution out of your lenses unless you use support. It's just not possible to handhold a camera, even with IS, and keep the handshake motion blur down. A *very* skilled shooter using the best technique *might* e able to keep the handshake down to 100-200um of amplitude of vibration. That equates to 20-40 pixels of blur. With a tripod, you can get that down to 10um or about 2 pixels of blur.

Without good support, and if you are looking for reliable critically sharp images that approach the resolution of your gear, you need good support - not just support, but good support. Otherwise, in many cases, those expensive lenses are as much fashion accessories as anything. Yes, you can get critically sharp images, on occasion, handheld, but your range of exposure is extremely narrow limiting dramatically your artistic latitude.

j.

Cheap tripod = expensive mistake

You'll end up replacing it in time anyway - better off spending more up front.

My buddy has a cheep tripod. One night, while we were taking photos of a lighthouse on some larges, his 30D w/ 24-70L setup nearly fell over. Gave me a good scare too.

When buying a quality tripod, you have the satisfaction of quality made parts, as well as reliability (i am contradicting myself, i know). You also get exceptional performance. What do I mean by performance? The ease of use, the quickness in setting up, and the capabilities of low ground mode.

What would I call quality? Gitzo, Manfrotto, Higher-end Silks, Feisol, etc. A good tripod would be the combination of a set of good legs and a good head. If you spend so much money on a set of legs, you might as well, spend the money on a good head that can equal the performance of the legs.

I personally went for a Gitzo GT2541 due to the reliability, warranty, performance, and availability of parts locally. I am now saving up for a Markins M10 ballhead to pair with it.

Get out and see what equipment make and model will suit you and keep an eye out for used or on Ebay , you may find a deal .

I purchased a Vanguard 263AT about a month ago. The legs are fine, quite light and are probably the equivalent of the 055XProB but I'm a little circumspect about recommending their heads as explained by my review here -

https://photography-on-the.net …ghlight=vanguar​d+alta+pro

If you buy Vanguard legs and are keen on a 3-way head, the Giottos MH3001 is a perfect fit and the lever of the QR plate is located on the right hand side thus allowing you to mount a camera with a grip.


Hope this helps

Hear from everyone else...just save up and buy a nice tripod! If you are going to buy another one in few months why not wait a little bit then....

I know everyones trying to explain that a cheap tripod = a rubbish tripod, but when did any of us listen when we were given the same advice? We all learn the hard way.

It took me a the best part of 30 years before the penny dropped and I realised that a good tripod was actually the best investment I could make in the drive for high quality images. Far cheaper than bodies and lenses with a much higher success rate.

I think I am going to take the advice and wait to buy a really good tripod. I have a really cheap tripod that I bought made by Targus that I use for my Kodak Zi6 to shoot videos for school. I tried using it with my camera and I had the hardest time adjusting the head due to the weight of the camera. I took some really good pictures when it was finally adjusted right, but when I loaded them on my computer I definitely could see the slight blurriness when I zoomed in on the photo. It really did irritate me how long it took for me to adjust the tripod and the lack of steadiness. I knew that it was a really cheap tripod that I already owned, but it was for a light flip camera. It works perfect for it. I decided to put off buying a new macro lens until I get a really good tripod. Thanks for all the feedback. I will am going to save up for a good Manfrotto tripod.

Good Choice!! And worth the wait...sometime... you can get sweet deal in the for sale thread!

Houston1863 wrote in post #10517877
I purchased a Vanguard 263AT about a month ago. The legs are fine, quite light and are probably the equivalent of the 055XProB but I'm a little circumspect about recommending their heads as explained by my review here -

https://photography-on-the.net …ghlight=vanguar​d+alta+pro

If you buy Vanguard legs and are keen on a 3-way head, the Giottos MH3001 is a perfect fit and the lever of the QR plate is located on the right hand side thus allowing you to mount a camera with a grip.


Hope this helps

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H

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From the looks of that tripod, I'd say it is more apropos to a home video camera than for still photography. I'd also be quite surprised if it were stable enough for use with that 70-200 in both weight and focal length.

J.

djrtbrahma wrote in post #10496851
I am looking for a good tripod to use with my Canon XS. I need a tripod that is tall enough for me since I am 6'3. I also want a tripod that can get very low to the ground for macro or close-up shots. I am on a budget of $100. Thanks in advance.

100.00 is a tough thing, I to am on a budget try checking Ebay I recently bought a Manfrotto 055CLB for 75.00 USD

sure it is used and about 5 yrs old but it as solid a tripod as you can buy, if you are on a budget.

my budget tripod is this one: manfrotto table tripod or a monopod like this one manfrotto monopod.

Money spent on those are not vasted, and untill you can afford a more expensive tripod use a table tripod. There is always something to lay it on, like a wall, car or a stone... or just lean it on a wall. That will help you to improve the picture, and afther you have bought a big expensive tripod you will still be able to take it with you to those places where you are not bringin your big gear. Like on museeum, long walk and so on.

As long as you never upgrade your gear, you will be able to do fine with a dolica. My little brother shots his Olympus e-510 on it, and it has done him very well. But if you ever want to upgrade your lens to something larger, I would wait and save up more money. My tripod cost me about $800 ($600 for legs and $200 for the head). Although that may seem ridiculous, remember, you have to able to trust this tripod with holding up all of your gear. Would you really want to put your nice camera and a cheap tripod? Thats just my 5 cents, but if you don't plan on getting new lens' or just need a quick fix then the dolica should be fine. Also check out Induro, at about 1/3 the price of my gitzo, you can get a very solid set of tripod legs. Also try to stay away from the leg/head combos. It is much better to buy them separate so you can truly match them with the characteristics of your gear. Last piece of advice, if the tripod says it can hold 15 lbs. don't max it at 15lbs. You are gonna wanna get a tripod that can hold about an extra 1/3 the weight that you are actually putting on it. Hope you are able to get a nice tripod, and if you think about it, its always better to buy one nice tripod then one low-end tripod and a new camera because your tripod feel over. Best of luck to you! And I hope my endless rambling is able to help!

kent andersen wrote in post #10536013
my budget tripod is this one: manfrotto table tripod or a monopod like this one manfrotto monopod.

Money spent on those are not vasted, and untill you can afford a more expensive tripod use a table tripod. There is always something to lay it on, like a wall, car or a stone... or just lean it on a wall. That will help you to improve the picture, and afther you have bought a big expensive tripod you will still be able to take it with you to those places where you are not bringin your big gear. Like on museeum, long walk and so on.

unless your at the beach with nothing around you but just sand, and the tide coming