Tripod Recommendations

[THaNaToZ]

I've read through some of the tripod threads on here and looking for some advice on one myself.

I found the following in best buy and found it to be very light and that it comes up to my height.
http://www.adorama.com/BGMKC3H01.htm...FY1FMgodpDMAnA

This would be used with my canon 70d (have 2 lense-kits 18-55 and 55-250) and would like to be able to take it for some hikes and attach it to a backpack.

Some of the other threads had more expensive tripods so ideally I'd like to find something within the same price range.

[Nancy Moran G]

I am also looking for tripods, so I clicked on your post. My very newbie comment is that it only holds 3.3 lbs of equipment and is 17" off the ground at its lowest setting. ( if I am reading specs correct)
How much does your camera and lenses weigh? Thinking of a bigger lens in future, what will it weigh? And this won't get low to the ground for macro or just interesting angles.

I bought a $50 Sunpak and now I see I need to re-spend to get a better one. You will get lots of advice here, listen to them!
Nancy

[THaNaToZ]

The weight of the body is 1.7lbs and the large lense just shy of 1. So it should hold it but I'll definitely want recommend

[DanK]

Do a search of this site. click on "advanced search", put in "tripod" as the keyword, and select title only from the drop down box. You will find extensive discussions of various tripod options and factors to consider in choosing one.

[ajohnw]

There are some very serious tripod buyers on here that might not consider a few things that others may need to.

How much do you want to spend - tripods can cost rather a lot.

What weight do you want to carry around - in practical terms that can be very important. While some massively constructed tripods are photographically excellent they aren't much fun to carry around.

What sort of head do you want on it - that gets very difficult over time as needs change so in many ways it's best to make sure that the head is removable and has a standard thread. On the other hand there are sometimes unusually rigid light weight type about that have fixed heads. I would say if you come across something like that buy it but it wouldn't wise to do that blind mail order. Something like that is likely to be old, used and hard to find. It probably wont go much higher than 1m either.

I wouldn't buy the one linked too. Too many sections for little gain in stored size. More sections means that the legs get thinner and thinner.

What I would recommend for some one who wants a sensible tripod without going over the top is this one

http://www.manfrotto.co.uk/professio...k-without-head

I've had several tripods and have never found one to match this in terms of rigidity and weight. It can probably be bought with Manfrotto's light weight 3 way head which isn't too bad to use. Or even a ball head but personally I am not too keen on those. They probably crop up used as well as it's a very popular grade of tripod and manfrotto have made it for rather a long time.

Worth pointing out that I bought a number of other types and makes before biting the bullet and buying one of these.

If you go for other types a good guide is the diameter of the top tube that forms the legs 25mm / 1in is about right for tripods of a similar size. Similar for any rising column. Some of those have a gear drive but that just means that they are likely to be a looser fit and will need clamping anyway.

John
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[LocalHero1953]

I have that same tripod the OP referred to, or an earlier version of it, and I advise caution. I have used it for a Leica M and found it difficult to tighten the ballhead trigger enough to hold the camera tightly - it was easy to move around while tightened. Its great advantage is its low weight, but for anything where you want the camera tilted, or fitted with a longer lens, it is at the edge of usability. As noted above, the legs are also thin and a bit flexy. I have just replaced it with a Benro in the Versatile series - good for macro, but probably not what you want - and a Manfrotto Mini Ballhead, and this combination works well.

[Manfred M]

Tripods, like any other photo equipment (or anything else for that matter); you get what you pay for.

Would you buy a $50 camera lens and expect the same result as one you paid several hundred (or more) for? A tripod is no different; I have tripods that have cost relatively little to ones that have cost a lot. All have their advantages and disadvantages.

A tripod has two components - the legs and the head. Both play critical roles in setting up your shot. Make sure you pay attention to both components when you make your final selection.

I personally do not like the Manfrotto line, because they use a proprietary quick release plate (yes I do own other Manfrotto gear)

[rpcrowe]

I am not keen on a pistol grip type of tripod head and I am also not keen on a tripod on which the head is not removable to facilitate switching heads.

As far as manufacturer's weight limits go, I tend to take them with a large grain of salt My rule of thumb is that I like a tripod or head that is rated by the manufacturer at least twice the capacity of the camera/lens I expect to use with the tripod/head.

[ajohnw]

Talking of tripods as they came up in discussions I had another look for one suitable for carrying around when I don't really want to. Light, small and will fit into my bag. I may have found something, a Bushnell field tripod. It extends to 3ft and collapses to 14in. Unlike most things like that it looks sensibly proportioned and is made out of aluminium tube. Load capacity 3lb. Comes with a head which is fixed but that is not much of a problem for me because if I don't like it I can remove it and make up a convention tripod head fitting for it. It's intended for hunting and bird watching so given the other things they produce is probably reasonable but not stellar quality.

I noticed another make of tripod while looking around that may be of interest. Opticron. I understand these go back to a Japanese company called Vixen. It might be worth looking around at prices. I probably would buy something with that brand name blind mail order if suitable and I needed one. They came with a 5 year warantee and might be cheapest bought direct.

