Which tripod?

lolage

lolage

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After going through a phase of wanting a Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 monopod I've come to realise I may be limiting myself only having a monopod without having a decent tripod first. I will be able to use my cheapo £30 tripod as some sort of monopod for the monopod type of shots.

I'm in two minds whether to get a Libec TH-650 for £120 odd (link) or go all out on a manfrotto 502 head costing £150 for the head alone with some sticks.

Can't really find any reviews of the Libtec online, would this suffice or would I really make better use of the manfrotto stuff? If I bought the Libtec, I'd be able to afford a slider... :help:
 
Yea, I have also bookmarked it. I'm contemplating splashing on a new lens or buying little bits.
 
I have a Velbon DV-7000. This metal tripod has a leg spreader and large diameter, sturdy legs, making it a flexible and rigid base for video.

When I took delivery of my D800, I realised it needed an upgrade, so I ditched the crappy plastic head that came with it and replaced it with a Manfrotto 701HDV. This head is superb value for money.

Together this is a very usable and good value combination, and suitable for most prosumer DSLR use. I've used it happily with a D800 + 70-200 f/2.8 VRII + teleconverter, giving me an effective focal length of 340mm. See some of my first test footage here using this combo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DINUi31W2j8&feature=plcp

I'd advise buying a Velbon tripod hook (screws to the base of the column) from which you can hang your camera bag to add weight and steady the tripod in windy conditions. Alternatively you can attach a bungee and keep this taught by putting your foot through a loop on the lower end, stretching it until your foot is on the floor.
 
lolage said:
I'm in two minds whether to get a Libec TH-650 for £120 Can't really find any reviews of the Libtec online
Click to expand...

I'll give you a review as I own one. Avoid!

It's a cheap and cheerful excuse for a video tripod. It's light weight and won't hold
a camera steady enough to shoot good video.
It has a centre level spreader which makes it difficult to set on awkward levels
and impossible to set lower than about 36", so useless for low shots.

At £120 I suggest you'll be wasting your money. Pound to a penny you'll regret it.
If you want to shoot decent video, whether that be, weddings, short film drama
or doc's you'd be better off spending more money on a better tripod.

£250ish will get you a Vinten Pro5 or 6 on ebay. Fluid head, decent legs with floor spreader (removable),
heavy enough to keep your shots steady, light enough to lug around.
Perfect for 5D/60D etc especially if you ever start adding rails, LCD monitors, follow focus etc

The 502 I'm sure is a nice head as Manfrotto don't tend to make rubbish but have a look at some others before you commit.
 
After thought... The Vinten Pro 5/6 etc are actually re badged Manfrotto's
 
SLRist said:
I have a Velbon DV-7000. This metal tripod has a leg spreader and large diameter, sturdy legs, making it a flexible and rigid base for video.

When I took delivery of my D800, I realised it needed an upgrade, so I ditched the crappy plastic head that came with it and replaced it with a Manfrotto 701HDV. This head is superb value for money.

Together this is a very usable and good value combination, and suitable for most prosumer DSLR use. I've used it happily with a D800 + 70-200 f/2.8 VRII + teleconverter, giving me an effective focal length of 340mm. See some of my first test footage here using this combo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DINUi31W2j8&feature=plcp

I'd advise buying a Velbon tripod hook (screws to the base of the column) from which you can hang your camera bag to add weight and steady the tripod in windy conditions. Alternatively you can attach a bungee and keep this taught by putting your foot through a loop on the lower end, stretching it until your foot is on the floor.
Click to expand...

Cheers, price looks nice for that too! Just wondering though if I might as well spend £100ish on manfrotto legs and get a video head as well instead of spending £60 on that to only replace the video head? Does the video head suffice for the time being do you reckon? Will have a 600D and either a Tokina 11-16 2.8 or Sigma 17-50 on so fairly heavy lenses.

It will be used for mountain bike/powerkite documentarys.

OwenP said:
I'll give you a review as I own one. Avoid!

It's a cheap and cheerful excuse for a video tripod. It's light weight and won't hold
a camera steady enough to shoot good video.
It has a centre level spreader which makes it difficult to set on awkward levels
and impossible to set lower than about 36", so useless for low shots.

At £120 I suggest you'll be wasting your money. Pound to a penny you'll regret it.
If you want to shoot decent video, whether that be, weddings, short film drama
or doc's you'd be better off spending more money on a better tripod.

£250ish will get you a Vinten Pro5 or 6 on ebay. Fluid head, decent legs with floor spreader (removable),
heavy enough to keep your shots steady, light enough to lug around.
Perfect for 5D/60D etc especially if you ever start adding rails, LCD monitors, follow focus etc

The 502 I'm sure is a nice head as Manfrotto don't tend to make rubbish but have a look at some others before you commit.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the review, was so close to buying that - saved me £150! (y) Will take a look atthose Vinten's - cheers.
 
