Tri pod ??

[f86sabjf]

I owuld really be interested to know what tripods you guys are toting all over the woods out there. I'm looking at a budget of around 2-400$$ for my first one including head. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[JETA]

Mine would blow your budget big time and I haven't looked at tripods in years. I'm just a little thing so carbon fiber is what I choose to pack around. My tripod is a Gitzo, but maybe there are other brands now who make carbon fiber tri's cheaper. It's so lightweight and easy to hike with.

[f86sabjf]

Thanks Jeta

I was looking at there stuff and your right not cheap but maybe I could do that in a while

[ksbryan0]

I use a Manfrotto 055XPROB with a Manfrotto 486RC2 ballhead. They are solidly built, and work very well, but are a LOT heavier than the equipment Jeta uses. However, they were much less expensive! Packing them around on short jaunts isn't too bad, but for longer trips I would hesitate to bring them. I do a lot of shooting in very windy conditions, and I think the weight of the equipment pays off in that situation. But, given the choice (assuming money wasn't an object), I would go with a carbon fiber model.

[f86sabjf]

hmmm what would you think about toting it on a 4-8mile day hike?? Thats what i typically do

[ksbryan0]

I do that, but there are days when I regret it! It really depends on how much other gear I'm packing. If only the camera and tripod, then it isn't that terrible. But if I've got a backpack, second camera on my hip plus main camera with EF 100-400 and the tripod, then it can get old, very fast!

[EOSThree]

The tripod purchases of most people follow this article by Thom Hogan. When I went shopping I just couldn't believe what a quality tripod cost. I am like JETA now and have over $1.5K invested in my set up. I have a Gitzo 3542xls with a RRS BH-55 head as my main tripod.

I was forced into a purchase a few years ago when some jerk picked up my tripod in Yellowstone and kept it for themselves. It's a SLIK 814CF II model, and I paired it with an Acratech GV2 lightweight head. . It's a nice lightweight setup that works pretty well for a lot less than the Gitzo. Markins makes a nice lightweight head that isn't as expensive as the Acratech.

The Manfrotto tripod series mentioned above is a very popular decent tripod, they make them in Carbon Fiber as well as aluminum. There are several chinese knock offs on eBay and many people swear by them, although I don't believe they are of nearly the quality of Gitzo or Slik for that matter. I have tried one of them in the past and it wasn't nearly the tripod my Gitzo or Slik is.

[Frog]

One of the things to look for, especially for flowers and stuff, is how low the tripod will go and what kind of angles you can shoot with it.
I used an old Sears aluminum for many, many years and it suited me fine until it finally gave up the ghost and I had to get a new one. I wish I'd bit the bullet for a carbon fiber as mine gets to be a p.i.a. at even short distances. That is until I need it and then I'm glad I have it.

[f86sabjf]

Looks like I may have to save a little while longer to get what i probably will need.

[mjs1973]

I have the Manfrotto 3021 BPro, (which has been replaced by the 055X) with the 488 RC2 head. It has served me well for several years now, but I'm not sure I would recommend it for what you are asking. I have gone on long hikes with it and it gets heavy. It's really too big and heavy to mount comfortably to my pack so I would end up carrying it on my shoulder, or sometimes my wife would carry it for me.

If I had it to do all over again, I would definitely go with carbon fiber. In fact I have done a considerable amount of looking over the last year or two and have a good idea of what I want. When the time comes to upgrade, I think I will go with a set of Induro carbon fiber legs, and pair it with an arch swiss style ball head. The Induro CF legs start at around $300 and go up to about $665 depending on what you want. The Carbon 8X CT113 Tripod weighs less than 3 pounds and will support over 17 pounds for $326. Of course you will need a head and you could spend just as much on the head as you do the legs!

Judging by the gear listed in your signature, you may not need legs and a head that can support a lot of weight, so that will save you some money. If you plan on upgrading and adding some heavy glass in the future, keep that in mind when making your decision. Do it right the first time, and you won't have to think about it again.

[wfooshee]

I have a Bogen 3221 that I've had for a couple of hundred years. I bought it with a video head back when I started shooting video, and that's still what's on it, so turning the camera up to vertical is not something I can do on it, but otherwise it's quite nifty.

The head can mount on either end of the post, so the camera can be anywhere from on the ground to 72 inches high. Even with the head on top of the post, it will squat down to put the camera at 14 inches from the floor. Only thing I'm missing is the head I have doesn't have a bubble.

It's sturdy enough that at my weight when I bought it (about 220) I could grab the head and hang from it. It weighs about 7 pounds, and with head attached is still 30 inches folded up. If you can deal with that, there's plenty of them around and not for a whole lotta money.

[f86sabjf]

wow everyone thanks for the ideas. I'm working on getting used to the idea of maybe a $600 budget. You are correct no heavy lenses yet just kit lenses but i would rather buy it one time and be done with it.

So from what i'm hearing maybe by the legs and a different head insead of a kit??