yet another "what tripod" thread - must be SHORT when folded!

Wookie

Wookie

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Lawrence
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My search for the reliably sharp photo continues, so its time to risk some dosh on a tripod, I am even get approval sounds from SWMBO.

I've done plenty of homework, I managed to turn my eyes inside out today going through all the threads relating to tripod advice, related links, plus manufacturers websites.

Summarising all the threads:
- I need to spend reasonable money and get a reasonable tripod, anything less is money down the drain, cos they wont do the job, and/or will fall apart and/or break and/or be too much of a pain to use etc etc
- don't buy from jessops
- don't get legs with the horizontal stays cos they dont allow legs to open out wide to get lower or more stable
- everybody wants a Gitzo
- everybody ends up with a Manfrotto 190 or 055 variant with a 322RC2 head and sings its praisies for evermore, choirs of angels, pealing of bells, shower of rose petals etc etc.

BUT I don't think a 190 will fit in the top box of my motorbike, its quoted as 53.5cm folded without head, and I am limited to absolute maximum of 53cm (and thats pretty much assuming I don't take the camera!), anything shorter would be great.

so all you 190 owners - is it easy to take the head off the legs?, is there any way of shortening the folded legs (removal of feet, taking hacksaw to leg tubes :eek:), whatever . . . can I easily make the package just a bit shorter?


Alternatively, can anybody vouch for the Manfrotto 718SHB (40cm) or 715SHB (35cm)? They are both rated for 2.5kg so theoretically within bounds for my 400d with a 200 or 300mm zoom lens on. I am a bit suspect of the durability of integral heads, and general build and stability given the lighter max load.

or should I accept that a 190 or an 055 is the only workable answer to getting a decent tripod and stick it in a bag strapped to the top of my topbox or across the pillion seat.

Any other ideas? . . . budget idea is £130 ish but debatable

note: Gitzo 1550T and 1540T are non-starters!


ta
Lawrence
 
Have you considered the Velbon Luxi F. It is an excellent piece of kit as i have had one for a few months now. If you keep checking the Jessops site (read on) you can get it for £75. They have had that offer a couple of times.
 
second that,

i got mine off their interent for wait

wait

wait £43


actually no the full RRP isn't £10, just because its jessops.

the actuall price normally is £70.

so a bargin i think
 
Hi,

Have a look at : http://www.feisol.com/. The four section 'pods are within your length spec. Not that cheap though.

I've just ordered one as I wanted a small/light/short 'pod to take abroad - I'm waiting for its delivery so can't yet comment on its quality, though it comes highly recommended.
See a review at : http://tinyurl.com/3acy2t

Let us know what you go for.
 
:thinking: Right, not sure what make they are, but I know who has them - ForbiddenBiker [and Blinerz] has a tripod that folds down to about 14", but when opened up is pretty stable. I think, IIRC, they are about £70, so if he doesnt see this thread, perhaps drop him or Blinkerz a pm for info on what they are.

...... just a bit of info from Manfrotto 055 ProB, 322 head weilding singing idiot :D
 
personally when im out and about on my bike i strap the tripod verticly to my backpack using some compression straps and or bungies its fairly secure and dont really get in the way of anything when riding

(just dont carry a pillion they dont appreciate being poked by a tripod)

you could always bungie it to the outside of the topbox weather permitting of course :)

Cheers

rik
 
That 190 is calling but unfortunately a lot of the time I'm out on the bike with my daughter on pillion, doesn't give any spare space on the seat (she objected to the small pack of tentpoles behind her on a couple of trips). The top box is the Givi Maxia, 52 litres but a modern curved eggy shape, it lacks square corners and sides, longest 53cm dimension is in the middle half way up, that's why I reckon I'd struggle to get the camera bag in there if I have a tripod at the maximum 53cm, unless I get something shorter. Other option is the Givi luggage rack that goes on the top of the top box, however I already carry far too much junk in the topbox (too much weight, too far back & too high, it has upset the handling occasionally, which is not good news) and that would put more weight exactly where it shouldn't be on the bike.

