Best Tripod

NorthernSouler74

NorthernSouler74

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Ciaran
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Does anyone have any suggestions for a sturdy but lightweight tripod? I bought one for about £80 in April and it has so may limitations I'm ready to invest in one that'll (hopefully) last for years.
 
Depends so much on what gear you want to put on top of it and what you use it for? I bet most people have more than one. When you say your current tripod "has so may limitations" what do you find limiting about it? My smallest/lightest tripod is a £40 Chinese job and I use it fairly regularly because it is nearly a kilo lighter than the expensive CF tripod that I have
 
What are planning to put on top of it?
How tall do you want it to be?
How small must it fold?
How light is light?
What is the budget?
Do you want a ball geared or three way head etc?
Where do you want to use it?

What do you have now?
 
If you can, it's worth having a play with some in a local camera shop. If you plan taking it out, it would be worth taking your bag with you to see how it fits and how heavy the whole is. I used to have a Manfrotto 190 (which is a great tripod) but I got fed up of lugging it around - by the time I had it and a flask of tea in the side pockets of my bag it weighed too much (and I'm not giving up the tea!).

Ian
 
TBH this is an area I couldn't personally skimp on - all my equipment sits on the tripod so it needs to be very sturdy.
I wouldn't rest easy worrying if a gust of wind or a wave could take everything in a second.
A short term saving could turn into a nasty expense....

I shoot with a Benro Mach 3 tripod and manfrotto 410 head - heavy & expensive combo but extremely sturdy - mind you, I don't walk any more than a couple of miles at a time so suits my needs.
There are some good 2nd hand offers around. Looked after well, and you will get years of use from them.
 
Canon 1300d = 1.2Kg So most of the above tripods mentioned would be fine. I think if you stick with the well known manufacturers you wont go wrong Manfrotto, Vanguard, Benro to mention a few
Of course the issue always is weight versus stability, and then you have the cost element. For many of us when we calculate whats actually screwed on top of that tripod, you don't think again about lashing out on an expensive stable tripod.
Sometimes there is not much difference between the Carbon and Ali 400 grams in the case of the Manfrotto 190.
Try MPB if your looking secondhand I have found them very good, but a lot of Photographic dealers have a used equipment section now. I'm sure you should be able to pick up a good tripod on Fleabay or a dealer for a sensible amount.
With regard to stability a lot of tripods have extendable center sections, I never use them in fact both mine are removed and replaced by a direct mounting stub. (Don't tell anyone its a secret removing the center column makes it lighter).
If you are in a precarious position always remember to anchor it down, there are a few horror stories on this forum of people watching there kit taking a nose dive off the cliff :eek:
Its worth keeping your old tripod unless you are compelled to sell it to fund a replacement they always come in handy if you need another support
All the best(y)
 
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alfbranch said:
What are planning to put on top of it?
How tall do you want it to be?
How small must it fold?
How light is light?
What is the budget?
Do you want a ball geared or three way head etc?
Where do you want to use it?

What do you have now?
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Exactly what I was going to ask...
 
Shady Ron said:
Does anyone have any suggestions for a sturdy but lightweight tripod? I bought one for about £80 in April and it has so may limitations I'm ready to invest in one that'll (hopefully) last for years.
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What limitations? The trade offs between size, price, weight, and stability (some of the most important parameters) are quite complex. I have a very sturdy extremely flexible Benbo tripod which I love, but which is sufficiently heavy that I only take it out when I have a definite photographic plan in mind which quite definitely requires its special virtues.

I have a £14 "ALDI special" full size tripod that served me well for a few years, but was a bit too annoyingly crap, mostly the built-in poor head which couldn't be replaced. I decided what I needed was a good lightweight travel tripod which would fit in airline cabin baggage, plus one of the best general purpose tripods I could afford. For the travel tripod I went for an aluminium Mefoto Globetrotter, the biggest travel-type tripod that could still fit in airline cabin baggage.

I found the Globetrotter to be so unexpectedly really good that I adopted it as my general purpose tripod as well. Then I found myself a bit annoyed at how often I found myself wanting a tripod when I wasn't actually carrying it. I should explain that I often take a camera out with me for a walk, with no particular photography in mind, just in case a photographic opportunity happens to turn up. Which as often as not it doesn't. So any extra lenses and tripod etc. I also take along just in case have to be easy enough to carry around for miles just in case.

