Honest Thoughts on Cheap Tripods

[aurel1]

I was looking around for a good first tripod to buy to support my Digital Rebel XT for low light shots. The only

lens I've got is the 50mm f/1.8 II - not a heavy lens. After looking around the forums I was a bit disappointed

that I'd have to set myself back $100+ to get a 'decent' tripod. Then I saw a dirt cheap no-name tripod on

meritline.com for $15 (with free shipping) and got it almost immediately, ignoring the little voice in the back

of my head telling me this was a bad idea.

 

So what's it like? The advertised height is 53"... with the middle piece cranked all the way up. Oh well. I have

to bend over to compose my shots, but I could use the exercise anyway. It has collapsible legs with sturdy

latches, a 3-way adjustable head, and even a quick-release. It came with a nice canvas bag that's actually useful

because the tripod doesn't feel any heavier than 5 lbs. It's rock solid when I attach the camera and even lets me

flip the camera for vertical (portrait) shots.

 

With all the advice that you've got to buy a name-brand, expensive tripod I thought I'd just mention my own

experience. I'll probably have to buy a new tripod within 5 years, but by then I'll probably be able to afford

it. For what I paid it will have cost me less than a penny a day to own this tripod and it meant that I'm out

shooting dawns and sunsets months before I could have otherwise. What do others think? Any similar experiences

out there?

[tomwatt]

My favorite tripod is an old Sears thing of blue-anodized aluminum... it was a Christmas present from my father, and I think the world of it; although it has long since outlived it's usefulness, it works great for attaching reflectors, etc. I would be leary of trying to get 5 years out of an ultra-cheapie... something may fatigue and let go at an inopportune time.

[joseph_martines]

Aurel:

 

Remember this saying: When you buy cheap - you get cheap!

 

It crosses all phases of life. When you deal with reputable people they will give you good advice.

 

In photography - good tripods - good lenses - good cameras - all hold a good value and they cost more!

[neil_fraser1]

If the tripod does what you need it to then there's no reason you should have to buy a more expensive model for the time

being. As your photography develops, you might find yourself needing something more robust or versatile. Especially if

you get into macro photography. One of the main benefits of buying a more expensive tripod it the ability to individually set

the legs at different angles, reverse the centre column etc.

[savan_thongvanh]

I had a twenty dollar walmart tripod when I was using my 3 MP canon p/s. It worked just fine and I even sold prints using that rig when I was learning at first (not that I've stopped).

 

When I started moving up (and decided to go nikon) d50, d1x, d2x i changed to a more sturdy tripod with a wider stance. Top heavy is bad. I'd rather have a tripod w/ longer legs and a shorter neck for the same height...

 

Long story short, I did the same. Got the tripod that suited my needs at the time (a cheap one).

 

Have fun w/ it.

[bennett_richards]

I have more than a few friends that have had cameras destroyed by cheap tripods over the years. Get a GorillaPod ZoomSLR which will allow you to get a sturdy grip on both the camera and a signpost or whatever to elevate the camera.

[chris_rowe1]

When I bought my camera (Sony A350) it came in a kit with 2 lenses, and a bunch of different things, one of which was a tripod. Of course it was a cheap one... and well that was in June and It has already broken. Maybe yours will last longer, and I hope it does. Fortunately my father used to do nature photography as I do now. And he had a sturdy well built Velbon (LGB-30). It probably 30 years old now... and hasn't had a thing go wrong. I'm glad the cheap tripod broke slowly.... rather then letting go all at one time and dropping my camera. Be warned your cheap tripod could just turn out to ruin your camera. My suggestion is look for a used tripod (still in excellent shape like my Velbon) on Ebay, or some other place that's going for a good price that won't cost you your leg or arm. :-)

 

Chris

[btmuir]

Aurel, I know you don't know me but trust me on this one...

 

if you care enough about image quality to even use a tripod in the first place you do NOT want a cheap flimsy tripod.

[luckystokes]

Personally I think a cheap tripod is better than no tripod and certainly allows you do what you described. I bought my first

tripod at an Evans catalog store. You do not need a Wimberley head with a 50 mm. If it's light you can weight it down with

your camera bag, or a sand bag, if you're in the wind. Also keep in mind a bean bag, which I find very useful. Get a more

stable (and expensive) tripod as you need it and can afford it.