I've been having a bit more of a look around the 'net today. Nobody appears to have stock of the Velbon Luxi F at the moment, but I discovered the Velbon Sherpa Pro range, the baby one CF-435 is 42.3 cm, 1kg, carries 2.5kg stands 136cm high and costs £130 at Morris. Morris also have the stronger CF-545 at £150, its 42.5cm, 1.3kg, carries 4kg, stands 141cm. All in carbon fibre (ooooh), shame they dont leave any money for the head.

The wife is behind the tripod plan . . . its cheaper than a new lens!
but her practical approach is try a friend's tripod and see if it makes any difference to the photos before buying and then go get a really good one.
 
ahhh we are on the same wavelength, but you found a great price Nathan

I'll borrow my mate's tripod ASAP and get the trial out of the way quick!
 
Wookie,

If it's any use I bought mine from Devon and prior to doing so I emailed asking if they also included the 3 way head that most other retailers include (PQ-147???).

They replied within an hour saying that they don't normally, but as a gesture of good will (and wanting the business) they would for me. It's not the best head in the world but it's certainly ok whilst saving the pennies for something better!
 
although expensive, my Gitzo is only 19" long when closed, you'll probably be best off going for a 4 section tripod rather than a 3 section, but 4 sections are less stable than 3 sections but my gitzo seems quite stable at full stretch, wether it's because its Carbon fibre though i dunno.
 
I ride a Moto Guzzi Breva 750, oddly I don't have any decent photos of it!
there's no chance of using the side rails, hanging underneath the box or anywhere, its really inside or nowt.

I wonder if a rifle holder from a Harley MT350 could be fitted ! hey, maybe its my excuse to get an MT350?

Its all a bit academic for the moment, buying power is on hold until I have demonstrated the improvement with a tripod to the mrs by borrowing one (a tripod not a mrs) and running some test shots.
 
the mt350 is a right giggle to ride i had one for a bit last year :) sold it and got a honda dominator to go with my fazer 1000 :) bit off topic but what the hell lol

Rik
 
found a semi decent pic of the bike, hiding in the corner of a much larger shot (hence bad composition, focus, etc etc excuses excuses)

IMG_0155b.jpg
 
andrewc said:
I've got one of the Velbon Ultra Luxi F tripods. Not as sturdy as my Manfrotto 190XPROB & 488RC2 but its a well designed travel tripod and that means it folds down small and is lightweight.
Click to expand...

I've got the Ultra Luxi F as well

I've just measured it in it's bag and it's 44cm diagonally corner to corner
 
Hello,
The MN190 and 055 are good hard working pro tripods, but as you say too long for your needs.
They both have three grub screws below the flange plate which you screw up (with a small screwdriver) to lock the head in place. To remove the head is the reveres. Is this too much much trouble? Well that’s for you to decide but I would find it a faf on a regular basis (but it’s a good way to hold the head in place under normal circumstances). F you can put up with this then your search is over 190 all the way.

If not you need to turn to a “travel” tripod, odd really as that’s what your doing!
I’ve got a 714SHB and it’s not at all bad, but not really like a pro tripod. That tends to be the curse of the “travel” tripod. There is however a solution, a very compact tripod which extends to a good height and is very stiff/stable, but it comes at a price.
The Gitzo Traveller tripods are made in high quality carbon fibre and they have a trick as well. When you fold up a tripod you drop the centre column and fold the legs down. With the traveller you raise the centre column and fold the legs up thru 180 degrees, thus encasing the column within the legs and reducing the length by the amount the head and top of the column would normally stick out! This makes it very compact.
I’ve got a five section one which comes with a small B&S head which fits within the leg space (you can use a bigger head but then you have to remove it each time, it just screws on). I don’t use the 714 much anymore! There is also a four section one, lastly I’ve seen on there web site a limited edition Titanium one which looks great judging from the ‘photo.
Now the bad news, I forget the price but its over £500 (I live alone) as for the Titiainium one, I don’t know the price but I guess if you have to ask……
If you want the performance in a small package you have to pay the price, in any event the Gitzo is an interesting novelty when you first see it so its worth finding one to look at (before you buy something not at all bad, but not really like a pro tripod!).

