Tripod Advice

smok

Hi,
I have recently got a new digital Canon SLR camera and want to get a tripod. Ideally I want something quite short when folded away. Can anyone recommend one, or even a quality brand? What sort of max weight should I be looking to get given that I may in the future purcase larger lens'?

CabanSail

The Manfrotto range are very good.

If you look at MyMemory.co.uk they have good prices & all the specs there.

gandalf

Have a Manfrotto myself that herself bought me for my birthday which replaced a cheap no name tripod I've had for years. There is no comparison they are the business and worth the extra cost. (It reminds me I haven't used it as much as I had planned to!!).

ThOnda

That reminds me that I am looking for some older and cheaper tripod for my flash gun. Just in case...

l pearse

I bought a tripod in Camera exchange about 3 months ago for under €30 & haven't used it yet!!!!! then bought a stronger one in a second hand shop for a couple of euros. (star 42) :rolleyes:

If anyone wants the star 42 they can have it, cause its just lying around here !!!

Linda

brianmacl

Mannfrotto is by far the best brand, I have three different ones. but I shouldn't have ended up with three. decide what you need from your tripod first snd then buy. do you want to do pannos? if so, is it important to have the base level? hence a tripod with spirit level bellow the head. make sure you don't just buy the bottom one, work out different pottential uses and get good advice from the shop keeper.

ThOnda

l pearse wrote: »

...If anyone wants the star 42 they can have it...

Me, me, meeee :-)

It will be only for the flash. I am using the table mini tripod so far for it but I had to use different things for it's support.

CabanSail

I have only used my manfrotto tripod a couple of times since getting it recently. Picked it up on the Bay, used but in excellent condition. The difference between it & my other Cheap & Cheerful one is amazing.

The other thing is they are supposed to last forever. A mate of mine had one for many many years. It has only ever required a couple of new heads & one new base in all that time!

DaireQuinlan

CabanSail wrote: »

The other thing is they are supposed to last forever. A mate of mine had one for many many years. It has only ever required a couple of new heads & one new base in all that time!

That reminds me of my father's claim that he's been using the same shovel for the past 20 years. He's only replaced the handle three or four times, and bought a few new heads ...

And yes, I'd second (or third) that manfrotto suggestion. I've got one and it does the job pretty well. Rock solid. Pretty heavy though. Of course if you want rock solid AND light then you're into a whole new ball park.

CabanSail

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

That reminds me of my father's claim that he's been using the same shovel for the past 20 years. He's only replaced the handle three or four times, and bought a few new heads ...

Well spotted! Yes .... I adapted that story from the 300 year old Axe tale.

MagicMarker

Only Fools and Horses anyone?

smok

CabanSail wrote: »

I have only used my manfrotto tripod a couple of times since getting it recently. Picked it up on the Bay, used but in excellent condition. The difference between it & my other Cheap & Cheerful one is amazing.

The other thing is they are supposed to last forever. A mate of mine had one for many many years. It has only ever required a couple of new heads & one new base in all that time!

Thanks for all the info!
I was looking at the Manfrotto ones on mymemory alright. I seen this one:
http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Tripods/Manfrotto/Manfrotto-718SHB-Digi-Micro-3W-Tripod

It says max load capacity is 2.5kg - is that enough?

peter1892

smok wrote: »

Thanks for all the info!
I was looking at the Manfrotto ones on mymemory alright. I seen this one:
http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Tripods/Manfrotto/Manfrotto-718SHB-Digi-Micro-3W-Tripod

It says max load capacity is 2.5kg - is that enough?

I have one of those - it's fine to start with. I do find it a bit limiting, and replaced it with a better tripod & head last year, but it's great for travelling as it has it's own bag & is quite light.

A couple of things I've noticed - I'm using an EOS 30D with the 17-85 lens & a couple of times it's nearly toppled over if I've put the camera into 'portrait' orientation.

Secondly - the tripod itself isn't particularly tall so taller photographers might find it awkward to use.

Crispin

Just got the giottos 9351b for xmas, cost around 85GBP which in the current economic climate is about 85euro + shipping to Ireland. it's had great reviews and I can't fault it for my first tripod. weights aroun 1.9kg and will take up to 5kg of weight! It's equivalent is the manfrotto 190 xprob which is about 20%more expensive and less simple to work (I tried it in the shop and it was let down by it's ease of use!).

Ballyman

I'll second the giotto range. I have the MTL9251B and head

If you're anywhere near Belfast then you'll get it for less than €100.

It's almost 6 foot extended and is sturdy. Highly recommended for a budget model.

Fionn

another + for the Manfortto range, have mine for a good while now!! tis great and
like Thonda I've got a no-name one to support my second flash,
remember to make sure you get a baseplate for it too, cant remember if i bought one or did one come with it as i have two of them!!

that model is pretty light and any long(ish) lens is going to make it somewhat unsteady, so you'll need to be careful..

steelydan99

Just bought a Manfrotto 055ProB tripod and its a very sturdy tripod, the center column has two different angle positions, so the legs can go flat to the ground. Cost me £120 GB which was about 2 months ago, with the exchange rate today its a steal.
Can hold a 40D and a 100-400 Lens on it no bother and its tall about 5' 10" when extended (without center column up)

I also have a Benbo Trekker for sale if anyone is interested (its the older style one ,not the newer ones MkII's etc)

pixbyjohn

Have a Giottos 8160 carbon pro tripod with a MH5001 head, super tool. 240Euro. Highly recommend it for stability.

