Which tripod

[Baron Von Doom]

Ive been using a cheap tripod for about a year now. I had a look at some in Park cameras a couple of days ago, They feel a lot more solid than the one im using now.
Does anyone have any recommendations? Was thinking around £100. Would it be worth spending more?

[eddiewood]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Doom

Ive been using a cheap tripod for about a year now. I had a look at some in Park cameras a couple of days ago, They feel a lot more solid than the one im using now.
Does anyone have any recommendations? Was thinking around £100. Would it be worth spending more?

A few months back I picked up my Giottos MTL 9251B with 5001 3 way head for £65 from Amazon. Bargain!

[too_funky]

From my own research it seems you have to pick between two main features, you either go for complete stability which is often coupled with wiegth and size, or you go for a lightwieght/compact design that isnt as stable. To find a tripod that is both very stable and is light weight is quite diffuclt and requires more than £100. Most tripods come to some sort of compromise balanced more so to one of those two key features. You will have to decide which of the two, stability or portabilty is the more important to you.

In my opinion the point of a tripod is to keep a camera steady during long exposures, a tripod that doesnt provide decent stabilty (despite how portable it may be) is a waste of time as you're still going to get blurred pictures, thus defeating the point of using a tripod at all. However saying that if a tripod is a pain to carry it might dicourage you from taking it out as often. In my case i just put up with it. I bought a decent Tamrac bag and lash a heavy but stable tripod onto it. If im going to make the effor to take a tripod out, i want one that will do its job properly.

[Pirate!!]

This subject has been done to death already (use the search function). A lot of us on this forum have the RedSnapper triopd and ballhead. They now have a new 4 section 'pod' for the same price as the 3. TRI-284 and RSH-12 ballhead works very well and is bang on your budget.

Go to TalkPhotography and register there, then order from RedSnapper and say you're a member of TP for a 10% discount (yes, the offer is still available).

[cambsno]

Yes, would agree with Redsnapper, have one and it is excellent

[djbsom]

Hi folks,
Just a little thought on this 'Which Tripod' topic.
I use a tripod mainly for shooting waterfalls. There are several aspects of shooting waterfalls that influence the heavy/lightweight debate.
1. Waterfalls tend not to be situated next to the car park, at least not in Wales. So a long walk can be expected so a lightweight tripod is needed.
2. I like to shoot waterfalls with long exposures so that the water flows like silk but the rocks and greenery need to stay sharp and therefore a heavy tripod is needed.
I solve this conundrum by carrying a lightweight tripod and an empty 5 litre water bottle. At the waterfall I fill the bottle from the stream and hang it below the tripod head. I leave it a short while for the water to still, set the camera to shoot using the timer (I haven't got a remote) so I dont introduce vibration with my finger and I tend to get sharp exposures.
Of course this trick won't suit all photography but I like saving money given the chance.

Cheers
Dave

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by djbsom

At the waterfall I fill the bottle from the stream and hang it below the tripod head

What a handy tip.
Thanks Dave.

[DpM]

Originally Posted by cambsno

Yes, would agree with Redsnapper, have one and it is excellent

Ditto. Well happy with mine

[toadoftoadhall]

consider monopods, too. Much lighter, easy to carry around, very versatile, and unless you shoot loooong exposures, just as good. well ok, nearly, dont want to start a war here.

toad