Good reliable tripod

Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 96 Location: Over there.

I'm looking to invest in a good tripod. So far I hear Gitzo are pretty reliable, does anyone else have suggestions for something cheaper but just as sturdy? I'll probably be using some relatively heavy lenses (eventually a 100-400 canon lense *drool*) on a 20D body from Canon. Any suggestions on brand/model?

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:53 am

Bogen/Manfrotto tripods are quite good also. You can get a good sturdy tripod and head for under $200, it'll just be heavier than the $400+ carbon fiber tripods.

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 7:11 am

I got this kit. I am very happy with it.
http://www.adorama.com/BG3228WN.html

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 7:29 am

The Tilt-All has been around for about 40 years and has proven to be sturdy and reliable. It costs about $100.00 including the head.

There are a lot more trendy tripods, however for up to 2¼" roll film cameras you can do a lot worse and not much better.

The Tilt-All is available everywhere.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 7:55 pm

I don't have one, but Packard is right. The Tilt-All has been an old reliable for years. Many pros use it.

One of its virtues is that iut lets you concentrate on one axis at a time. First you Level the camera, then you set its pitch up and down. You set the three axes separately, and in any order.

Joined: 01 Jul 2005 Posts: 7 Location: Cheshire, England

Depends on your type of photograpphy I guess. I use a Benbo Trekker (which initially is about as controlable as a set of bagpipes!) with a Manfrotto head, which I find I can use for literally everything - studio - ground level - even in water. http://www.patersonphotographic.com/tripods/benbo.html

Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 88

I for one have a Velbon CX-640. It works well for a MZ-5N even with a 75-300mm lens on it. It's also quite cheap.

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2005 7:12 am

Here are some conclusions from my experiences:

1) I got the wrong tri pod
2) I no longer care if its light - it would have to be a hell of a tri pod to make a difference to me, and I want something sturdy!
3) Definitely a head with a separate shoe (most pro-sumer ones hav ethat feature) - its convenient and safer to your equipment to attach a little plate and then click it into the tri pod rather than wrestle with it... seems like a little thing, but I have missed shots and had near heart attacks while trying to set up in a hurry.
4) The next tri pod I buy WILL have these two features:
- individual adjutments of legs with the ability to lay the whole rig practically flat. I love this feature and I think its a must in the field, not so much in studio.
- a center post that can be taken out and attached horizontally - unless you have a RB67, you will want the camera on its side, and this is so much sturdier andmore flexible than the flip - head. I also find it lets you level the camera more.

The reason I know this, my friend has a manfrotto with all the above features, and everytime we go shooting it drives me nuts watching the things he can do while I am stuck...

Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 96 Location: Over there.

Eldorage wrote:

I got this kit. I am very happy with it.
http://www.adorama.com/BG3228WN.html

How long have you had it? I would prefer something that will last me virtually forever.
Oh, I forgot to mention, this will be used mostly for nature photography/photojournalism (depending on where I get hired). I'd like something that would work well and reliably in both environments; I'm looking for something that is simple to use and very quick to set up both in terms of a head and the tripod itself.

Also, thanks for your conclusions Gnash.