Quick tripod question

andy1868

andy1868

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So i'm in the market for a travel tripod but don't want to spend the earth on one at this time as i have enough to be paying for :lol: I'm planning on taking a tripod as i'm going to Prague at the end of October and i'm not expecting bright light all the time, coupled with 100iso Velvia or Provia i'll need something a little sturdier than my own hands. I'd also like to try some night-time long exposures as it's meant to be a very beautiful city.

Some of the small cheap tripods say they're only rated for a kilogram or so which wouldn't suffice for my D300 and 17-50 Tamron, or the F90 and 19-35 i'm also hoping to take. I do however have a Manfrotto MN234 head that i used on a monopod that is rated to 2.5kgs which would suffice (i know it has its limitations).

Does the rated weight from tripods with heads attached come from the weakness of the head or the weakness of the tripod? I'm thinking of getting a cheap tripod and putting the Manfrotto head onto it. What do we reckon? I'm abit drawn away from the cheap tripods because of the sturdiness issue, but at the same time i don't really have afew hundred quid to be throwing at a tripod. Perhaps a Redsnapper might be a nice compromise, they do the RST-283 for about £60 which would probably be about the limit of what i'm willing to spend. I might also be able to squeeze that into my bigger suitcase. Does anybody else have any other suggestions?
 
After more searching i've come across this Hama Travel I know Hama aren't meant to be the best quality but it seems to do everything i'm asking for, also includes a hook for a weight which i could attach my bag to for stability :) What do we think?
 
I've got that Hama for carrying on the motorbike - my main one won't fit the luggage.

It's OK - not brilliant - the ball head is a bit iffy as the lock is either fully on or fully off. I use a Giottos head on it and that works well. Not too bad for stability as long as you only extend the first set of the leg sections - after that the sections are too thin to be effective.

TBH it's pretty much what you'd expect from a cheap-ish tripod.

HTH.
 
it does help thanks Chris, it's confirmed what i thought to be true. I need to make some compromises i just need to decide on which ones i want to make :lol:

I take it the head on it just screws off so i can attach my own if needs be? The head i have isn't rated as highly weight wise but i know it to be bloody sturdy, i've never used a ball head so don't know how well they perform etc :)

tbh it is ticking all the boxes for me, it folds down slightly smaller than the redsnapper i mentioned earlier and is lighter too by half a kilo. Considering i'm already taking 2 slrs and afew lenses so every little weight saved is going to be a bonus
 
All the travel ones seem pretty crap to be honest :thumbsdown:

It probably doesn't really matter which one you get just don't put too much weight on it, don't extend the legs much if at all and pray for no windy days :lol:
 
Fair point nick, i know you can't have everything in a travel tripod but unfortunately flying has left me with fewer options :) I'm hoping a hook and a bag weighing it down might help on the windy days, there's got to be some advantage to carrying out afew cameras etc :lol:

Thanks Peter, i'll have a look into that one, it's only slightly over budget but it can be had a little cheaper on amazon so not too bad :)
 
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Yup the head is attached using a 1/4" screw. I attach my Giottos head via the 3/8" adapter that came with the head. I need to transport it with the head removed so it will fit in the bike pannier and its a diddle to just attach it when I get to location.
 
Oops - meant "doddle" - flipping autocorrect lol.
 
Thanks Chris, sounds perfect :)
 
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