Tripod help

Missy1981

Missy1981

Suspended / Banned
Messages
55
Name
Sarah
Edit My Images
No
Hi everyone,

I need to get a tripod ASAP for my photography course and I haven't a clue where to start.

I have learnt from reading other posts not to scrimp on a tripod which I wouldn't want to do anyway as want it to be sturdy and trust that my Canon 650d is safe.

However, I have no idea what I'm looking for. My tutor had a Giottos tripod and said that this was a good brand.

Do I just buy the tripod or do I need a quick release plate too? Without sounding really naive, what would this be for? If I don't have one, is it difficult getting the camera on and off?

Sorry for all the questions. Total newbie here

Saw this on Amazon. Got good reviews. Is it any good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B001W6Q000/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1359206037&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

Thanks for your help

Sarah
 
You need a tripod and some type of head to go with it.

Two common types are a pan tilt head and a ball head. Which you use is down to personal preference, though ball heads seem to be preferred for the easier control they offer. You will also need to consider what maximum weight you want to support when deciding on which tripod and head you buy.

A quick release plate is handy as it can stay attached to the camera at all times and makes mounting the camera on a tripod a bit quicker.

Have a look at the tripods and head on here -

http://www.redsnapperuk.com/index.html

for an idea of what is available.

Some folks on here (including me) have a Redsnapper tripod and are well pleased.

Dave
 
Thanks for your reply Dave. Please could I ask what is the difference between a pan tilt and a ball head?
 
Thank you that is very helpful :-)

Do you purchase the tripod and the head separately then?
 
Yes certainly at the mid to upper price bracket, thats not to say you won't get a deal in the mid range with the head included.

Although a tripod is generally thought of as a single entity, its probably better described in the photography field as legs and head.

You probably want to give more thought to the head as that is what is going to make life easier for you.

I love my geared head for macro and landscape, but would drive me crazy for general stuff. My ballhead is quick to position and lock but drove me crazy at macro.
 
Sarah, can I ask you about your avatar, who shot it etc ?

Another vote for Redsnapper too by the way, hard to beat for the money :thumbs:
 
Thanks guys. This makes more sense now. I always thought that when purchased, a tripod was the legs and the thing that attaches the camera to the tripod. I understand now that this is not the case.

There are so many on the Redsnapper website. What should I be looking for?
 
The avatar is my son. We go swimming regularly and recently took part in an underwater photoshoot. This was one of the pictures that was taken. Wish I could say it was me that took it but it wasn't :-)
 
Missy1981 said:
The avatar is my son. We go swimming regularly and recently took part in an underwater photoshoot. This was one of the pictures that was taken. Wish I could say it was me that took it but it wasn't :-)
Click to expand...

Can I ask where and by whom it was taken though... as it looks like it might be one of mine ;-)
 
Missy1981 said:
Thanks guys. This makes more sense now. I always thought that when purchased, a tripod was the legs and the thing that attaches the camera to the tripod. I understand now that this is not the case.

There are so many on the Redsnapper website. What should I be looking for?
Click to expand...

RS-283 with RSH-12 head. There are better tripods about, but not for that money. Head is particularly good value. Phone them and ask for Joe, and you should get 10% off as a member of TP :)
 
I've only ever bought one tripod in my whole life, and that speaks volumes for the quality of what I bought. It's been dropped down a mountain in British Columbia; washed away in a swollen river and not found until the next day, 3 miles away; Driven over by a land rover; dropped, kicked, knocked over; Thrown around, and generally abused for 20 years now, and it's still fine, and I still use it, and I've no intention of replacing it. I service it once every few years by re tensioning the leg releases, and that's it.

It's a Manfrotto 190QCB... which is now obsolete, but it was replaced by the 190XB. It's roughly the same price as the Giotto you linked to. I'm sure the Giotto is absolutely fine, but I know my Manfrotto has stood the test of time, and had a brutal life, and is still in perfect working order... and that's 20 years of hard professional use.

I use the 141RC head, which again is discontinued, sadly... but so popular was this head, there's a Chinese company making knock offs.. and... they actually seem ok.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141RC-Pro...079?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccdcc0a87

I'm not sure if they'll stand the abuse mine has, but for £25 it may be worth a punt as there's nothing else you could buy at this price.


Ball heads are a pain in the ass if you shoot landscape at all as they can be fiddly getting everything straight if accuracy is needed, and often slip with heavy lenses on, or creep slowly over a series of exposures for a time lapse or very long exposures.. a fact you'll be unaware of until you look at the images afterwards. Pan and tilt heads are limiting. A good 3 way head is where I'd put my money.

