My Tripod is not a POS

tijuana taxi

tijuana taxi

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Iv'e done the FF debate, so now onto to my next tongue in cheek topic Tripods and Heads

Having had a few different of each item it still surprises me how many people perch there not inconsiderably valuable camera equipment on something that flaps about like a **** house door in a storm.

Why having just bought the beginners outfit of a two grand body and equally priced lens, bung it atop a fifty quid "Tipso Collapso"
Pair that with a "Flaccido" ballhead which droops like it's had about ten pints of Adnams Broadside and you have a recipe for disaster

Yes the multi sectioned light as a feather travel tripod will fit in your suitcase, so would a pot noodle, but neither are any bloody use to man or beast

Please lets start giving good advice, tell people to get the best (sturdy and light) tripod they can afford. Buy a head that will support the most weighty lens in use without heading south faster than middle aged threepenny bits

These won't be cheap, but neither will replacement equipment and nearly (equally?) as bad ruined photos. Get the above before buying more filters than in the average packet of fags, the latter is nigh on useless without the former items
 
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tijuana taxi said:
Please lets start giving good advice, tell people to get the most sturdy tripod they can comfortably lug about. Buy a head that will support the most weighty lens you will use without heading south faster than middle aged threepenny bits
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You say that like this is something new. I don't think I have ever seen a post to a beginner saying "buy the cheapest support possible, they're all as sturdy as each other." :lol:

Any advice that I have seen (or given) has always been to buy the best tripod the person can afford. Every tripod thread will contain the phrase "buy cheap, buy twice" or a similar connotation of it....:thumbs:
 
Have to disagree, many of the suggested tripods are cheap and sturdy, but so heavy or big that they won't be carted about therefore effectively useless.

I am advocating spending a few hundred quid or more, fair enough if a budget is stated. I'm talking about people who have spent big on camera/lens then bought the "value" tripod which is less reliable than a Newsnight report
 
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I've got a cheap tripod as well as a gorilla pod slr zoom (or soemthing like that). I've used the tripod once and the gorillapod a few times. Spending a few hundred on a tripod would have been a waste of money for me as I very rarely use what I have - and when I have used the ones I have they've been upto the task I needed them for. I guess that's the same with a lot of people, they spend big on the camera and lens as they know those items will be used. They then buy a cheap tripod as it's only ever going to get occassional use, or they're fully aware that they will never bother lugging a big heavy one about with them.
 
I had a cheap (£19.99 Argos) tripod when I had my 450D but as soon as I got my 7D I realised I had to upgrade, so I bought a Manfrotto 055PROB and as soon as I set it up I thought, "why didn't I splash out on something like this sooner?".
 
I've just upgraded tripod from a cheap was ok to start me off to a more appropriately versatile version!
 
I have a 055Pro and a Giottos £25 jobby (two part leg and the whole tripod goes to around 70cm tall). Guess which one I use significantly more than the other...?

Correct... The Giottos! It's small and light, fits into a normal backpack and easily useable when travelling/holidays. The 055 weighs 2kg more and I have trouble fitting it into a bag for holiday/carrying round. It;s great for shooting things in the garden or when I specifically go out to shoot something (more rarely now I'm away from the coast) but other than that the Giottos, even with it's massive limitations, or more precisely tiny limitations (max height), gets much more use.

I can't really justify spending £400 on a Gitzo Travel tripod that weighs 1kg.:(

So yeah, all that "buy cheap buy twice" and "get a sturdy tripod" is all very well but in reality the best tripod is the one you can take with you. Even if it doesn't offer the best support it will definitely help reduce things lens movement and reduce the fatigue on your arms if you're using a heavy lens.
 
While I understand the reluctance to carry a tripod around - 2kg is probably nowhere near the weight of all the other gear we lug around all day!

I'd love a carbon tripod for carrying around - but until I start pooping out money in the mornings, I'm going to continue carrying my 055's around.

But I do agree with the fact that if people don't want to carry it around they probably wont.

It's the whole Tripod Triangle... Low cost/low weight/high stability... you can only pick 2....
 
Downside of a light tripod is that it is less stable. I used a cheap tripod for a while but I'd not I back to one after using my pro55B with 410 geared head.
 
Have to agree, before I got my tripod spent hours on research.
Paid more than I wanted, but was able to get a carbon model 2nd hand for £20 more than the alloy one is new.
I have a cheap one for fishing, which is ok when you just need to splay legs, but once you increase height, it's about as much use as an MP.
I would look at the scenarios you will be needing it for and work from there, I would have no issues putting my tripod up in windy conditions, old one not a chance.
 
