Another Tripod question

[phil_burt]

<p>I didn't want to ask a question in another's posting so I decided to ask it myself.<br>

I have a Nikon D90, Sigma 30mm 1.4 (HSM), Nikon 50mm 2.8D AF, and soon to have a Sigma 10-20mm HSM 4-5.6 and one long zoom mainly for "snapshot" quality pictures. This is a Sigma 28-300mm 3.5-6.3. In the near future the only other piece of glass that I desire will be either a 85mm or 105mm.<br>

Most of the photography I do is very general. I'm retired (Limited budget) and just like to dabble in all of it on a very amateur status. I now have a very cheap tripod from Wally World, (light aluminum, about $30.00) and a Slik Stick mono pod also about $30.00. This is where my question comes in. I really don't want to spend $300-500 for a tripod and then more a head. I have used the tripod once for about 10 shots and the mono pod for about the same, so you can see I'm really not using either one.<br>

Is there a tripod/head combo out there that could give me decent support without breaking the bank. (Maybe below $200 for the whole thing), I was in a camera shop recently and they had a line of tripods, I think the name was ProMaster? I realize to get the shot that might be able to go in a magazine all of this equipment makes it easier to produce that shot but I am really not looking to produce one of those, just something a lot better than only hand held.<br>

Thank You for your time to read this as well as an answer if you have one.<br>

phil b<br>

benton, ky</p>

[Two23]

<p>You will get more tripod for your money buying a used Bogen/manfrotto from eBay. Consider something like a 3221. These go very cheap and are a great value. They are slightly on the heavy side, but very solid. For a tripod head, I'd suggest an AcraTech Ultimate ballhead. You can sometimes snag these on eBay. You will also need a QR plate for the camera. Don't go cheap on the ballhead. They will drive you insane. Your 10-20mm is coming U.S. Mail.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

[richard_meyers]

<p>HI Phil -</p>

<p>Why not used? You'll get a better (sturdier) tripod for your money. It may be a little scuffed-up but a new one will be as well - if you use it. Bogen makes an excellent range of tripods and lots of accessories you may want down the road. Their site will give you recommendations on which size is appropriate for your equipment and use. Heavier is better for stability but as someone once said: "The best tripod is the one you take with you.".<br>

Magazine publication or not, the better your results the more you'll enjoy the hobby. Generally, a shot from a tripod will have less image blur than a handheld all other things being equal. My guess is you'll see a big improvement in the shots from 28-300 zoom since you're probably shooting a relatively low shutter speeds.<br>

Good luck.</p>

 

[phil_burt]

<p>Kent,<br>

Thank you for BOTH pieces of info. I am looking forward to receiving it.<br>

Richard,<br>

I will be taking both yours and Kents advice and scout out ebay for awhile. I really do want to take the best shots that I can so that really wasn't a good example I guess, but I did want to stress I'm not in the position to go out and spend the bigger bucks for the best out there. There has to be some compromises in everything. I also do believe what you said as far as my long zoom is concerned that I will get much better results.<br>

phil b<br>

benton, ky</p>

[elyone]

<p>I would (as I tend to do a lot) like to give a more heretical opinion. From your lens choice, it seems you enjoy a lot of wide angle photography. For wide angle, a solid tripod is less important. Not NOT important, just less so.<br>

How much do you actually USE that Sigma 300mm zoom? If not a lot, I would concentrate on learning good grip techniques (like the kind of grip Joe Mcnally teaches in his Diary's and probably other books) and don't worry too much about a tripod. For landscapes, even your cheap tripod will let you level the camera and allow a series of shots for a panorama.<br>

I say all this, because once you DO get into tripod land, you will not be happy until you DO spend the $300-600 on CF ones. Getting the cheaper manfrotto ones is indeed a way of getting great value (good quality for cheap) but they are heavyish. What use is a tripod, if left at home? OK all, back to the usual advice.</p>

[luis_g]

<p> The Bogen 3220/3221 recommendation is good.</p>

<p> At a nearly identical weight, with head, I would also like to recommend the $100.00 Tilt-All tripod.</p>

<p>http://www.adorama.com/TPTLB.html</p>

<p> It will do everything you need, providing ample support at an amazing price. And for years, it was the standard issue tripod at National Geographic magazine.</p>

<p>If you were going to be going on long hikes, a pricey CF unit would be the way to go. </p>

