BEST Tripod for Nikon D3x

[iso200]

Don't buy Kirk plates: their sizes are inconsistent and you can't easily use q/r clamps with them (you may have to

change clamp settings for each plate, which isn't quick).

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Most of us have spent a lot of money on cheaper tripods and heads until finding something that works reliably and quickly. Don't make the mistake of buying cheap - it's more expensive in the long run. Save up until you can get the thing you want.</p>

<p>You have to pay a lot to get a tripod both strong and light - namely carbon fiber. If you decide on a Gitzo, I suggest a GT-3530LS or GT-3540LS "Systematic tripod. The entire center section is replaceable, so you can use a flat plate for ultimate stability, a column or leveling head. With Gitzo, it doesn't matter much whether you have three leg sections or four, but the four folds up smaller to fit in a suitcase. Aluminum is about 50% heavier and 30% cheaper.</p>

<p>Heads should have Arca-Swiss type QR, which consists of a clamp on the head and V-plates for the camera. Plates from RRS or Kirk are made to fit the camera without cork or rubber and never rotate under the weight of a lens. The connection is very secure - like used in metal machine shop tools. This type of QR is usually available only on ball heads, but Arca makes a geared head ($2000) and another company makes a 3-way, recently introduced. Arca, RRS and Kirk make first rate ball heads - the bigger the better.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Come to think of it, if you are getting the RRS head with their LR clamp, make sure that you also get RRS QR plates. The RRS LR clamp does not close down as much as some other clamps. I have an Arca Swiss plate made by Arca Swiss, not RRS, and the RRS LR clamp cannot lock down onto that plate, which becomes useless on the RRS head. That particular plate simply slides right and left insde the closed RRS clamp.</p>

<P>

As far as I know, only the RRS LR clamp has this issue. Their Pro 2 clamp where you turn a knob to tighten the clamp does not have this issue.

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[walterh]

<p>For a home studio you might look for a used studio tripod. With a little luck you might get one of the big ones with a large diameter central column and a three leg base with wheels. Quite heavy and you may need to buy local for that reason.<br>

A new Sachtler would be out of price range but even a 30 year old type might do better than a new carbon Gitzo. No need to carry it far^^. I once obtained one really ugly used for cheap and needed a day to clean it but it worked very well because of heavy ancient cast iron design.<br>

In a studio you need a different tripod than on top of a mountain :-)</p>

 

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>If this were strictly for studio use, I would buy a camera stand rather than a tripod.</p>

<p>A stand has an heavy base with casters, a vertical column and a counter-balanced side arm. It is much easier to adjust the height than a tripod, and it is generally much taller. The footprint of a tall tripod is very large and grows with height, whereas the camera stand has a small, constant footprint and can be moved right to the edge of a table. It is much easier to shoot at odd angles (e.g., straight down) than with a tripod.</p>

<p>You can spend thousands of dollars on a large stand, but the cost of stands suitable for a D3 or medium format camera are comparable to a good field tripod - $500 to $1000.</p>