I went with a used semi plastic £70 Slik 340DX and 200DQ ballhead partly because I didnt want to end up in the situation of having to buy a lighter travel alternative and didnt want to spend serious money on a carbon fibre alternative.

I'v been very happy with it so far, just about light enough to convince me to take it walking in the Alps all day and stable enough to use with but the 550D and my new D800 which I don't plan on shooting with large fast teles on.
 
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stu.artd said:
I've got a cheap tripod as well as a gorilla pod slr zoom (or soemthing like that). I've used the tripod once and the gorillapod a few times. Spending a few hundred on a tripod would have been a waste of money for me as I very rarely use what I have - and when I have used the ones I have they've been upto the task I needed them for. I guess that's the same with a lot of people, they spend big on the camera and lens as they know those items will be used. They then buy a cheap tripod as it's only ever going to get occassional use, or they're fully aware that they will never bother lugging a big heavy one about with them.
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EXACTLY same here! :D a cheap tripod always in the boot of the car, rarely taken out or used. Gorillapod used a few times, but I feel the joints are starting to get loose :(.

end of the day, it's all about whether you will make use of the equipment. why spend hundreds when they'll be left at home? this is the reason I bought the gorillapod, because of its size, I know I'll use it more often than any tripod I'll ever buy.


thinking about the weight, 2kg is about the exact weight I would be carrying about. that's 5D2 (900g) + 24-105L (700g) + 17-40L(500g) + accessories.
 
I too always have my tripod in the boot. But never use my camera without it.
 
I think when people start, they get the £15-£40 cheap tripod and head, and if they regularly use a tripod, they may eventually get a more sturdy high quality, and yes high priced option. For many people that is good enough, but it may be a false economy to put heavy gear on a cheap Tripod.

I wasn't that happy with the steadiness of the cheap Tripod I had, but it was only what I could have afforded at the time. :shrug: Once bought though, there is a reluctance to buy anything better when you have the money until something goes wrong. When the the plastic pan and tilt head sheared off in my hand :eek: (luckily) with the camera on, I thought it was time to get a good sturdy Tripod. ;)

I went for a large tripod, a Manfrotto 055ProB, which I use when photographing something local. (I don't drive)

When I started going abroad, I used to borrow friends Manfrotto 190ProB, as it fitted in my case, but when she let me down by not being able to find her Tripod as we were leaving for the airport :eek: :shake: :bonk: I was forced to buy a cheap Tripod when we got to Barcelona. :bang: After that I bought my own Manfrotto 190ProB so as not to get in the same situation again. I should have got the 190ProB to begin with, but felt I needed the larger Tripod. :bang:

I also went for a Ball Head as it suits the way I shoot. There are many different types of head to choose from though, the Tripod is the start. There is also the choice of head to think about, which will depend on the type of photography, and the weight of equipment too.
 
decigallen said:
I have two tripods. One was nearly £200 and one was around £60.

The £60 one is better.
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I've got 2 also one cost £100 the other £1800 guess which ones better :-/
 
I've got 2 also one cost £100 the other £1800 guess which ones better :-/
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Didn't know they made tripods from unobtainium, seriously what is it?

Guessing at one of the Gitzo Ocean jobs or are even those that much
 
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tijuana taxi said:
Didn't know they made tripods from unobtainium, seriously what is it?

Guessing at one of the Gitzo Ocean jobs or are even those that much
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It was £1800 but that's not the point.
 
Just interested, never seen one for that sort of money and wondered what made it so expensive
 
I bought a camlink cheapy one for my D90, and although it has performed well, the slightest wind ruins the shot. I've now sold it on and bought a 190XPROB as well as an old model Manfrotto ballhead, purchased seperately they cost me £50 inc. Delivery, couldn't be happier!

My advice would be to buy a tripod with the angle adjustment legs, dont be afraid of 2nd hand and ALWAYS bear in mind the weight of your camera/lens and prospective lenses against the maximum load of the prospective tripod. No way would my old camlink take my D90 + Grip + 80-200 2.8 AF-S!
 
Surely it will depend on what you intend to use the tripod for. I have a cheap £50 manfrotto. When I bought it I knew it would only be used indoors with my D90 (without it's grip) and with a 35 / 50 / 85mm lens. Perfect.
I could have spent £1800 if I had wanted, I am quite sure though that it would not do a better job for what I need and what I bought the tripod to do.
If I had needed a tripod for landscapes, I would have bought something suitable.
 
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