Tripod for D800

[gary_oldman1]

<p>I have the opportunity to buy the following tripod from my friend for just $30, and $45 including the head: Manfrotto 294A3. It seems like a good deal, but I am curious if it will hold my equipment. I have the following:</p>

<p>Nikon D800 with grip and battery/sd/cf card - 1375g<br>

Nikon 70-200VRII - 1540g<br>

Tripod head Manfrotto 496RC2 (the one that comes with the tripod) - 450g</p>

<p>The total weight is: 3.37kg</p>

<p>My flash unit is off camera so no added weight there, so I don’t think I am missing something.</p>

<p>The tripod is rated that it can carry 5KG, so with a total weight of 3.37KG I shouldn’t be worried right? I don’t use a tripod often, so I don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Just for some studio work, or maybe once in a while outside. I will not use it in extreme conditions, but I do want to make sure that the whole thing doesn’t collapse and I’m left with a broken camera and lens.</p>

[ilmilco]

<p>if i may suggest : Buy a Gitzo Mountaineer carbon tripod.<br>

I have one myself with the same camera and lens you have, and it realy makes the difference.<br>

I also own some Manfrotto's but the Gitzo is the best for maximum sharpness ......<br>

My test for tripods is: Place your hane on the top, put some downforce with your hand and try to move your hand a very little ..... this will help you find out the stability provided by the tripod, and the differences can be huge</p>

 

[gary_oldman1]

<p>That is a better tripod by far, but it is also way too expensive.<br>

I'm not looking for the best, durable, lightest tripod, just one that holds my gear without falling.</p>

[polizonte]

<p>For my D800's: Last year I paid $115 for a used Manfrotto 3236 w/Calumet carrying bag (looks like a carbine case) and later paired it with a new Mg Manfrotto ball head when the same store offered a $75 discount for any tripod traded in; (my trade-in was a $5 tripod purchased at a Goodwill Store); the combo weighs about 14lb., total cost was about $200. I like the tripod geared column + the individual leg angle adjustments (like my former Manfrotto I bought 30+ years ago) - I can't get used to the new click stop legs. </p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>If the person is a friend, can you not try it out? There's a difference between what will safely hold a camera while you're paying attention and what will be rock steady all the time, or allow you to leave your camera unattended on a windy mountaintop. At that price it seems hard to lose even if it's a bit precarious at full extension.</p>

[alan_olander1664878205]

<p>"way too expensive"<br /> <br />You have an expensive camera and lens and want to trust a cheap tripod? Buy a used older model Gitzo carbon fiber (or even aluminum) and a used RRS or Kirk, etc. head.</p>

[Two23]

<p>I'll first confess that I believe a tripod is the most essential thing when it comes to getting maximum sharpness, and see a tripod and considerably more important than a camera. I bought only the best tripod and head for my D800E and am reaping the rewards. I use a tripod for about 90% of all my shots. That said, I know there are people who aren't so concerned with maximum sharpness and will cut corners. Rather than use a tripod with a load rating very close to the actual load weight, I generally want a tripod with twice that rating. And, I've also come to think the tripod head is the single most important piece of photo gear I own. It's the tripod head that plays the most critical role.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[dave_wilson1]

I have been using various Bogen and Manfrotto tripods for about 30 years, never had any problems but of course they

were properly maintained. I have one with the crank center shaft from 1986 it still works perfect despite a broken crank

handle. I much prefer the ones with the fold out legs for uneven surfaces and they can get very low, which I don't know if

this one specifically is.

