Cheap tripod recommendations?

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LumixNoob

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Are any of the cheaper tripods any good for outdoor use? I have one and the legs are so thin when it's fully extended I might as well have not bothered taking it with me. Any wind makes it totally useless. The price of some tripods is ridiculous, they cost more than the rest of my gear put together! If I bought one I'd be single :)
 
Use a fence post or a wall and buy a small beanbag that mounts on camera base! You won't get a cheap lightweight sturdy tripod! Like I'll never find a 300mph car that does 250mpg and runs on tap water and is free!
 
You can get some good value tripods that don't cost the earth. Redsnapper do an excellent range and offer great support / warranty too without the price being eye watering.
 
cheaper tripods are a false economy, save up and get a decent one from the get go as the cheap ones tend to be flimsily made so don't last very long and aren't especially stable to boot. A good tripod with a decent head will last you for years. If you don't want to pay silly money then got for an alloy one, it won't be ultra lightweight but that will be its only drawback over a carbon one.
 
Tripods seem to appear regularly in the classifieds often in mint condition at a very reasonable price What sort of budget are you working to and whats the largest body / lens you want to support
 
Best not to extend it fully if you don't need to, especially the centre column when it's windy. That's what your articulated LCD is for ;)
 
Steve B said:
Best not to extend it fully if you don't need to, especially the centre column when it's windy. That's what your articulated LCD is for ;)
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Yep, I came to that exact same conclusion yesterday.

I thought having the legs fully extended would give it a wider footprint and help steady it, no such luck.
 
LumixNoob said:
Yep, I came to that exact same conclusion yesterday.

I thought having the legs fully extended would give it a wider footprint and help steady it, no such luck.
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The theory is sound, the wider the footprint the better to some extent. I'm wondering what type of tripod you have now though, can you splay the legs right out, or will they only go so far? Most these days will go right out so the centre column can touch the ground.

As @sk66 states above, adding weight will also help. Hanging your camera bag on the tripod is quite common practice, just make sure it doesn't blow around in the wind, that will make matters worse. In those sort of conditions, having the bag just touching the ground will help.
 
Buy cheap and you will regret, save for a Carbon Gitzo you won't regret. They come up occasionally in the sales.
Even secondhand they are a bargain.
 
The other consideration is a decent head to put atop your new tripod, no point in a stable set of legs if the head aĺlows the body/lens to creep.

Worth spending good money on both, personally happy to spend an equal amount as a good lens, some good value kit around these days.
 
People keep saying don't buy cheap.

But I've got a almost £200 tripod that I so rarely use, might as well have bought a £50 one.

Make sure you will use the tripod's worth, otherwise no harm in buying a cheap tripod to get the hang of photography and decide whether it's worth it.
 
Playing devils advocate, how about if you buy cheap, use it once and it falls over with the camera on it?
 
I've been using a Velbon Sherpa 600r for a number of years and it's been OK. see loads of them with spotting scopes on whenever we go bird spotting. It cost about £80 IIRC.

However, I recently bought a set of Giottos carbon fibre legs (MTL8261B) from Camera King (via Amazon) for £85 delivered. Light and very solid.Would heartily recommend this offering from Giottos, at £85 is a real bargain IMHO. Of course you'll need to add a head, I'm using a Redged ball head from my travel tripod at the moment and am very pleased
 
tijuana taxi said:
Playing devils advocate, how about if you buy cheap, use it once and it falls over with the camera on it?
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Any tripod, cheap or dear, can fall over if it's not used correctly. The best tripod is the one you're prepared to carry around and use. If it's left at home it's not much good (except for hanging washing on).
 
Any tripod, cheap or dear, can fall over if it's not used correctly. The best tripod is the one you're prepared to carry around and use. If it's left at home it's not much good (except for hanging washing on).
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I recently acquired a cheapo tripod to use on a trade in deal, I can assure you it was far more unstable than even a moderately priced one. So no I disagree, carrying round a pos that flaps around like the proverbial door in a storm is not much cop at all

Also how would you hang washing on a tripod?
 
Carrying a cheap wobbly tripod around is a waste of effort and raises false expectations. The best tripod is one that provides enough stability to do the job being asked of it, or no tripod at all.
 
Cheap
Sturdy
Light...

Pick 2 is the rule for tripods.. :)

People spend 1-2K on a camera and lens, then expect a £50 tripod to be good... A false economy tbh...
 
Is it something you will be hiking with, i.e. is weight and compactness (probably not a word) an issue. I have a mini traveller tripod which I got free with a magazine subscription. Perfect for hiking for landscapes in calm weather, but it's too light for use in any sort of wind and the legs only open to one position. I have been looking for a tripod I can carry on a hike with ball head and legs which open to various angles and think the Redsnapper 284 for £90 looks like a very good deal.
 
Stu Meech said:
@LumixNoob - what is your budget?
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mipevo6 said:
Cheap
Sturdy
Light...

Pick 2 is the rule for tripods.. :)

People spend 1-2K on a camera and lens, then expect a £50 tripod to be good... A false economy tbh...
Click to expand...

cmcm789 said:
Is it something you will be hiking with, i.e. is weight and compactness (probably not a word) an issue. I have a mini traveller tripod which I got free with a magazine subscription. Perfect for hiking for landscapes in calm weather, but it's too light for use in any sort of wind and the legs only open to one position. I have been looking for a tripod I can carry on a hike with ball head and legs which open to various angles and think the Redsnapper 284 for £90 looks like a very good deal.
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I'm looking for something that's stable in wind/outdoor conditions but is small enough to fit in a 65l rucksack. It doesn't have to be light, and being light is probably not a good thing anyway. As for budget, it depends; It'll just take me longer to get the money together, but there's no point rushing out and buying junk (been there done that). I was thinking about £200-250 without head. The one I've got is OK with remote/timer as long as there's no wind, so I can kind of make do with it while I save the money for a new one.
 
I don't know what height a 65L rucksack works out, but I have a Manfrotto 055cxpro3 which is excellent and was about £225 from Amazon Germany.

But perhaps look at the Manfrotto Be Free range, they do both an Aluminium one and a Carbon Fibre one.
 
The budget buy will be an aluminum (tubular) tripod rated for 2-3x the weight you will be putting on it. Get the longest collapsed length you are willing to carry (fewer sections/joints). The Benro Travel Flat series might suit you well.
 
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