1st Tripod :p What Should I Look For ?

ccsnet

ccsnet

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Terran
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Noob advice needed for what I should be looking for in a good all rounder tripod.

Looking at £40-60ish at the mo for a starter one..... must be able to have a quick release and suit a 450d. Ideally I'd like a standard type head so I could use the same tripod with other cameras and not have to keep swapping the plate.

At the mo I'm using a £15 one from Tesco with my Tz5 ( its not bad but not great either ).

Thanks In Advance

Terran
 
Redsnapper get good reviews...

I have the Monopod, love it...
 
Tripods are primarily to hold your camera still

This needs weight - buy a heavy one! Or buy a fairly heavy one that you can hang your camera bag from

Expensive heads allow easier precise movement, but that's rarely a problem, so any decent head will do

Buy one that extends to taller than you - they are never much cop fully extended so try to avoid that

If weight is a problem - stay off the chips for a few weeks and put your weight loss into your tripod weight gain :)

DD
 
Redsnapper all the way, great value for money and work a treat......:thumbs:
 
ccsnet said:
Actually I was looking at them.... its hard to understand how good the brands are at the mo.... eg BMW vs Spiker etc

Terran
Click to expand...

On a scale with the Tesco brand tripods being a Honda, the red-snappers are a Porsche.
 
DiddyDave said:
If weight is a problem - stay off the chips for a few weeks and put your weight loss into your tripod weight gain :)

DD
Click to expand...
He he.... I did have my eye on one with a carry handle and hook at the bottom for a weighted cloth tray.... I forget the make now.

Andy77 said:
Redsnapper all the way, great value for money and work a treat......:thumbs:
Click to expand...
Thanks

Andy said:
On a scale with the Tesco brand tripods being a Honda, the red-snappers are a Porsche.
Click to expand...
True....

If Tesco did branded stands they would be cardboard legs, be blue, white and red with the word 'value' every where lol.

I was thinking more the bigger well known names my self eg manfrotto vs, giottos vs hamma etc etc

Terran

Terrab
 
I have the giottos 9351B which I got from Jessops for £99 slightly over your budget I know but they are a very good tripod, now the next model down is slightly cheaper and the only difference is that it does not go as high.

When buying a tripod spend the most you can afford, as if you scrimp you will just have to buy another later on.

Link to model below mine

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/76434/show.html

Mine
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/76226/show.html

Hope this helps
 
I just bought one from Redsnapper. Advertised at £99 (over budget I know) but that includes a ball head and a carry bag. Mention Talk Photography Forum and get 10% off. I rang my order in with the 10% off, and adding delivery it came to the grand sum of £97.05. http://www.aldine.co.uk/redsnapper/tripod-284+RSH-12ballhead.html

Just taking another look at their site they have the same tripod with a panning head and carry bag for £62.95 (less 10% plus P&P) http://www.aldine.co.uk/redsnapper/tripod-284+3WayPanning.html

I love the tripod. Nice weight and features.

Oh, and I have a 450d as well.
 
Another redsnapper recommendation here. The 3 way head combo is just over your £60 budget but very well worth it IMHO.

Giotto have some in a similar price range but I'd stick my neck out and say the redsnapper are probablythe best value out there and will accept any standard heads should you feel the need to change in future.

Weight handling will not be an issue either and it should last you a long time.
 
To continue DD's thread-and is the same advice I gave on a similar thread:

As mentioned it should be stable, and one with a hook on the central column is a bonus, you can hang a camera bag etc to increase stability.

Carbon fibre is not as cold to the touch as metal-important in very cold weather.

Go for legs that can be easily adjusted for height, nothing more frustrating fumbling about trying to get a horizontal plane.

Look for one where you can get ground level positions, either the legs at acute angles or reversible centre columns.

Choice of head is so important, look for one that will securely lock the camera into position, landscapes often equal long exposures, so even a minor movement/droop of the head can ruin an image.

Go for a head with a quick release, and buy a quick release plate for every camera body you take.

If you intend to use long lenses, (with collars), buy a QR plate for the collar-much more stable than mounting the camera.

Pick a tripod, (carbon or metal) that will take some punishment.

Try and keep the tripod mechanisms a simple as possible, too many levers/catches, screw threads means more can go wrong, and be more vulnerable to dirt/water/grit etc.

Consider alternative heads, I take a relatively light head when I'm trekking, when I don't take any big lenses, and a heavy duty head when I know I'll be shooting with heavy lenses, but little or no walking.

Personally, I've found tripods with a spirit level of no real use as I use a ball head, and prefer the small spirit level mounted on the camera hotshoe
 
I have a redsnapper too, nice bit of kit. Looks more upmarket than what they are.

Has a nice simple design as well, nothing fancy or fiddly. And if you pull it apart, their simplicity makes them easy to put back together good as new. Yes, I came home a bit drunk and got all excited about a big box from redsnapper, and it lasted 10 mins, I pulled the legs apart into their separate components due to my enthusiasm. I promptly did this with the other 2 legs trying to figure out what order the bits went back in. However it was fixed again another 10 mins later, never be able to guess I pulled it all apart :thumbs:
 
As stated in previous posts, Redsnapper are a decent brand to go for

I made the mistake of buying a cheapo tripod first off but it fell to bits in 6 months, so paid £100 for a redsnapper + ballhead.

Top notch quality and it holds a decent weight too

:thumbs:
 
Another vote for Redsnapper for your price range, definately happy with my purchase
 
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