Beginner First Tripod Help

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Matthew
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I am very new to photography and I expect to mainly be doing nature and landscape photography. The 2 tripods I have options on at the moment are:

velbon cx640
Giottos MTL9361B + MH5001

Which do you think will be the best for me? I personally feel that the Giottos is probably better but the extra weight worries me off a little as I expect to be hiking a little way with it.

The current kit that I have is a Canon eos 1100D with the kit EF-S IS II 18-55mm lens and an additional CANON EF 75-300mm III USM lens.

If of course you feel neither of these are suitable and there is something elso I could get for a similar price second hand please let me know.

Thanks in advance for all replies.
 
Hi Matthew,
You may get a hundred + different tripod recommendations.
Out of the 2 you mention I would opt for the Giotto.
"the extra weight worries me off a little as I expect to be hiking a little way with it." That is a dilema faced by many of us, but a tripod that is not steady will do your head in and be a waste of money.

Have a look through the Redsnapper range. They are good quality tripods and some have a hook at the bottom of the centre column. You can hang your bag (or a poly bag with some stones in it) on that to increase stability.
 
Thanks for the response, the reason I selected those 2 is that I can get them both within my budget second hand. Unfortunately as a newbe I cannot access the classifieds on here so am relying on Gumtree
 
Here's a different thought - how about a monopod for nature and then a small beanbag for landscape work - often getting close to the ground is desirable for landscapes and a bean bag offers stability lower down than most tripods.
 
If your planning on doing a lot of stuff with your tripod, e.g. long exposure, timelapse, get a good one. You want to be able to trust what you put your camera on and make sure that it actually does some good for stabilisation because if your tripod wobbles it's pointless having it really.

Looking on Amazon there's this one which looks alright at a reasonable price:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/XCSOURCE®-Profeshional-Portable-Magnesium-Aluminium/dp/B00KNJ2QUA/

But I'd recommend that you get a good one that'll last you ages such as a Manfrotto:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-BeFree-Compact-Lightweight-Travel/dp/B00COLBNTK

I've had three tripods over the years. First one was a really crap (bit like this) one and it was about £20 - the leg bent in the first 3 weeks. The second one was far less rubbish but still quite bad and couldn't keep my camera steady for long exposures. My tripod now is a Manfrotto 190xpro3 and a beast of a ball head on top (cost about £200). It's as steady as a boulder, weighs the same too, and I know it's going to last a lifetime. you don't have to spend that much but get something good because at the end of the day it's what you're going to put your camera on and you don't want it breaking.
 
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