Buyers guide

Is there a function here where us newbies could ask the professionals for their opinion on buying goods from the likes of eBay?
There are 2 tripods on offer just now and the cheaper one has a ballhead which I'm told is the better option but the dearer one is listed as a professional tripod,
Are there people on here who could be bothered offering an opinion or am I just hoping for too much?

If you ask a question, bearing in mind it's a Pentax User site and should have some relevance to Pentax Users, then someone will answer, but nobody can offer an opinion on some aspects. For example, "is this a good buy?" is OK as a generic question, but no-one has seen the actual item so no judgement can be made on an individual seller's item. Having said that, there are often clues in the pictures and description offered.

It's also true that in general not everyone likes eBay auctions to be highlighted to everyone. It puts the price up and stops people getting the odd bargain here and there. Posts saying some gem seems to have been missed make the one person who might have noticed a bit disppointed...even miffed.

Questions in the example you've quoted might be better phrased as whether one type of tripod is better that the other. The auctions themselves don't even need to come into it.

You may find it alerts others to a good deal and you will have them bidding against you!

You are better actually seeing the tripod, rather than buying
off ebay. Try your local camera shop.

Thanks, I never thought about the bidding alert aspect.
I'll shut up now and go cringe in a corner.

It seems valid asking if tripod A is better for use with a Pentax DSLR than tripod B. It alerts no one as to where you are looking, it just leaves you to make a value judgement based on the item's condition, seller's reputation and so on.

John

Doesn't make any difference at all if these are buy it now items from a dealer, which I assumed from reading the OP. Few real bargains left on Ebay anyway, so I wouldn't worry about alerting anyone if it's an auction.

You will more than likely be advised to buy a Redsnapper one instead anyway

If there's an old Slik 88 or similar in good order going for 99p you may not want to alert everyone. But it's worth asking if anyone knows if they're any good.

John

If it was an old Slik88, you might want to ask them to make sure there are no cracks in the plastic leg locks.

You may as well just give us the models you're looking at....

Probably the opposite tbh but it's best to keep Ebay listings to yourself unless they are a business seller with loads of the item.

Ignoring the ebay connection as it's been adequately covered the question included :-
That really depends on what you want the tripod for. A ball head makes it easier to point your camera upwards (Stars, church steeples and the like). Pan/tilt head is easier to pan but the tilt is often limited to 45 degrees or so.

I think here the description needs a bit more clarifying in that just because something is labelled as Pro does not necessarily mean that any self respecting "Pro" would use it.
But could well mean that it is a sturdy product (this often also means heavy). Some cheap ones are dire and shouldn't be trusted with anything that you wouldn't be happy to drop from 3-4ft.


I would suggest a trip to the high street stores to get a hands on critical look at what is available before parting with cash blindly


regards
Bernard

They don't list the model names but I've just noticed the dearer one has a 360° swivel and tilt function and also has an attachment at the bottom of the stem for low down shots so I'm going for that one.