John
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[krfessl]

I just bought a Manfrotto - MT190XPRO4 (new model) and added a Manfrotto - MH055M0-Q6, Magnesium Ball Head Q6 QR (after reading an article in PhotographyLife I got the Arca-Swiss type capable head)... Worth the money for the peace of mind with a heavy D610 and battery grip attached)... This is not what I'd call a "travel tripod", although it's certainly travel worthy... I have a monopod and about 5 others... 1-2 are small/light enough for travel...I also just turned a couple of old tripods into light stands, with some workshop fab and plastic conduit tubing... One reason I bought the manfrotto was I loved the flexibility of the horizontal extension capability and how low I can get with the legs for macro work... I went a little nuts on the head too, as not only did I want the Arca-Swiss type set-up, I wanted bubble levels built in... Total was about 600.00 US, but I had about 150.00 in Amazon credits, so I went for it...

[killwilly]

I recently bought a Diat CM-294A carbon fibre tripod (see link below) and it is superb. It holds my Canon 7D and Sigma 150-500 rock solid.

I am just 6' tall and with the Giottos ball head, my camera is at a perfect level without the centre column extended, in fact I have removed the column as I can see no situation when it will be required.

Ignore the fact that it is made in China, the build and material quality is as good as any other tripod I viewed.

http://www.diat.cc/en/displayproduct...roID=101379512

[ajohnw]

I just bought a CamLink TP-Pro24A by mistake. Looking for a small one and misslead by the min camera height.

As tripods with a maximum tube diameter of around 20mm go it's not bad. They haven't skimped on material thickness. There is a removable all metal 3 way head on a 1/4 thread. Possibly a bit stiff rotationally but otherwise ok. It needs firmly tightening down on to the stand. The column can be reveres and the leg splay adjusted to 2 settings. That's how the low height is obtained. One odd aspect is the column. It's in 2 parts that screw together. Pass on why, maybe they finish up with certain lengths of tube when cutting them from stock and leave less scrap that way. The quick release plate is a little fiddly to use but that's probably down to just getting used to it. It can be locked and has the little pop up part that pushes the plate out when removing it - bit pointless in my view and often makes these things initially a bit strange to use.

Basically if some one wants to save money I have seen a lot worse. I believe they also do some heftier beasts with larger leg diameters. One interesting aspect is that the head would cost more than the entire stand off some manufacturers. I assume the bigger ones use the same head. Looks like they switch to magnesium on the largest one..

http://www.camlink.eu.com/en_us/came...r&f_series=Pro

Beware of their flat section legs on the cheaper ones unless that is what you want and don't mind the slop.

John
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[Toybox]

I just came across your post. I have two Diat tripods, they are good. if you have removed the center column how do you mount the head ?

I use the tripod for video occasionally, the only problem is that the column cant be tightened enough to stop it rotating when you pan, there is a slight movement until it it hits the pin.

I would like to mount the head directly but cant see how without the column.

AJ

I recently bought a Diat CM-294A carbon fibre tripod (see link below) and it is superb. It holds my Canon 7D and Sigma 150-500 rock solid.

I am just 6' tall and with the Giottos ball head, my camera is at a perfect level without the centre column extended, in fact I have removed the column as I can see no situation when it will be required.

Ignore the fact that it is made in China, the build and material quality is as good as any other tripod I viewed.

http://www.diat.cc/en/displayproduct...roID=101379512

[Manfred M]

I just came across your post. I have two Diat tripods, they are good. if you have removed the center column how do you mount the head ?

I use the tripod for video occasionally, the only problem is that the column cant be tightened enough to stop it rotating when you pan, there is a slight movement until it it hits the pin.

I would like to mount the head directly but cant see how without the column.

AJ

Hi AJ - Welcome to CiC.

The ability to remove the centre column and replace it with a mounting plate depends on how the tripod itself is manufactured. Unless your tripod manufacturer offers this option, you would have to have have a custom attachment made (not really a viable option unless you know someone with a machine shop). My Feisol has this feature and I believe Gitzo does as well (although I'm not sure which models have this features), most of the other tripods I've seen and have used do not. I suspect some of the other high end tripods (RRS, etc) likely have this option too.

Video tripods are a completely different construction than those used for still photography. If you look at the Kinghome website (make of Diat tripods):

http://www.diat.cc/en/index.html you will see some video tripods featured there, and see the difference between a still and video tripod.

Proper video tripods have either a ground or mid-level spreader, have a much more rigid structure and incorporate a cup & ball mechanism for mounting the fluid head. They do not have an adjustable column. My guess is that the only way to solve your issue is to get a new tripod with the features you are after.

[Toybox]

Grumpydriver,

Thank you for your reply. I was hoping Killwilly would respond specifically as he stated he had removed the centre column entirely on the Diat tripod. My main video tripod is Miller Solo with a Sachtler head, it had a 75mm ball for leveling and no centre column. The Solo has no spreader, its more like a photo tripod in design, but much steadier and better than the Manfrotto video style tripods for stability. I bought the Diat Tripods for my Slider, but now with a Manfrotto leveling adapter and light weight head, I have found them good enough for some DSLR video. That is apart from the center column issue.

I was hoping there would be an adapter after seeing Killwilly's post, I cant see one on the Kinghome site.

Thanks again for responding.

AJ

[qbengnpre49]

I would like to mount the head directly

[Manfred M]

I would like to mount the head directly

???

In that case you will need a tripod that allows you to do this.