Hope this helps
 
The MN190 and 055 are good hard working pro tripods, but as you say too long for your needs.
They both have three grub screws below the flange plate which you screw up (with a small screwdriver) to lock the head in place. To remove the head is the reveres. Is this too much much trouble? Well that’s for you to decide but I would find it a faf on a regular basis (but it’s a good way to hold the head in place under normal circumstances). F you can put up with this then your search is over 190 all the way.
Click to expand...

eek, thanks for that, I thought they were just simple screw on with a choice of 1/4 or 3/8 whit to worry about getting adapters for. You've added an extra element here, are all heads and legs inter-compatable or are they manufacturer/series limited?

I had already short listed the travel Gitzos, until I saw the prices :shake: they're a bit less dosh than you reckon but still OTT for me.

Progress:
I borrowed my friend's tripod last night, he dug out his pride and joy for me, his velbon D600 with fluid head thing. Its been superceded by the nearly identical DV-6000 (have a look here: http://www.velbon-tripod.com/video.htm)
its intended as a video tripod, but worth a try and to get the feel for what's right and wrong for me.

I've not tried a photo tripod for 25 years, and that only briefly, so no usable memory there but in the intervening years I've used surveying equipment a few times so my judgement of tripod good and bad is probably a bit clouded.

Thoughts:

- gosh its light, OK so I'm comparing to a 20kg 5 foot wood and steel monstrosity that has a 1/4" thick leather shoulder strap and makes you change shoulders after the first 50 yards

- feet are dinky, little rubber caps on ball ended screws, so no spikes & no big plates to stomp your riggers boots on :LOL:, mind the leg sections would crease if you tried that. Seriously, do photo tripods get used on soft ground, do you plant the legs in for stability? This thing looks very indoors only, I am sure the rubber feet would get lost pretty quick outside. Rubber feet pads also a problem on carpet, one was on the thick rug and I could feel it was like being on a sponge. Any attempt at pulling the tripod sideways into position and teh rubber cups likely to pull off, also a pain having to make sure they're the right way up (flat bit down, not sideways).
Plans to try the tripod outside in anger have been shelved, its all clean and shiny and not mine.

Ok, decision No 1: I want spikes, with an option of using rubber feet.


- video head is a bit of a pain, 2 axis only, no side tilt

decision No.2: no 2 axis video head


- legs felt stiff initially but the last thin section is quite springy, I could just feel them flex as I pressed the shutter :eek: and the camera just visibly vibrated from the mirror operation, found the mirror lock up function pretty quick

decision No 3: thickest stiffest legs I can find
decision No 4: get a remote shutter control


- the legs are braced back to the centre column. full spread of the legs with the braces horizontal seemed reasonably rigid but the legs occupied most of the front room. Setting the legs more upright to get the tripod in a useable position and the braces became quite ineffective. The braces are also thin aluminium sheet channel with sloppy hinges so not impressed with either their robustness or effectiveness. They also meant that all 3 legs had to be at the same angle.

decision No 5: no braces


quite an informative session, I appear to have ruled out 101% of the affordable tripod market as my "one tripod does everything" solution :crying:
 
Wookie,

WRT #1 The Velbon carbon tripods come with rubber feet which when screwed in reveal hard tungsten spikes. I think even the £90 CF-435 has them.