[ShunCheung]

<p>A few years ago I talked to pro nature photographer. She has a Nikon 600mm/f4 AF-S VR, which is a $10,000 lens. To save money, she bought a cheap carbon fiber tripod. She had it set up outside; it wasn't even windy. However, it was warm and apparently the glue in the tripod join melted and the tripod collapsed.</p>

<p>The repair cost for the lens was in the multiple thousand dollar range, far more than the cost for even an expensive Gitzo tripod.</p>

[eric_brody]

<p>I'm with those who recommend a good, solid tripod. I use a D800E and believe that this camera BELONGS on a tripod, almost like a 4x5. The results are noticeably better! Hand holding it for serious work is almost guaranteed to compromise the quality for which you paid good money. I know, I've done it, even with VR lenses. Which tripod matters little so long as it's SOLID. Anything less than the stability of a 3 series Gitzo (or equivalent in other brands) be it aluminum, basalt, carbon or unobtanium, is risking the camera as well as the image quality.<br>

Good luck.</p>

[Barry Clemmons Photography]

<p>I'm probably not unique in the fact that I have wasted more money over the years on tripods than any other photographic accessory. If I added the price of all the early tripods together I could have purchased a high end Gitzo that would have lasted a lifetime. Gitzo is now the only brand I purchase, but Manfrotto is also good quality. For your setup the minimum payload rating I would use is 6.8 kg (15 lbs), but that is just me. Everyone has their own budget though that has to be factored in. I have been fortunate in that I have never had a tripod fall over, but I have had a leg to collapse. In that case I was standing next to it and was able to catch it. I use the same philosophy when purchasing tires for our family automobiles. In both cases I want to protect what is riding above them. If you end up purchasing the setup from your friend, see if it is possible to install a hook on the bottom of the center column. That way you can hang a camera bag or something else to provide more stability. I also believe the maximum height for this model is 169 cm (66.5 in), but that is with the center column fully extended. I try not to shoot with center columns fully extended if possible.</p>

[dan_brown4]

<p>Spend the money of a carbon Gitzo, you will never regret having a light weight, high quality tripod.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>I'm probably not unique in the fact that I have wasted more money over the years on tripods than any other photographic accessory.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I too have wasted money on various tripods. Unfortunately, I have also wasted money on other camera items so that I am not sure I have wasted more on tripods alone.</p>

<p>You don't have to buy a really expensive tripod, but with a D800 that was $3000 once upon a time and a $2000+ 70-200mm/f2.8 AF-S VR II, I would provide adequate support.</p>

[Mary Doo]

<blockquote>

<p>I'm not looking for the best, durable, lightest tripod, just one that holds my gear without falling.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>If the Gitzo cost is not desirable, I have a sturdy but less expensive suggestion that is working for me: Feisol CT-3442 (<a href="

) + Markins M20 ballhead (<a href="

). I have gone through the legendary Gitzo 1325 and its replacement and now this lighter-weight option when I carry D800 + 70-200 or 80-400. As suggested, you may want to hook a bag under it if steadiness is a concern in some situation. You received the Gitzo suggestions because your camera and lens combo deserves a better tripod for support. These are voices from experience.</p>

[Matthew Brennan]

<p>The set up the OP is describing is something along the lines of the one I use when I hike / climb a distance and only use my DSLR sans vertical grip and with small primes only. It is a compact more portable set up that is better than no support at all - esp. when you are on a ledge on a windy mountainside - but really only just a bit better than nothing. <br>

This kind of set up really needs light weight camera set up, even surfaces and no strong wind to be of proper use - and it only extends a little beyond waist height so it's a PIA to be doubled over for anything more than a dozen frames or so.</p>

<p>Some years back I purchased a 2nd hand Gitzo 1325 MkII carbon tripod and RRS ballhead from a fellow p.net member. Aside from OS trips thus far it's been the very best photo dollar investment I've ever made. </p>

<p>My advice is to save up and purchase something more sturdy for both function and permanence. Sure it's bulky and heavier than my back pack set up but the best images are always worth fighting a bit harder for.</p>

[Mary Doo]

