What should I prioritise?

AllFallD0wn

AllFallD0wn

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Nick
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Hi all!

I'm relatively new to photography, and I'm mostly into landscape photography. Around January I purchased a DSLR (Sony-a390), and a cheap and cheerful tripod from eBay.

The tripod isn't that sturdy, but it does the job, but now I'm looking at either getting a Lee filter kit, or a new tripod. I will end up with both at one point, but I'm on a tight budget at the moment, and I'm just wondering which I should prioritise for the time being: Tripod, or Filter Kit

Thanks in advance! :)
 
AllFallD0wn said:
Hi all!

I'm relatively new to photography, and I'm mostly into landscape photography. Around January I purchased a DSLR (Sony-a390), and a cheap and cheerful tripod from eBay.

The tripod isn't that sturdy, but it does the job, but now I'm looking at either getting a Lee filter kit, or a new tripod. I will end up with both at one point, but I'm on a tight budget at the moment, and I'm just wondering which I should prioritise for the time being: Tripod, or Filter Kit

Thanks in advance! :)
Click to expand...

It does, in part, depend on the sort of landscapes you intent to take, but in general (and particularly if you start adding ND filters) landscapes will use slower shutter speeds so that sharp images hand-held (even with IS) are not possible.

If you're looking at a set of Lee's, the price of them will be far more than a tripod (unless you get fancy with the tripod), so makes sense to get the tripod first - since you will often use the tripod without the filters, but rarely use the filters without a tripod.
 
If the tripod does the job another option is buy the filters and a cheap n' cheerful wired remote for the A390 off Amazon or Ebay which would eliminate any shake from pressing the shutter button.
 
Myrdhinn said:
If the tripod does the job another option is buy the filters and a cheap n' cheerful wired remote for the A390 off Amazon or Ebay which would eliminate any shake from pressing the shutter button.
Click to expand...

A390 doesn't have a wired remote option, but I have a wireless remote already. The tripod does work, it's just very unstable (got it for a tenner from eBay), but like I say, I'll be getting a new one, it's just a question of which and when.
 
I get all my equipment from here.
 
A starter Lee kit will set you back a good £200; for that kind of money you could buy a very good and stable Manfrotto tripod & ball-head and a starter set of HiTech filters. HiTech aren't as good as Lee, but they're very good.
 
The tripod is definitely a priority - despite owning NDGrads I only use them occasionally whereas the tripod gets used the vast majority of the time.

The Redsnapper tripods are very good for the money

Simon
 
It really depends how the gear is used. For longer exposures, yes the tripod would come first, and it is possible to simulate grads with a black cloth in front of section of the lens for a fraction of exposure. Some landscape work can be done handheld (daytime) and filters would probably come first. Not everything needs f22 and / or 10 stop filter! Oh and Lee filters aren't perfect - they are about as good as non-coated C39 resin can be and not a little more. They scratch, and they can cause lots of flare. Higher up there are mega expesive "video" glass square filters.... I'd love to get some - cheap!
 
simonkit said:
The tripod is definitely a priority - despite owning NDGrads I only use them occasionally whereas the tripod gets used the vast majority of the time.

The Redsnapper tripods are very good for the money

Simon
Click to expand...

Thanks for that - I've just found this:

http://www.redsnapperuk.com/camera-accessories/RS-283_tripod_and_RSH-24_3-way_head_.html#nogo

A few questions someone with more experience might be able to answer:

1) Will this be pretty sturdy?
2) 3 way head - does this mean it will be able to tip into portrait mode, as well as be able to look "up and down" as it were
3) Does this look like a decent tripod for the money?
 
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