Tripod Advice - £110 Budget !!

percymon

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As the title says - i need a tripod for OCCASSIONAL use. Nothing fancy, just the odd sunset or landscape. The chances of me lugging one up a hill are very remote and with my budget i know i'm not going to get carbon fibre or any such lightweight materials.

Chances are i'll be using the 5d with no battery grip, and either the nifty fifty, a sigma 17-35 EX DG or worst case for weight the Canon 24-105 f4 L.

So out of these which would you go for ??

Manfrotto 190XB + 056 head £104
Manfrotto 190XB + 804RC2 head £127
Manfrotto 190XB + 460MG head £130

Redsnapper tri-283 (£50) leaving £50 or so for a head - tripod offers a claimed 10Kg load against 5Kg for the Manfrottos.

Giottos MTL9251B (5Kg) or MTL3361B (8Kg) which leaves about £20-30 for a head !


Last but not least, do i really need to be looking at heads with more than 3Kg load capacity if i'm using the 24-105 lens on the 5d ?

Thanks
 
I'd have to say a 190XPROB with whatever head suits...

The 190XPROB is far more versatile with its swinging centre column, you should think of a tripod as a long-term investment! Legs only - around £85. Buy the right one, it will outlast you;)
 
Have a look at the 190XPROB and the 486RC. The 486RC supports a D300 with battery grip and a small/medium lens quite easily, so your 5d shouldn't cause it much of a problem. I chose this as a "walkabout" combo for weight, considering how strong it is it's quite light and easy to carry about.
 
Ever thought of a monopod? Very handy almost as good and much less bulky than a tripod.
 
ok, not got a tripod and seriously going to be looking soon, i am tempted by the redsnapper witht he ballhead. i realise it is overspecced for me and you. the only quarm seems to be getting low to the ground, where you have to turn the centre column upside down so camera is underneath.
other than that, there doesnt seem to be a bad word said about them and with the 10% discount as a member of tp, i think it comes down to £90 inc the ball head.
 
Ever thought of a monopod? Very handy almost as good and much less bulky than a tripod.

Yep - got a cheap Manfrtto one - its had about three outings to motorsport events in 3 years, so hardly getting much use; and thats why i'm loathed to spend a lot on a tripod.

On one hand i think for how much i'll use it i might as well buy a Jesspos one for under £50, but if it can't do the job then its £50 wasted.

I'm tempted to go Redsnapper - it has the spiked as well as rubber feet (£20 extra for spikes on Manfrottos). I then have a decent budget for a head, either a ball or the 460 Mag Manfrotto one, so with postage etc this would all come in around £110 budget


Best i've found for the 190XPROB and 804RC2 is £135 from morrisphoto delivered. Decent price i suppose. I can see the advantage of the swinging centre column for swapping from landscape to portrait quickly, although this can be achieved with the head anyway. I have no need for very low level stuff which requires inverted centre column.
 
I know its a bit under budget but I got a Slik pro 700dx from my local london camera exchange for 69.99 and its absolutely brilliant. Not sure if this is what your after but the quality of it is brillant, its light and super sturdy too with very good head on it

oh yeah and I've used a 40d with 17-55 usm and 580ex flash on it and it doesnt even flinch. Also you can remove the handle on one of the axis on the head and screw it into the other for transporting so it folds down smaller

http://www.photographyreview.com/mfr/slik/tripods/PRD_83837_3114crx.aspx
 
I know its a bit under budget but I got a Slik pro 700dx from my local london camera exchange for 69.99 and its absolutely brilliant. Not sure if this is what your after but the quality of it is brillant, its light and super sturdy too with very good head on it

I've heard it's pretty heavy; 3.2kg doesn't seem too light to me!
 
one recommendation i would have is find a tripod that is as close to eye level with the camera mounted - its stop hunching over all the time.
i found the manfrotto 055 series perfect for my height. i wouldnt need to raise the center column at all.

go into a shop that stocks them and just ask if you can set them up to check height - take you canmera lens along to see which head works the best.
 
Whilst on holiday i never had a tripod so went searching for something of a reasonable size and weight, i came across the Slik U9000 while nothing flash it does the job great, it comes with a 3 way head which although is plastic is very capable, the only downside is it has joined legs, but i have to say i never found this a problem, i used it with my D300 with fitted battery grip and 18-200mm lens just for some landscape and multi image shots, if your looking for something for just very occasional use this is great, and i only paid about £32, i also got a carry case with it, which i think is not normally included, i had the idea that i would sell it when i got home but i was so pleased with it I'm keeping it.
 
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