Clearly I wasn't carrying the Mefoto around as much as I had the old cheap crap ALDI. Why not? I weighed them. The ALDI weighed 1kg, the Mefoto 2kg. So I have established by experiment that I'll happily carry a 1kg tripod around all day just in case, but not a 2kg one. Finding out what you're prepared to put up with and what you're prepared to sacrifice isn't easy.
 
Shady Ron said:
I'm ready to invest in one that'll (hopefully) last for years.
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I now have 4x series 5 Gitzos… last for years and generations!
 
i have a carbon manfrotto 055 and i love it. I have only had the aluminium 190 before this so i don't have lots of experience with tripods but the 055 I've had for about 2 years and its sturdy well made easy to use and not that much heavier than the 190 aluminium tripod.

I like that it can go taller than i need it to, and also very low with the centre column being able to go horizontal. Perfect for me
 
Shady Ron said:
Does anyone have any suggestions for a sturdy but lightweight tripod? I bought one for about £80 in April and it has so may limitations I'm ready to invest in one that'll (hopefully) last for years.
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Sturdy and lightweight = expensive! Sorry that is just the way it is!

You have already bought a cheap tripod and found it wanting (did the same myself!) so now it is time to bite the bullet and get a quality tripod. Personally I like Gitzo tripods (probably why I have 4 of them!). Now if you look at Gitzo retail prices you may need medical attention - they are horrific! Having said that I have yet to pay silly money for any Gitzo product.

You may have to search long and hard for a brand new Gitzo tripod at sensible money, they do come up but not often - I have 3. On the other hand used ones, at sensible money, do come along with reasonable frequency. Fairly recently I picked up an excellent travel tripod (Gitzo G1550T) for £140 - yes it is an older model but it will outlast me! A while back I bought a Gitzo G1329 Mk2, with a G1318 center column, for £100 at a camera shop!

If you are not in too much of a rush keep an eye on FleaBay - I have had some serious photography bargains there! If you really need to buy now then have a look at Feisol, Sirui, Benro and Induro.- all of them make some nice products though they are a bit pricey for my tastes, however they are available now.

I prefer to wait;)
 
Check out 3 legged thing. Their Punk range looks good. I've just bought their Equinox Leo kit which I will be taking out for a twiz in the next week or so.
 
Yep three legged Corey is the bomb, or if your rich the Leo really great tripods...
 
All the far east clones look very similar to me, some have brighter plumage, most have a detachable leg that becomes a monopod.
Apart from that just pick one from those in the same price bracket, comes down to cosmetic differences

Won't go far wrong with Manfrotto, bit workmanlike in action and look, but solid and dependable.
Gitzo are excellent, had several and my current choice FLM are in my opinion equally good.
 
Dave70D said:
You might think it`s silly but have a look in the charity shops, as I got one for a tenner years ago and it held my Canon 70D + Sigma 150-600mm like a dream as it is solid.
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its a good point I know cash convertors have shedloads in
 
Anybody using or used a 3LT Winston? I have a 3LT Brian and quite fancy having another 3LT for when I don't need to travel quite so small/light.
 
Just bought a Manfrotto Befree carbon tripod, not used it in anger yet, but folds down to 40cm in length and weighs about 1kg
Seems rigid enough and due to the design its overall folded width (or is it diameter?) is less than other travel tripods I have owned or seen

Will post a review with photos when I have field tested it, fingers crossed because it fits the bill
 
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gad-westy said:
Anybody using or used a 3LT Winston? I have a 3LT Brian and quite fancy having another 3LT for when I don't need to travel quite so small/light.
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I have a 3LT Brian but can't get on with it. Just seems too fiddly for my style. Bought it as a travel tripod but found that it was too big for travel and too small for more normal use. But then I am 6'2" and don't like bending over.
It's sat in the bottom of the wardrobe unloved.
 
mickledore said:
I have a 3LT Brian but can't get on with it. Just seems too fiddly for my style. Bought it as a travel tripod but found that it was too big for travel and too small for more normal use. But then I am 6'2" and don't like bending over.
It's sat in the bottom of the wardrobe unloved.
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I really like my Brian (sounds wrong!) but I only really use it when hiking decent distances and most tripods that pander to that use are a bit compromised in one way or another.

The Winston is much bigger. Just 3 fat leg sections and should offer eye height without centre column. So on paper, looks like what I'm after for normal usage. Just interested to hear other opinions. Unfortunately, these days there is nowhere local to go to take a look.
 
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Not wishing to cause any offense here but I have tried out three 3LT tripods and one mono pod. I love their design but, on the examples that I tried, the leg locks are suspect to say the least!
These were all brand new and unsold at a local (ish) camera shop and the best that I found was the mono pod as it had only two defective leg locks!