OwenP said:
I'll give you a review as I own one. Avoid!

It's a cheap and cheerful excuse for a video tripod. It's light weight and won't hold
a camera steady enough to shoot good video.
It has a centre level spreader which makes it difficult to set on awkward levels
and impossible to set lower than about 36", so useless for low shots.

At £120 I suggest you'll be wasting your money. Pound to a penny you'll regret it.
If you want to shoot decent video, whether that be, weddings, short film drama
or doc's you'd be better off spending more money on a better tripod.

£250ish will get you a Vinten Pro5 or 6 on ebay. Fluid head, decent legs with floor spreader (removable),
heavy enough to keep your shots steady, light enough to lug around.
Perfect for 5D/60D etc especially if you ever start adding rails, LCD monitors, follow focus etc

The 502 I'm sure is a nice head as Manfrotto don't tend to make rubbish but have a look at some others before you commit.
Click to expand...

This is the right advice. Always spend a bit more than you can afford on a video tripod...

There was a manfrotto 503hdv kit for £300 buy it now the other day. Pretty good for slrs.

I was very impressed with the new 502 head when I played with it at focus. Avoid the 501 like the plague though
 
itsdavedotnet said:
This is the right advice. Always spend a bit more than you can afford on a video tripod...

There was a manfrotto 503hdv kit for £300 buy it now the other day. Pretty good for slrs.

I was very impressed with the new 502 head when I played with it at focus. Avoid the 501 like the plague though
Click to expand...

Cheers, yeah have looked into the 502 and seems the best value head so if I was to go the Manfrotto route I'd get that head. Which legs would you recomend for around £100?
 
I use a velbon dv-7000 tripod for mine, fluid headed and very sturdy. Bit weighty but does the job perfect!

Fully recommend it.
 
parker455 said:
I use a velbon dv-7000 tripod for mine, fluid headed and very sturdy. Bit weighty but does the job perfect!

Fully recommend it.
Click to expand...

Cool, for £60 I might as well give it a go which means I can easily afford a slider too. :)
 
lolage said:
Cool, for £60 I might as well give it a go which means I can easily afford a slider too. :)
Click to expand...

Absolutely i bought mine from eBay and it's been perfect, came with a manfrotto bag too!
 
Will the Velbon DV-7000 be okay supporting a crane plus 5kg weight?
 
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itsdavedotnet said:
This is the right advice. Always spend a bit more than you can afford on a video tripod...

There was a manfrotto 503hdv kit for £300 buy it now the other day. Pretty good for slrs.

I was very impressed with the new 502 head when I played with it at focus. Avoid the 501 like the plague though
Click to expand...

Why the 501 whats so bad about it as a video head?

Ive ben looking at the Manfrotto 546GBK Video Tripod with 504HD Head

Cheapest seems to be this place http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/inde..._504HD546GBK&gclid=CMLY68engbECFZMmfAodEx2HOg
 
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konastab01 said:
Ive ben looking at the Manfrotto 546GBK Video Tripod with 504HD Head
Click to expand...

If you are going new have a look at the smaller Sachtler, in terms of video legs.
They are industry standard. Tend to cost a bit more money but when they're looked after
they keep the value. I bought a Sachtler DV2 with two stage ally legs for £350 about 5 years ago and sold two months ago for £275.
Sachtler alternative below

http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/index.php?t=product/sachtler_0307
 
lolage said:
Will the Velbon DV-7000 be okay supporting a crane plus 5kg weight?
Click to expand...

Not a chance!

konastab01 said:
Why the 501 whats so bad about it as a video head?

Ive ben looking at the Manfrotto 546GBK Video Tripod with 504HD Head

Cheapest seems to be this place http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/inde..._504HD546GBK&gclid=CMLY68engbECFZMmfAodEx2HOg
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if the 501 is even a proper fluid head. Either way, it's sticky and just very difficult to get even slightly smooth movement from. I wouldn't have recommended it before, and now that the 502 has been released it's utterly obselete.

504's are great, I love working with them. CreativeVideo are a legit seller too.
 
502s have been getting very good reviews and it's probably all the head anyone would need for a long time.

The odd serious bargain also shows up on Ebay for used stuff every now and then. If you go the extra for high end Sachtler, Vinten, Libec tripods bought at the right price you won't lose a penny.

It's sometimes worth having a look at amazon.de if you're looking to buy Manfrotto. The prices can be considerably cheaper than amazon.co.uk for certain models.