[starvy]

the ultra cheap tripods are really a waste of time for anything more than point and shoot bodies. weight is my primary concern. i like to travel light. i prefer a monopod to a tripod. the two cheap tripods i bought all had alignment problems and one would not even stand up straight. perhaps my experience is just exclusive and others have had more luck!

[carl_klitzke]

Looking back, there are a a lot of things I wish I had the 'smarts' to do differently at the time. Most of this just comes from experience, though. $15 is very very cheap for a tripod, and it will give you a good opportunity to find out just how cheap they get. Maybe it will work great for you, maybe not. Just remember that these types are prone to failure and are not as steady as a more expensive model. I started cheap, then 'upgraded' to a promaster that I *really* like for $100 + $50 for the head..still not my dream tripod but it works a lot better than the cheap rig I started with..on the plus side I now have a spare to mount reflectors/lights/etc.

[richard_cochran]

It's not such a bargain if you end up replacing it quickly. A good tripod will last a lifetime. My best Gitzo

is one I bought used; it probably was 25 years old when I bought it. And that was 10 years ago. Like a good

cast iron skillet, it just keeps doing its job well and won't quit. And it's heavy like a cast iron skillet, too.

 

But there are situations where a cheap tripod can be useful. If there's not a lot of wind, and if you're not

using a really long lens, and if you use mirror lock up or pre-fire, even a cheap tripod can hold a camera steady

for a very long exposure. Also, cheap tripods can sometimes serve as acceptable light stands, at least for small

battery operated flash units.

[crabseye]

Yeah. Where was Gitzo when Ansel Adams needed them?

[Matthew Currie]

I think a cheap tripod is better than none at all, as long as it doesn't dump your camera on the ground, and as long as it isn't so nasty that you find yourself preferring not to bother using it. If you get a cheap one, make sure that you keep an eye on things like plastic parts, and threaded parts, which can break or strip with heavy use. Once you've used it a while, your experience may tell you what qualities you wish for in a better one, and you'll be a better informed shopper.

 

Better tripods sometimes come up used, or on sale, and as you go along you might get lucky.

[robert_hooper1]

Please read <a href="http://www.bythom.com/support.htm">this article</a> by Thom Hogan before doing anything

precipitous. My opinion is that <a href="http://www.feisol.com/english/feisolen.htm">Feisol</a> makes the best tripod

for the money these days. Feisol now has a <a href="http://www.feisol.net/">USA distributor</a>, but I prefer dealing

directly with the company. I used to use Gitzo, which also makes a fine tripod, but in the past year or so, Feisol has

made improvements and now surpasses Gitzo in quality.

[bill_pador]

I am one who has made all the mistakes you can possibly imagine over the past 30 years of shooting and one of them is buying cheap tripods thinking there is no difference and could get away with spending $15-$75 on a sturdy support, how wrong I was back then. Think of it this way, you buy a intro camera @ $600 another $250 for a kit lens, $50 for memory card and you've got $900 in equipment already. Then you head out to your local Walmart & grab up that $20 Sunpak ALL IN ONE tripod with bi-pod insert, fancy levels and a simulated pan head and you figure all is well I'm ready to shoot low light now. You head into the woods, find that river bank with falls you've always wanted to shoot and begin to setup, only to find out the legs don't adjust in different directions to compensate for the river rocks & slope. Then the wind begins to blow and that plastic tripod starts moving with the wind (you don't see it but it is). You set your camera for 1/15 @ f/2.8 and off you go. Hummm why are my shots blurry & out of focus? Then you turn around to yell to your buddy to bring the beers out of the truck only to find out your $900 rig is now IN the river because one of the tripod leg locks failed or it blew over because it's unstable and your fancy new camera is toast. Sounds funny but it happens EVERY DAY to those who wanna take short cuts in their equipment, DONT DO IT!

 

You'll pay the price in one way or another and it's just not worth the risk of damaging your equipment, losing that once in a life time shot just to save a few dollars. Nobody said you have to spend $1000+ on a top of the line tripod & head but if you spend $200+ you can have something that will last a life time and have all the fancy angles needed to shoot anything, nice pan or ball head, light weight etc. Buy it once right the first time and you'll be so much happier in the long run rather then waisting money on crap and having a night mare when your camera & lens wind up on the ground or in the lake !