It is not that the leg locks do not lock - they do and very well too. However they have a remarkable amount of play when locked.I don't think there is any danger of collapse as they all supported a goodly weight but even so they were far too wobbly for my tastes. Add to this that they don't make a really rigid spider (top bit) and they cost more than my Gitzo tripods/mono pods - food for thought?

There are many happy 3LT users out there - but when I went to try them out every one was defective. I am not saying do not buy one, I am saying that one should test it thoroughly first!
 
johnf3f said:
Not wishing to cause any offense here but I have tried out three 3LT tripods and one mono pod. I love their design but, on the examples that I tried, the leg locks are suspect to say the least!
These were all brand new and unsold at a local (ish) camera shop and the best that I found was the mono pod as it had only two defective leg locks!

It is not that the leg locks do not lock - they do and very well too. However they have a remarkable amount of play when locked.I don't think there is any danger of collapse as they all supported a goodly weight but even so they were far too wobbly for my tastes. Add to this that they don't make a really rigid spider (top bit) and they cost more than my Gitzo tripods/mono pods - food for thought?

There are many happy 3LT users out there - but when I went to try them out every one was defective. I am not saying do not buy one, I am saying that one should test it thoroughly first!
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This was one of my concerns before I bought the Brian but it has been okay, good in fact. I understand the whole range has had a significant overhaul in the last 18 months to improve some aspects. It's kind of why I'm fishing for some knowledge of that particular tripod rather than the general range. Proper reviews seem thin on the ground but it's a great price right now, hence my temptation to give it a try.
 
gad-westy said:
This was one of my concerns before I bought the Brian but it has been okay, good in fact. I understand the whole range has had a significant overhaul in the last 18 months to improve some aspects. It's kind of why I'm fishing for some knowledge of that particular tripod rather than the general range. Proper reviews seem thin on the ground but it's a great price right now, hence my temptation to give it a try.
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The problem that I encountered on all of the 3LT supports that I tried seems to be down to inconsistent shims. The locking system works just fine - nice to use and positive. Between the outer of the thinner leg section and the inside of the larger/higher leg section there are plastic shims and these were too thin on some of the examples that I tried (hope that makes sense?!?). This allows the legs to wobble horizontally whilst still being locked vertically. If your tripod has shims that fit properly then they will lock fine and be nice and stable. What concerned me (and the retailer) was that the ones we tried were defective.I think this is a quality control issue rather than a design fault as most of the leg locks worked very well - but not all of them. Remember these were just the ones that I tried - a little more than 18 months ago.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Whether you like this sort of thing or not it echoes the comments above from John

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p37OLkOSN70
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Tony N seems to like flip locks on tripods, having had a couple of "Flip Lock" tripods I will never have one again. Even the poorest "Twist Locks" that I have owned/tried are superior. My problem/issue with the 3LT products that I tried was not their locking ability, that was just fine, it was that when locked there was still some horizontal play on some (but not all) of the leg locks.
Hope that clarifies.
 
johnf3f said:
Tony N seems to like flip locks on tripods, having had a couple of "Flip Lock" tripods I will never have one again. Even the poorest "Twist Locks" that I have owned/tried are superior. My problem/issue with the 3LT products that I tried was not their locking ability, that was just fine, it was that when locked there was still some horizontal play on some (but not all) of the leg locks.
Hope that clarifies.
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Had good and bad of both types, the latest Gitzo are good although I disliked the older type that needed to be tightened in order
Also had good flip locks on an old Manfrotto 055CB and the ones on the new Befree are as yet untested, ok so far

I continue to be impressed with FLM, their twist locks are the only ones that are in my opinion genuinely half a twist to lock/unlock.
No doubt 3LT make decent enough stuff, but to me all the colourful plumage is window dressing on another far east clone, bit pricy too.
 
It's not that easy to find a good group test of the sort of tripods I'm looking for. Was drawn to the 3LT Winston as I wanted fat legs and ideally just three sections with a solid ball head. I have a travel tripod already so really looking for something that will give me full working height without getting down to skinny legs or extended column. Will be using it with Fuji so 3LT winston and head currently sits at £299 which seems a good price. What are the alternatives in this sort of price range? Would need arca head. Sirui are on the radar.
 
This a thread of interest to me at the moment.
I have two manfrotto pods, 1 with a grip head the other a three way bog standard.

I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with the heads moving slightly at the time I lock them.
The pods themselves are sturdy enough though.

I am ignorant of these things to a large extent but would a geared head (whatever that is?) overcome the problem?
 
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