For instance a 502 with 535 carbon legs and bag is £629. The same from Amazon.de is £485.

If you want the head alone you can get the flat based one for £120 from Germany vs £148 from the UK and there's a similar saving with the bowl mount.
 
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This is a real nightmare. Having had a quick look for vinten and sachtler, ill be back for aome more advice before i go two feet first!

Thanks guys
 
I guess the decision depends on the weight of the kit you're planning on putting on your tripod. A 502 is rated for a max of 5kg but I'm sure going above might be OK.

You might find an old Vinten or something for a really good price but it might turn out to be total overkill. Many of them'll be designed for broadcast sized cameras rather than DSLRs and camcorders and will weigh a ton.

Lots of video fans have been using the Fancier 717 or FC-270 which is about £150 or less for the head and legs and takes 6kg. I tried one and it did the job well but the build quality didn't inspire huge confidence.

Libec LS38s get a good write up. They can handle 4-8kg and turn up used occasionally. Making a decision is a bit of a nightmare indeed.
 
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it does partly depend on how long a lens you're going to be using and how smooth a moves you want/need.

Certainly, once you've used a 503/4 or sachtler tripod, you won't ever want to use anything cheaper.
 
Sigh - so it looks like my dream of spending £60 on a tripod and £200 on a crane has gone out of the window! :bang::bang:

The crane I was looking at was just over 6kg and have been told I'll need abou 5kg of counter weight. Not even the Manfrotto 504 can handle that only allowing you 7.5.

Should I be looking at getting a crane with a stand like this for example? Then I'd be able to make do with the £60 tripod as I'd use the crane for the majority of my work.
 
What size of camera do you want to throw around?

I looked at cranes and ended up making one of these http://oliviatech.com/how-to-make-a-diy-camera-jib which cost me about £40 all in and works pretty well considering I'm totally useless at anything practical. It flexes a bit, but I'm guessing they all do, and with careful handling you can get perfect shots.

There are a ton of other DIY plans out there and it's one of the accessories that are easily DIYable.

To give an idea of weight I stuck the crane, a Panasonic GH2 and 5kg weight on a Manfrotto 128LP and 055 legs which I'm sure are rated for way, way less. It handles it fine.
 
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bloomen said:
What size of camera do you want to throw around?

I looked at cranes and ended up making one of these http://oliviatech.com/how-to-make-a-diy-camera-jib which cost me about £40 all in and works pretty well considering I'm totally useless at anything practical. It flexes a bit, but I'm guessing they all do, and with careful handling you can get perfect shots.

There are a ton of other DIY plans out there and it's one of the accessories that are easily DIYable.

To give an idea of weight I stuck the crane, a Panasonic GH2 and 5kg weight on a Manfrotto 128LP and 055 legs which I'm sure are rated for way, way less. It handles it fine.
Click to expand...
DIY option looks good actually, my dad is pretty hands on too so he may be able to help too!

Only have a Canon 600D, just weighed it with my heaviest lens & mic and it comes in at just over 1.5kg so probably do able!

I'm thinking about getting the Velbon DV-7000 and using the head to put on a DIY crane. I'll buy a Manfrotto 502 head to use with the Velbon as the legs look pretty decent?

I presume you got your stuff from B&Q for the crane?
 
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I want a tripod thats gonna last fora good few years.
One that as i upgrade cameras will take what i throw at it!

Got my eye on a few on ebay once im back on the computer ill post some stuff up.

Main thing is tho that it doesnt topple when i slide the glidetrack from one side to another and have a good fluid head on it. Thats actually fluid. 504 seems like the one or some other the other brands listed.

Thanks again guys
 
B&Q indeed. It worked out about the same as buying metal via mail order as the carriage is so high.

I used 20mm square tube and it flexes a bit but is the perfect size to slip a barbell weight on. I stuck a couple of plastic barbell clamps on that eventually fit after hammering them down the tube to create grooves and it's a very neat solution.

I had to double up on the aluminium angle for the base as mine was too thin.

The irritating bit was getting hold of nylon/ teflon washers. B&Q wanted about 8 quid for ten rather pathetic examples and I ended up paying far too much at Halfords.

Get a selection of sizes from Ebay for a quid or two instead. I bought 1mm thick M6 and M8 ones I think.

I experimented with roller bearings but you really don't need them once everything's loaded up.

And I had to spend far too much on a pair of bolts for the main joints. You need 100mm (75mm might be too short) M6 bolts which I'm sure can be found for less elsewhere.

It's worth having a look around as there may be another design you like better but this one's incredibly light, relatively portable as it's not stupidly long and it works.
 
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The Vinten Pros are apparently rebadged Manfrottos. Not sure if they do a bit of reengineering as well though.
 
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