Norris-wf

Another for the Manfrotto here, I bought a 190x pro b and the 460MG head. Its a solid tripod but a little on the heavy side, although they have aluminium and carbon fibre version of it now. I highly recommend it.

XLR8

I've always used Manfrotto until last year when I purchased a Giottos 9371.
The most important thing for me with any tripod is stability and I can't fault the Giottos on that score... and they're a lot cheaper than Manfrotto.

Mycroft H

I'm using a velbon sherpa atm..... It has good steel legs and a solid head, nice and stable espically with the near 800gm minolta 75-300mm on the front!

Burnt

Got an Manfrotto 055xprob with a 460mg head; it's the buisness. :cool:

Tactical

I've had good experiences with Manfrotto.

This probably doesn't fit the bill as it weighs about 6.1kg bit it will support about 12kg pretty much covering any body / lens combination you'll throw at it. Heads are expensive though...:(

NN058B

A beast but its done everything I've asked and never let me down even in high winds, covered nearly all studio requirements too.

trishw78

I got the Manfrotto 190xporb and 808RC4 head recently. I'm going to keep the slik for my flash

Borderfox

I have a Manfrotto 190 and 055 and find them very handy. The 190 is a superb light one.

spav

I bought a £20 cheapo from Newcastle Airport over Christmas. Had a bit of a play about with it when I got home and it seemed to do everything I needed. I felt very smug - look at me, beating the system by saving so much money.

Anyway, I got up at 7am yesterday on my last day off, went to Malahide to use my tripod for the first time ever. A leg fell off, so I came home.

I'm now going to buy a Manfrotto.

Mycroft H

spav wrote: »

I bought a £20 cheapo from Newcastle Airport over Christmas. Had a bit of a play about with it when I got home and it seemed to do everything I needed. I felt very smug - look at me, beating the system by saving so much money.

Anyway, I got up at 7am yesterday on my last day off, went to Malahide to use my tripod for the first time ever. A leg fell off, so I came home.

I'm now going to buy a Manfrotto.

Buy cheap, buy twice..... Holds true in everywhere

spav

landyman wrote: »

Buy cheap, buy twice..... Holds true in everywhere

Definitely. I dropped my D40 and the thing holding the battery snapped off. Instead of sending it to get repaired, I instead bought a cheap battery grip. That doesn't work in cold weather. Great.

AnimalRights

Going into Camera Exchange or Coons for a tripod but not got a clue, the theing that really confused me was "MANFROTTO 484RC2 Mini Ball Head "
Are Tripods not all one piece of kit and what is the advantage or what is it's job.

I am really looking for one that holds a 5DII and a 100-400 type lens.
Also I might as well get a "Rocket blower"? for cleaning the cam, which one?

peter1892

AnimalRights wrote: »

Going into Camera Exchange or Coons for a tripod but not got a clue, the theing that really confused me was "MANFROTTO 484RC2 Mini Ball Head "
Are Tripods not all one piece of kit and what is the advantage or what is it's job.

A lot of the better tripods seem to be 2-piece, with separate heads & legs. Now, to be honest, I don't know why that is. But I've got the joystick head on my main tripod (Manfrotto 190X ProB legs with a 222 head) and it's great.

I guess one big advantage is being able to replace the head to suit the camera, e.g. getting a different type of head if you were to upgrade to a heavier kit.

Compared to the 1-piece Manfrotto that I have I find the 2-piece set up far more versatile, especially when trying to get horizons absolutely level. And it's far sturdier (see my earlier post about it toppling in portrait mode!).

Bring your heaviest kit and try it out.

AnimalRights

I have a Gamma 72 hand me down tripod but for some reason the handle that you hold moves itself once theres my Camera and lens combo on it, the bit I think you need to tighten to stop this appears to be tightened all the way.

Mycroft H

AnimalRights wrote: »

Going into Camera Exchange or Coons for a tripod but not got a clue, the theing that really confused me was "MANFROTTO 484RC2 Mini Ball Head "
Are Tripods not all one piece of kit and what is the advantage or what is it's job.

I am really looking for one that holds a 5DII and a 100-400 type lens.
Also I might as well get a "Rocket blower"? for cleaning the cam, which one?

Rule of thumb is that yer tripod should be twice the weight of your kit on top!

Tactical

The advantage of different heads is that you can upgrade the head for different work without needing to buy a new tripod.

For example a ball head is very useful for general photography and product shooting, where as if you're trying to catch some action like motorsports then a panning head with handle will be invaluable. Or for macro work you can get head with x, y and z linear micrometers for precise positioning.

Naturally you can spend as much as you like on a head from the very basic to some costing as much as a top of the range flashgun or even more!

AnimalRights

Think just a normal Tripod will do me so....

http://www.connscameras.ie/flat_areaEQLproductsAMPCategoryIDEQL7866_entry.html

Been looking on this page, might spend around 150.

Ideas..?

I r confused.

Light quick fold away and erm holds a lens as heavy as the 70-200 2.8IS