<p> </p>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>Phill I posted this before for someone else<br>

I didn't want to spend 300-500 bucks for tripod so here is what I did</p>

<p>I went to ebay bought one of those sturdy tripods with pistol grip head and when I got it I took the head off sold it back on ebay for few bucks so far my cost is around $90<br>

then I went to BH Photo and got me one of those Culmann ball head that will support up to 66lbs with quick relase plate for 145+ with shipping I got it mounted it on my tripod legs and couldn't be happier true it is a little heavy but it will support a horse with a wagon attached.<br>

a friend of mine did the same and he's a happy camper overall cost came up to be around 230 USD<br>

just my .02</p>

[JAPster]

<p>Best Buy has started carrying some tripod models that are couple of notches above the Walmart grade. You may want to swing by there and check them out. One of them was a Manfrotto, and I forget what the other one was.<br>

The idea to look for a hi-quality used tripod is also a good idea. Just be sure there is some kind of Return Policy, clearly stated and in writing. That way, if the tripod you get has some some kind of problem not mentioned by the seller, and you want to return it, then you have that option available.</p>

[maxmalossini]

<p>You may want to read <a href="../filters-bags-tripods-accessories-forum/00TPcu">this post</a> , since the guy had your same budget.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>the manfrotto 190 weighs 3.5 lbs and holds 11 lbs. and costs around $100 at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-190XDB-Section-Aluminum-Tripod/dp/B000N81BXO/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1243968654&sr=8-14</p>

<p>i have the 190xprob, which is basically the same but with a spirit bubble level (which you can buy aftermarket with a hotshoe connector), and use it with a d300 and tokina 12-24. it will be sturdy enough for everything but gale-force winds with your current equipment. you will still need to get a head for it, but for light amateur and semi-pro use, it's not bad at all. it's heavy-duty aluminum; to go lighter you will have to pay hundreds more for a set of CF legs. btw, that tiltall has a good price but it weighs 6lbs, which is almost double the weight of the 190. for me, that would be a dealbreaker.</p>

[bsd230]

<p>If your not doing a bunch of serious hiking then I would also suggest Manfrotto. They generally are pretty reasonably priced and very sturdy. I have their monopod and love it. I too would check out ebay to see what is used out there. I would look into a good ball head though. A cheap head is usually the source of most of my frustration when using a tripod.</p>

[georg_s1]

<p>The tripod I'm using right now is one of those ebay-steals. It's a „tv-style“ twin-shank-leg tripod and while it's a bit on the heavy side it's stable and fast to set-up. If you have the time check second-hand-shops and flea-markets - there are a lot of cheap high-quality-tripods (to name just one brand: Linhof) from yesterday out there. Regarding the tripod-head: it's probably easier to spot a good 3-way-head for little money than a really good and cheap ball-head. <br>

Hope this helps, georg.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Ball heads nearly all have the same weakness - namely the narrow neck between the ball and the camera platform. This tends to allow the camera to vibrate very easily, no matter how sturdy the tripod underneath it. The heavier the camera and lens the worse this effect is IME. This just doesn't happen with most pan/tilt heads, and I would go for a cheap P&T over a higher priced B&S head anyday. Also there's less risk of a P&T head flopping over and bashing a tripod leg with the lens, or simply creeping out of position.</p>

<p>B&S heads are very useful for quickly placing the camera into strange positions for low-angle, macro or copying work, but I simply can't see the attraction of them purely for telephoto work.</p>

<p>If you're going to buy new Phil, the Manfrotto/Bogen range probably offer the best combination of stability versus price. I would also second the fact that Linhof tripods have a good stability to weight ratio, as well as excellent build quality. However you might have to wait a long time for a Linhof tripod to come along at a bargain price.</p>

[Two23]

<p>One other thing I'll mention is that you might think of looking for a tripod that goes up to something like 65 inches. A short tripod can start to bug you as you hunch over it, or if you're on a hillside the extra height is nice. All in all, I would look for a used one. A tripod is a tripod.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>bottom line is if your tripod is too heavy, you're not going to want to lug it long distances unless you have to. 3 or 4 lbs is about as much as you want to carry for hiking, especially if there are hills involved.</p>

[phil_burt]

<p>I want to "Thank" everyone that responded as it has really opened my eyes on a few things I never would have thought of.Thank You again, for your time........phil b benton, ky</p>