Please for the Love of God Help me Choose a New Tripod!

CableTripper

CableTripper

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Stephen Hollingsworth
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First I'll apologise if this is a common question. I would have thought it was but a search of the forum suggests otherwise.

I feel like I'm lost in a sea of potential new tripods! There's way too much choice out there and with the nearest decent camera shop nearly 100 miles away I haven't had a chance to actually see and feel any of the available options so I'm drawing on the knowledge and experience of you guys and girls to help guide me.

I'm a photography newb having started only 3 months ago. My main interest is landscapes and I like walking long distances, usually up hills, to get to remote locations to shoot. My current tripod is a Velbon EF-61 which I originally bought to mount a large pair of binoculars for star gazing. While the legs feel quite robust to me the integrated plastic pan and tilt head is not and I'm pretty sure it will break sooner rather than later. When comparing it to the spec of other tripods it would seem the EF-61 is quite light weighing 1.5kg including the head. Despite this it is a noticeable weight to my already heavy backpack and I'd really like to find the lightest tripod/head combination I can without losing sturdiness.

I haven't decided on the head type I'll eventually go for but that's a topic for another thread. I have a couple of ball heads I can borrow to get me started so I plan to buy a tripod without a head to see how I get on with using a ball head (I quite like using the pan/tilt head I have if only it was stronger). Do all tripod heads have the same method of attachment to the tripod or could this be an issue?


If I list my desired features for a new tripod hopefully you guys can tell me if I'm being realistic and make some recommendations.

  • Budget - £150 ish. This is assuming I have to buy a head to go with it.
  • Weight - Preferably under 1.5kg including a head. I get the impression this is unrealistic without losing sturdiness. Ultimately a solid platform is more important than weight.
  • Sturdy, stable platform - see above.
  • Load capacity - 4-5kg I guess. My current camera with my heaviest lens only weighs about 1.5kg but I don't want to buy a new tripod if I get new gear. In astrophotography there's a general rule of thumb that you should only load a mount up to 50-60% of the manufacturer's recommended loading for reliable results. Is there a similar rule of thumb for photography tripods?
  • Multiple leg angles, independently adjustable.
  • Max Height - about 1.5m (depends if it has a central columb).
  • Weight Hook - you know those hooks for hanging a weight off the tripod to stop it blowing away, I'd like one of them.
Sorry for the long post but I want to get this right first time.
 
I'm not a great lover of tripods but for the limited times I use one I want it to do what I want and after years of frustration I'll never consider another conventional centre column straight up and down through the middle of the legs design. I'll only ever consider something as flexible as the Benbo I have now...

http://www.patersonphotographic.com/benbo-tripods.htm

If you go for one of these get the additional centre column bracket for extra control and no drunken bagpipes effect.
 
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i have just bought the manfrotto befree travel tripod I can fault it I love it bargain to £90 brand new :D
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

I'm currently looking at getting the manfrotto befree mainly for the weight, possibly the carbon version if my budget will stretch that far. I just can't bring myself to make the all up weight of the kit I carry any heavier.
 
Befree (I changed the head on mine for one that I found more ergonomic to operate). Or a 190 (stronger & goes higher). Consider collapsed height & backpack - it might fit inside. Don't know what you're after technique-wise, but a monopod's worth a couple of stops of steadiness (maybe less important these days since the invention of VR).
 
With tripods you usually can t have it all, I like doing landscapes and for me a full size tripod is a must because of uneven terrain. for your budget I would be looking at a manfrotto x190 or 055prob aluminium, but ultimately upgrading to a higher end tripod like a Gitzo with twist locking legs is the way to go but as you know they aren't cheap.
 
ashtennisguru said:
For that budget I would check out 3 Legged Things Punks range...

https://www.3leggedthing.com/punks
Click to expand...

Yep. I love my 3lt Brian and great for carrying around the hills particularly with centre column replaced by short stubby one supplied.

Well worth looking at the surui range too. Great value and highly regarded.

Mefoto stuff is worth considering too.

All this stuff is light and portable and should fit the bill but if landscapes are your thing I'd be surprised if you don't end up wanting a big sturdy tripod too when you don't need to travel light.
 
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Just to update anyone interested, after much deliberation I settled on a Benro Adventure carbon tripod with B1 head.

http://www.benroeu.com/products/benro-tad18c.aspx


I haven't tried it in anger yet but it ticked all the boxes and I found one for a good price at £200. It seems perfect when set up at home but the true test will be when I use it in the field.

I realise no one suggested this specific tripod but I still appreciate the advice given. Sometimes just asking the question and getting replies helps you make a decision with these things.
 
I was just about to chip in on Brian and 3LT but then read your last post....
 
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