 

For those not wanting to spend a fortune and get a GREAT Professional Tripod - Try looking into the VANGUARD 'TRACKER' line, for less then $200 you can get a TRACKER 3 with a Fluid Filled 3 way pan head, solid construction, folds to the ground with 3 different presets, has reversible macro mount little over 6 lbs.etc. and rivals some of the $1000 models out there. I own 2 of them for bringing into the mountains, woods etc. so I don't have to drag my expensive business tripods out and I know I have a solid professional piece of equipment that will last a life time, do everything I need a tripod to do and take a beating like a champ!

 

That's my $.02 for what it's worth

Bill Pador

www.billpador.com

[daniel_ashbrook]

There are a lot of responses along the lines of "don't buy a cheap tripod! You'll regret it!"

 

I have to disagree. I bought a $35 Wal-Mart tripod (branded "Ambico") 7 years ago and still use it today. I have

sold quite a few prints that I've used that tripod for. It's traveled with me to various locations around the

world. It survived getting hit (along with me) by a Jeep going 40 MPH.

 

My thoughts: if you can't afford to get a nice, high-quality, fancy tripod, get a cheap one and get as much use

out of it as you can! Use common sense: if you're precariously balancing the tripod on wet rocks over a stream,

keep the camera strap around your neck! Buy the best that you can afford, but don't let the quality of your

tripod dictate the quality of your work.

[craig_gillette]

A $15 tripod is easier to deal with than a chair and a stack of phone books. Functionally, a cheap tripod may well last a patient and gentle owner a long time. It may not. One of the things I've noticed in many stores where parents allow their kids to run amok and use the fixtures and stock as toys is that the display tripods are almost always damaged in some way. Sometimes it's from kids learning to operate controls and develop fine motor skills ( a good thing, I suppose), but often they've removed loose bits and pieces or dropped them, knocked them over, or just fussed at them. They don't stand up well to that kind of treatment. The rougher the conditions you expect to run into using, storing and transporting your tripod, the more you need to consider the "quality" of the tripod you choose. The heavier the gear you use, the windier the locations, the more you will find that the least expensive tripods are not up to the task.

[eddie_chan9]

i own a few tripods, and depending on what i do/ where i go, sometimes i'd prefer to bring my USD15 dollar one instead. i'd go to waterfalls/ meeting with my bmxing friends and ride my bike AND take pictures, having a cheap one means i wouldn't careless if it somehow breaks. and truth be told, when you'd excited enough to go play, you pay less attention to taking care of stuff. in these cases the tripod is just there to help me stop down instead of a full on setup for pictures, or to use as a lightstand for my slave flash

 

i do, however, own a nice big tripod and i've found myself using it less and less.

 

obviously there are compromises when you use a cheap one, but it all depends on how much photography you're doing that day, or would you rather go and actually have some fun while being able to fire a few nice pics. a major point to consider is that the USD15 tripod is light and small AND CHEAP that i could just thrash/lose it without batting an eyelid, as long as you take extra care when fitting your heavier lens like a 70-200 on it and be ready to catch just in case anything comes loose. there's gonna be another bmx riding session that i'm going, i'll sure be taking the cheapo. the next day'll be some fireworks and i'll be at my selected spot 3 hours prior, with full on gear and the big tripod.

[phyrpowr]

If all you can afford right now is a cheap tripod, get it. Just learn the limitations, and be careful

 

I have a $40 Slik that I wouldn't walk 5 feet away and leave my, e.g., 5D and 100-400 lens on, but it I'm holding onto it, it's better than none, and light enough to use as a monopod

[james_stevens5]

Aurel: I bought a Sunpak 65.3 inches, model #620-660BB. About $60 at Best Buy. Holds a max. of 6.6 pounds which covers most slr cameras with a zoom lens. I know all the experts say to spend $300 on a "quality" tripod, but honestly all it does is hold your camera still for a few minutes! Maybe the old film cameras vibrated when the shutter fired and therefore a very heavy, well built tripod was necessary. Now days the shutters are so quiet and smooth, why spend a fortune on 3 aluminium rods? Get a cheap tripod and a remote control and you're set. Good luck.