<blockquote>

<p>Feisol CT-3442 (<a href="

rel="nofollow" target="_blank">link</a>) </p>

</blockquote>

<p>Just realized that the video in the link I provided in the previous post shows this tripod with the center column. IMO, it is better to have the version<strong> without</strong> the center-column; then it looks/functions like the Gitzo 1325 without the extra weight, and it can go close to ground level when needed.</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>I wouldn't be scared of the D800 - I'd be scared of the 70-200. That seems like a bargain for the 294A3, but it <em>is</em> on the flimsy side. I've shot with a 14-24 from a Tamrac ZipShot before (not recommended), but while I'm sure these legs won't collapse under the camera, I also suspect they might vibrate a bit in the wind. If you mostly plan to use this indoors, or collapse the lower leg sections, you may be okay. My travel tripod (with similar demands) is a Velbon REXi L - cheap and small, but not as cheap as your used offer. I wouldn't recommend you buying the 294A3 new, but at the discount and for occasional use, sure, go for it. I doubt it will collapse. My main tripod is a Really Right Stuff TVC 34L, but we're talking far more serious money there, and most arguments about "I wasted a lot of money on bad tripods" only come into play when you bought a <em>fairly</em> expensive tripod that wasn't quite enough - like the 055CXPro3 that I also own!</p>

<p>I'm not a big fan of Manfrotto heads, partly because of the proprietary quick release plate system (go Arca-Swiss compatible if you can, it's not expensive with cheap brands). It's a low-end head. That said, if you're using the lens ring, the 70-200 isn't huge as lenses go. It wouldn't hurt to go up a notch on the head if you can find something appropriate. (My cheap option is a Triopo RS-3 with a replacement QR clamp, which is very sturdy but not very refined, but I only mention it because few people have heard of them.)</p>

<p>If you want to spend more, you can find something much more sturdy. Spend a <em>lot</em> more and you'll be set for bigger lenses - spend a bit more and you'll just be a bit more flexible with what you've got. But I'd be surprised if you can do much better at $45, whatever we suggest. Treat it gently and you should be okay, just don't go through the "just a bit more expensive" chain of incrementally better tripods and heads while you're trying to upgrade.</p>

[david_ralph1]

<p>How about using safe, solid, and cheap substitutes while you save up for the tripod for the rest of your life. One that will still be used when the D800E is tired, obsolete technology? Bean Bag? Heavy duty clamps? On this latter check out Adorama or B&H. You have $US 4,700 in camera and lens. The camera requires rock solid support to operate at its potential. Like some of the others, I have several pods which were wasted money, and now serve as the occasional light stand for a speed light.</p>

<p>Thom Hogan's "classic" how to buy a pod article. Circa 2003. Choices change, but the truths remain.<br>

http://bythom.com/support.htm</p>

<p>Nikonians article to the same effect. Some bias on choices as they sell pods and heads as well. But the truths again are true.<br>

http://www.nikonians.org/tripods/</p>

<p>http://diglloyd.com/articles/Recommended/tripod.html</p>

[joseph_smith3]

I have the same camera and lens. I use a glitzo cf tripod with a Kirk head. My two manfroto tripods remain mostly in my

closet these days. I wish I had the rrs head.

 

Joe smith

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>As I've argued in one of the other threads (<a href="/beginner-photography-questions-forum/00d738?unified_p=1">http://www.photo.net/beginner-photography-questions-forum/00d738?unified_p=1</a>), my main problem wouldn't be the legs, though I would never fully trust them with the load the OP will put on them. The biggest issue is the ballhead. It will not hold this load under any other angle than purely level (which in my experience is hardly ever). I've got one of its bigger brothers, and despite a claimed 16kg load (rather than 6!, the ballhead the OP is talking about) it couldn't keep a load lighter than the OP's still. Thom Hogan's article is pretty much spot on, and I've got some old tripod heads to remind me just how right that article is.<br>

Put this $75 aside until you've got enough money for a decent set. It doesn't have to cost all that much; Manfrotto and Feisol make decent legs that cost a lot less than Gitzo's and work well. Ballheads and cheap is a less fortunate combination. But try to buy wisely and once, even if it's a big sum to spend in one go. Buying cheap is false economy.</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Any tripod is a compromise between stiffness, mass and portability. To get the most out of a 36MP camera suggests using the stiffest tripod you are willing to carry. Stiffness without excessive weight required good materials and design, which mean more cost. Carbon fiber proves to be much stiffer than aluminum of the same general size. Gitzo tripods are particularly stiff at the joints, which is a weak point with other tripods. It adds up to $$$, but a lifetime of service.</p>

