Tripods

yes - you can sigh - a tripod thread again .

It's becoming obvious that I'm going to have to give in and acquire a tripod - says she who gave her husband's tripod to her son-in-law in October . [ OK it was a bit heavy for me anyway ]

My needs

1) has to be light in weight- I'll be carrying it on holiday with camera gear and a largish trolley case . Or heaving it on and off buses in Glasgow.

2) it has to collapse nice and small please - so it takes up as little room as possible.

3) must be easy to use - ie open and set up

4) it is NOT to be goldplated - haven't set a budget yet but I need to do LOTS of work in the house

My uses

1) taking pics OK being sensible, to allow me to take better pics where a longer exposure is necessary. [ found that out again this morning ]

2) I realise it will help me actually compose my pics better .

3) I know there's a debate about Shake reduction being used/not used with a tripod - but this morning was the first time I've actually taken a pic and deleted it immediately I saw it afterwards [ I'll put it down to me not letting it focus before I squeeeeeeeeezed the button ]

I don't actually anticipate using it a lot - but it's better to have it available when I do.

Soooooooo having said all that - could I please ask you very knowledgeable folk for suggestions of Tripods that would fulfill my needs .

OH and heads on said tripod - ummm do I need one ? if so what variety ?

Thank you for all the help you are giving this technoidiot

What budget do you have in mind?

A cheap and nasty tripod will set you back £20 or a top of the range £600

I think she is looking for a few notches above cheap and nasty according to her description.

The Photomonk

I find it difficult to combine your needs #1, #2 and #3. If it's too lightweight, it doesn't provide enough stability. If it has to be nice and small, it will probably not provide a comfortable working height (and you don't want to work with the centre column extended too much).

As for heads, I would say yes, you need one. Personally I prefer the cine type over the ballhead. It is more practical for panning.

Budget is important. A cheap tripod is a waste of money.

Heads - yes you need one. Some prefer a ball head, but they can be as dear as a tripod, others like a three way head. Some tripods come with a head, for others 9the better ones generally, you have to buy the head separately.

Try to find one which is tall enough that you can use it without needing to raise the central column too much if at all.
Consider the weight of your camera and any lenses you have or may buy - they affect how stable the tripod and head are.

Makes to look at are Manfrotto, Velbon, Slik, Redgen, Giottos. Some if not all Manfrottos maybe out of your price range, all Gitzos almost certainly will be.
See what SRS ( www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk) have available - you get free postage from them as a forum member - mention you are a member when you order, and they are wonderful people!

Too right I am - but equally I'm not prepared to pay more than I did for my camera

It's not , I hope , going to be in constant use - so say in the lower half of the £20 - £600 range ?

Golden rule of tripods:

Cheap
Light
Stable

You can pick any two.

With that in mind...

I bought a Red Snapper RS-284 for £49 (brand new off their website). It comes complete with a free 3-way head (which I am going to replace with a ball head) and bag.

The tripod comes in at just under 2kg which sounds a lot compared to some, but the bag is really well designed and carries the weight really well making it feel lighter. It is very well made (as good as a Manfrotto XPRO190B in my opinion) and more than sturdy for my needs (nothing too extreme, but still varied and frequent use).

Head wise, it's a matter of personal preference. If you value fine adjustment then get a 3 way head, otherwise a ball head will drive you less mad (in my opinion). I would also say a quick release plate is essential (attaches to the bottom of your camera allowing you to simply clip the camera on and off the tripod head).

Red Snapper also do a good ball head (tripod with this head instead of the free three way head is £99 inc. free carry bag).

For a few dollars more (£139 including a free 3 way head), Red Snapper do a carbon fibre tripod, which saves a little weight over the aluminium version I have. I haven't seen one of these in the flesh though.

Forgot to mention, the Red Snapper also comes with two centre columns (a long one and, you guessed it, a shorter one), with a compartment in the bag to store the one you're not using.

There is also a sprung clip on the bottom of each column to allow you to attch something (e.g. camera bag) as a ballast.

The tripod body also has a spirit bubble, and foam pads on the legs to save your hands in the cold.

Just a comment,

have you tried to improve/ master your technique i.e in the way.. whilst you are taking the shot.

awareness of stance through arms, legs etc the way you maybe holding your camera sometimes/ often

leads to poor results.

I've had problems in the past and no doubt will have in the future ,after using a discipline approach my shots i
have improved by, I would say 90% in stability.
I have a manfrotto tripod and monopod with a standard 3 way head which I only use on long exposures, macro shots.

My apologies if if I'm going over things that you may also have experienced and use as part of your technique.

regards

albert

Take a look at the Velbon CX-640. Weighs a liitle over 1.8Kg, comes with own bag, has a bubble level built in (not enormous, but functional) and will take a 4kg payload. It's quite compact, so won't be a problem to carry about + it fits into a normal suitecase. SRS have it for £45 inc VAT (and postage to PU members).

Tripods aren't something you will drag along everytime you go out with a camera, so its a good entry level contender which won't break the bank. Use SRS's web site to look at what's about - you need something which has the capacity to cope with your current kit and a bit more so it won't be useless if you get that big heavy zoom you'd like (unless it's a SMC K 135-600 - then you'll need a crane :lol


Steve

Another vote for Redsnapper here. They are fast developing a very good reputation for quality and build that far exceeds the price point.

I too have the RS-284 with ball head and I can testify that it really is a fantastic bit of kit.

Another vote for Red Snapper here. I have the RS-283 and I love it. Excellent quality, great price.

I use a couple of Slik tripods - a 500G and a Mini Pro V. Both have pan/tilt heads, are very light, and still stable.

The 500G was £8.50 on ebay including postage, it has a few scrapes and two of the legs don't seem entirely straight but it works perfectly. I've even used it with my Km and 730g of K series zoom on the front with no problems. For the money, you really can't argue.

The Mini Pro V I bought new, it's a mini tripod but unlike most it's a well built one. I've put my MX on there with the same lens (heaviest I own) and it was absolutely fine. It's small enough to carry in a camera bag and you can use it on car bonnets, rocks, benches, etc. The little suction cup on the base of the column is best ignored however - if you try to use this it makes the tripod unstable. Used in the traditional fashion with just the three legs touching the surface it's great.

I also have an old Velbon CX-540 that I bought over ten years ago. I've barely used it as it's huge and the quick release head is annoying - as I tend to use more than one camera with the same tripod I'd rather the fixed type. It's light and well made, just a bit too bulky to carry around. Works very well with a set of binoculars for watching garden birds at the seed feeder though!

My main issue with a lot of the Velbon tripods is the cross bracing which limits the amount you can adjust the legs for close to the ground shots, shots on a slope, etc.

I'm thinking of ordering the Red Snapper ball head, am I right in thinking it has a friction adjustment knob?