P.S. Where abouts in Leicestershire are you?
 
oh yes, forgot to say the results were also informative, did a series of trial shots aimed at bar codes on a box at 3.5m (portraitish sort of distance). Impossible to get a reasonable hand held result, most (not all) tripod results were excellent. Possible to see the lenses going soft at maximum aperture, f/8 -16 best, then getting a lack of contract as they got beyond f/20.
Worst stability results were on maximum aperture at 200mm, the short (1 second ish) shutter allowed vibration to be significantly visible (my finger on the button probably). With smaller aperture of f/8+ it gave shutters speeds of 10 sec and above with much cleaner results.

but of course you'd all know this already, but its quite exciting for me though, never seen my lenses produce anything so sharp.
 
The Title has me thinking it is surprising there is not a "What tripod" magazine, there is a "What whatever" in just about everything else on the magazine shelves :LOL:
 
got into town and played with some tripods in the shops, quite surprised that many of the short list were available in stock, or at least similar models

impressions:

manfrotto 718SHB and 715SHB, small, cute, didn't appear very rigid as the bottom section of the legs quite springy, improved with shortening but then very short.

190 - its ok, bit springy on the bottom leg section but noticeably stiffer with the bottom section dropped back 3 inches. Also looks like the legs could be shortened by undoing the clamps to allow the inner sections to slide out, shortening then refit inner & clamp. Would need equal amount on each section, as it feels like the bottom section hits a stop inside the main tube. Lot of messing, but may be possible. Plain rubber caps as feet, would need an extra £20 spending on spike feet.

sherpa pro carbon jobs, 2 models in stock, one was the baby 435, packed up tiny, bit short and springy, also centre column very small diameter. The other was one of the larger models, much heavier construction, felt quite rigid, very light, centre column had long 1/4" thread. Shop one had plain rubber capped feet like the 190 but online they are shown with retracting spike feet, may have been old stock in the shop.

Found an 055 in jessops, they ignored me so I pulled it off the shelf and set it up in the main doorway. Hmm, chunky tubing, couldn't compare direct to the sherpa pro but impression was similar rigidity, but quite a bit of extra packing volume, and weight. Looked like the 055 could be shortened with a hacksaw too!

Bought a cheap & nasty ball joint from Jessops & took it home for a play on the monopod. I was wondering if angling the monopod would allow a better bracing stance & allow monopod to be used for the travel setup but test shots haven't show any discernable improvement. And the mini ball from jessops is a right piece of tat, I knew that, but it still offends.
 
inaneredstripe said:
daughter. rucksack?
Click to expand...

that would give space for the tripod and improve the weight distribution on the bike, but she's a bit heavy for my old back and a bit big for the rucksack :LOL:


I dont like carrying big solid things strapped around necks on a motorbike. Spent a fortune on protective gear including pukka back protector panel for her.
 
I think I have worked out the short enough tripod solution:

get a 190XB (straight up & down job), just lift out the centre column to fit it in the top box, that should chop a couple of cm off overall length, enough to just fit, if I'm desperate then I could also shorten the legs. Centre column is shorter than the legs anyway so should sit alongside with the head still fitted.

Job jobbed?
 
My Fiesol CT3441SB turned up today.

3 days after I ordered it ! From Taiwan. Amazing. :clap:

I also ordered the Short centre column and couple of extra quick release plates plus a set of short and long spikes.

Very pleased. Only had a quick play, stuck my NN3 on top and that was the wobbliest bit (I've tightened it up now).

Small & light, just what I want for travelling, if I need to replace my ageing Cullman 'pod, I will certainly consider one of the heavier Fiesols, unless I win the lottery, then I could consider the Gitzos :LOL:
 
Sorted

The 190XB and 322RC2 arrived today.

With the head still attached to the centre column the bottom plate is a simple push the blob to detach, the column can slide out and then everything fits in the top box.

thanks to everybody for their help & ideas.

for the record 190xb was £75 and 322RC2 was £75, both from ABC Digital & courtesy of camerapricebuster.co.uk (that's a useful website!)
 
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