Cheap tripod £15

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Tom_D

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Tom
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Hi guys,

I'm after a cheap tripod for my digital camera around the £15 mark. I bought the Hama Star 75, but within 2 days the head fell off! I guess I get what I pay for, but isn't there something half decent that I could get for £15?

I've been looking at the other Hama Star range, but I'm not sure if to give the Hama Star 62 a try. Any suggestions please?

Thanks
 
Great suggestion - pay more and get a decent one!

Redsnapper are good and TP members get a 10% discount. Really cheap tripods are just that, not worth buying IMHO, been there and done it!
 
On a very tight budget at the moment though, and only wanted something for some macro shots. Shame my Joby Gorillapad is so small!
 
Tom you said it yourself mate, you get what you pay for cheap tripods are ok for very light use but honestly i wouldn't bother. If you can try an up your budget it will pay dividends in the future, have a look at the redsnapper website his are really good value for money and plenty of peeps from here have bought them including myself.
 
Sorry, can't give any advice about the tripods you're interested in.

However, people normally buy a cheap tripod first, have it fall to pieces (the head snapped off my first tripod as well, :( luckily in my hand :)) then buy a sturdier tripod. ;)

£15 for a tripod is extremely cheap, my first one was about £30, and I wouldn't trust anything that cheap to take the weight reliably. Depends on the size of camera you're using though. ;)

Once you spend the extra on quality, and compared to £15 it would be a lot extra, then you'd probably have that tripod for life.
 
For macro you really want a good tripod as even the tiniest shudder will blur the shot. Maybe a good beanbag would be better?
 
Don't forget to return the broken tripod to the shop as 2 days of use there must be somthing wrong with it.
 
Get to your local car boot sales and you should be able to pick something up there.
 
I agree with the suggestion that you return the broken one.

Jessops do a table top tripod for £12. I had a cheapo Jessops tripod for years and it was ok within reason but I think that their cheapest is now £25-30.

These cheapo tripods wont be perfect but I managed for years with one by making sure that it was as stable as possible and using a time delay when shooting.

Good luck with getting your money back and with finding a cheap replacement.
 
i have a camlink tppro28b and its probably the best budget tripod you get, it has the weight and sturdiness of a manfrotto tripod however it has a fixed three way head (good for macro) and it only costs £50, i would definitely recommend as i've had cheapo tripods in the past and this tripod is phenomenal!

have a look at my flower images on flickr, i used the tripod on all of them and they're still shake free!
 
TinaC said:
Aldi have some, but I don't know the price...didn't need so didn't look. It was one of their special purchases if you have a store near you might be worth a gande
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I have one of these, and must say for the money it's a steal, also comes with a spare plate!...I wouldn't expect a lifetimes wear out of it though!

Just remembered, It has a 3yr. guarantee.
 
I just went to Aldi and picked up the ones that they had in, and I must say, for only £12 they're a real bargain.

The head on it is very smooth, the legs are nice and thick and it's really tall when it's fully extended.

I wont have to set a timer with it now when I want to take a pic - It's solid!
 
I started off with a cheap hama tripod- very plasticy and not smooth to use- when I got a red snapper one for xmas I couldn't believe the quality and how sturdy it was! The hama holds a speedlite ok!!! Not over impressed with the red snapper ball head but I was expecting something very fluid and a bit optimistic, still well built just not very smooth unless you slacken it right off- but then you need about 3 turns to nip it up again!
 
Do you have a link to the Aldi one please Tom or a photo?

I have one that was bought from there ages ago, didn't seem all that sturdy but for the 10-15 that I paid it's a bargain and I still use it. Just wanted to see if it's the same one or whether it may be worth going seeing if they have any new ones.
 
I've used one of the Aldi tripods for a few years now and its been in all sorts of scrapes (I photograph off road days and off road trials) its held up brilliantly, its also got a built in spirit level which is a great help for panoramic pictures.
 
I had an Aldi tripod for about 10 minutes - really not sturdy enough for a DSLR, but probably Ok for a compact. Took it back and now have a RedSnapper.
 
I'm curious to know what camera/lens combination you are going to entrust to a £15 tripod. If you have spent decent money on decent equipment I would personally avoid photography that involved entrusting it to a £15 tripod, especially as you've already had a head 'break off'

Save up and buy a decent tripod, Manfrotto etc.
 
£10 Hama one at ASDA.

If you're serious about photography though, you'll pay at least £100 for one.
 
i have a £12 hama one from asda and another cheap one from argos £25 i think.

had them a couple of years and there still working fine...

i dont have the money to justify buying a more expensive tripod when these do the job.
 
If you have a £10 camera and lens then get a £15 tripod :p



If not save up and buy a decent one even if its second hand :thumbs:
 
Cyclops said:
If you have a £10 camera and lens then get a £15 tripod :p



If not save up and buy a decent one even if its second hand :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Well I'm only using a compact that cost me £90 so I don't feel I need expensive equipment at the moment.

When I step up to a DSLR, I'll buy quality stuff.
 
I've got a Hama Star-something kicking around the boot of the car.. I'll give it away if you're local (not worth posting).. it cost me a tenner from Amazon a few years a go and owes me nothing..

The one that pops-up in Aldi from time-to-time on their specials is a rebadged Hama Star - at least the last one I saw was. I don't see it listed on their specials at the moment.
 
I have just collected a Velbon CX440 off freecycle like new. It will do me for starters especialy for nothing
 
Make sure your camera is insured, and set a camera up to take the pic as you watch it falls over top heavy Priceless lol. But if your happy thats all thats counts keep us updated
 
I want cheap light but VERY SAFE I saved up for a while to get the camera. I see what you mean.
Have just set it up and is wobbley to say the least with the kit lens on.

I went one further and added a 70-300 used a remote trigger and the LCD screen... scary the whole thing vibrates and shakes while focusing and wobbles for a bit after.

I need to save up... but to buy what?...I am not made of money but understand safty/sturdy comes at a cost
 
I'd just like to say not paying over £100 does not mean you aren't "serious about photography". If money doesn't allow, buy whatever you can afford and try your best to avoid damaging it, or putting your equipment at risk by not using it properly.

I've got a Hama Star 61 I got for £14 and it works fine, has a hook on the bottom for adding weight, and two decent spirit levels. I'd love a better tripod, but for now, it works!
 
IMHO the £15 odd hama tripods are not fit for purpose - only the leg shafts are metal the rest is plastic so there's always quite a bit of flex in them... there's no need to spend £100+ there are reasonable metal travel tripods by slik/velbon/red snapper that will do a worthwhile job without going into crazy money.

I've been using a slik 330dx which is as sturdy as anything below a manfrotto 190 (quick play with the on display tripods at my local jessops). I recently upgraded to a manfrotto 055 so i'll probably be looking to sell on my slik for around £50 if you're interested
 
I used to use a £15 Argos tripod which was fine when I used my Panasonic LX1 compact, but when I got my Canon 40D + Grip and 18-50mm f2.8 lens, I didn't feel safe trusting my camera equipment on it. Although I did use it a couple of times, it wasn't very steady so I tended to leave it behind and didn't really do much tripod work.

Recently, due to having a collection of Amazon vouchers sitting unspent, I decided to splash out on a Manfrotto 055XDB and Giottos MH1302-652 ball head, and realised what I've been missing out on! It is rock solid, holds my camera with 70-200mm f2.8 with ease and I'm sure will last me many years (well, until I can afford a carbon fibre Gitzo!)

A tripod is one of those things where if you invest in a good one, it will last you. Buying cheap ones and finding them breaking/not being steady is a waste of a money which could go towards a decent one.
 
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