<p>Stiffness at a bargain suggest a wood tripod, such as a Berlebach, up to a 20# monster for a view camera.</p>

<p>I can't think of a tripod which won't hold the weight of a D800 and a 200mm lens, but steady is another matter. Indoors on a hard floor is a lot less demanding than outside on grass in more than a gentle breeze.</p>

[allan_jamieson2]

<p>I've got about 4 different tripods just now, an old Benbo Trekker which is great for macro stuff plus three carbon fibre tripods from a tiny Velbon for a walk where I might just take a photograph and I can fit into my camera backpack, a medium sized Velbon Sherpa again easily carried under my arm for longer walks which is actually pretty good and my biggest tripod is a 3 Legged Thing "Frank" which really works well with my D800 and isn't all that heavy to carry around either, much lighter than my previous Gitzo carbon fibre. With careful technique and a decent ballhead I could put my D800 on any of these tripods with wide angle to around 100mm lenses and get pin sharp images, anything longer than that, you really need to make sure that your tripod is rock solid as the issues with image quality usually relate to longer lenses.</p>

<p>You can brace lighter tripods with a bag on the centre column hook, just make sure the bag is touching the ground though. With my medium format Pentax 67II years ago I actually used to hang a small camera bag with a lens inside it from my 200mm lens barrel, that made the difference between utter mush and pin sharp images and that was with a very heavy tripod and substantial ball head too!</p>

<p>As I mentioned recently in another post about Ultrawide lenses, 3 Legged Thing have really good customer service, replacing a faulty second hand tripod with a brand new one just last week for me. Plenty of other good options out there too but for a 70-200mm f2.8 lens I wouldn't be putting it on a tripod/ ballhead combination which is just rated enough to support it. Like others I have had loads of different tripods in the past and usually got rid of them after a year or so, some were just far too heavy like a big Unliloc (Benbo clone) and that carbon fibre Gitzo. A better ballhead and a bit of strategic ballast added to your hook might make that tripod work better for you.</p>

[Two23]

<p>Speaking purely philosophically here, I've never understood why someone would spend megabucks on a camera and then turn around and spend twenty bucks (or whatever) on a tripod. That's exactly backwards! I think it stems from the "camera is a magic box" thinking where the most important thing is a fancy camera. Like others above, I too began with the low end of tripods (Bogen 3001 with 3D head), bought two more increasingly more capable models, and then bought a Gitzo 1325 with AcraTech head. I bought the Gitzo 15 years ago and it's now seen an F5, F100, D80, D300, D5100, D7100 (and now D800E) come and go. Seven cameras, and will probably last for seven more. The tripod/head has never once failed no matter what conditions it was in, or what I put on top of it (including heavy 1920s 5x7 LF camera.) It's still worth most of what I paid for it, while the cameras are becoming nearly worthless. The Gitzo was the best money I have ever spent on photo gear, unquestionably. Until you have actually USED a good tripod/head and seen the results, you really don't understand/appreciate how critical they are.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Kent (and others) - the argument I think is how much do you spend on something that you use only rarely? I rarely use a monopod, so mine are cheap. I don't use flash much, so I don't have a high-end studio kit. If Gary wanted to spend $200 for use every day, and was looking at something inadequate, maybe we'd be right to tell him to buy something high-end, though even then I don't claim a 70-200 is all that demanding. But he's looking at $45. Compared with the other suggestions - and his equipment - that's very much "no great loss if it doesn't cope" money. And you can always use it as a flash holder if you get a bigger tripod.</p>

<p>Yes, an expensive tripod will last. This isn't a set-up I'd buy at full cost. But at a big discount, I don't think it's fair to compare it with what a Z1 and a 5532L can do.</p>

[dan_south]

<p>For stability you need quality tripod legs of the proper size for your camera and lenses. Gizto is historically the expert in this area, but other companies offer nice solutions, as well.</p>

<p>However, I have found the tripod to camera interface to be even more critical. I attach custom L-brackets and lens plates from Really Right Stuff to all of my gear. The camera or lens mounts to the tripod head with the stability of a good vice. This level of stability helps at critical shutter speeds.</p>