I'd actually get the Manfrotto 190 and that give that Chinese fake 141RC a go. You can always replace it with a 808RC4 when you're feeling flush, but I reckon that 141RC copy just might actually be OK.

If like me, you still have that in 20 years, then it's a bargain isn't it.


[edit] "NEW Manfrotto 190XDB + 804RC2 Tripod + Head (Black) NEW" on ebay now for £119 buy it now price. Bargain that!
 
Last edited:
Re the avatar, it was taken at a "Waterbabies" shoot in Reigate, Surrey. Although the photographer that took it was female

Fab photos! But really expensive ;-)
 
I was looking at that one also on Amazon and couldn't really see what the difference was between this and the 190XB

I compared them on the Manfrotto website and the 190xprob was more expensive but I couldn't really see why?

Slight height advantage with the pro but couldn't work out the £20 price difference?
 
I think the pro has the multi position facility for the centre column, my daughter has the CF version of the pro and that definitely has it
 
Re: the 190 pro.... yes, it has the trick centre column... otherwise little difference... however, I'm fairly certain the 190XB also has this... and it's a lot cheaper. Both have a 8cm minimum height which leads me to believe the XB can also swivel it's centre column.
 
Last edited:
Missy1981 said:
I was looking at that one also on Amazon and couldn't really see what the difference was between this and the 190XB

I compared them on the Manfrotto website and the 190xprob was more expensive but I couldn't really see why?

Slight height advantage with the pro but couldn't work out the £20 price difference?
Click to expand...

tijuana taxi said:
I think the pro has the multi position facility for the centre column, my daughter has the CF version of the pro and that definitely has it
Click to expand...

Yes and it is quite a simple operation to position horizontally. Good for shooting vertically downward and for macro as in this pic with a ballhead and macro rail attached.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miwo76/1517413365/


Yes the XProB is £20 more MRSP, but the Amazon price actually has it lower by almost £15 than the lesser spec'd XB.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-A...8N00/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1359287123&sr=8-3 £95.47

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-X...FQU6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359285511&sr=8-2 £82.99
 
Last edited:
Haha, that's the other thing that confused me! That Amazon had it cheaper!

I would probably buy off Amazon as I trust them and their returns policy.

The other thing I can't fathom is that the 190xprob on its own is £82.99 and with the 804rc2 head is £140.26

But the 804rc2 head on its own is £48.54

So to purchase them separately is actually cheaper than to purchase them together?
 
Missy1981 said:
After reading about the abuse your Manfrotto has endured, this sounds very appealing too! Been reading reviews on Amazon and they are all positive.

Now I'm really torn. To make matters worse my tutor has recommended this one also:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0050O7SBK/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1359285004&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

Does anybody know anything about these? Hardly any reviews so I don't have much to go on.
Click to expand...

Your're looking at some good quality, good value tripods. Not sure you'll go far wrong with any of them. The head is important though, that's the part which actually moves the camera and the part you work with.

The Redsnapper I mentioned above is great value. You'll not get anything better for £55. The RSH-12 ball head is excellent, at £60 as good some costing much more, and it has the nice Arca-Swiss quick-release system favoured for high end tripods. Also 10% discount for TP members.

Manfrotto 190 series has been a big seller for forever, alongside it's bigger clone, the 055. The versions with a tilting column are quite handy. Only problem is the 190 is quite short and if you have to extend the centre column on a regular basis you'll be throwing away a lot of stability :nono: The height might suit you though - generally speaking the standard tripod height should bring the camera up to chest level so you can see controls on top of the camera. Take the max tripod height (centre-column down, and without head) and allow roughly 8in/20cm extra for the head and camera to bring it to your chest.

The Benro you linked is a 'traveller' design, and most brands do something similar. The legs fold up and back on themselves, enclosing the head, making them smaller for carrying. They also tend to be more lightly built and have more leg sections to reduce closed length and weight even further, so they can be less rigid, but the smaller ones can fit in a camera bag.

The head. Three-way (pan/tilt/swivel) are good and solid but slower to use, quite big with sticky-out handles, and often heavier than ball heads. Balls are fast, small and versatile, which is why most folks favour them. Good quality ball heads are great, but small/cheap ones can be frustrating to position accurately and prone to droop with a heavier load.

If the height and price suits you, suggest M'frotto 190-XProB with RSH-12 ball head. Or M'frotto 804-RC2 three-way head. M'frotto's RC-2 quick release system is probably the best aside from the Arca-Swiss standard.

Bigger, go M'frotto 055 or Giottos MTL 9261B. For more money, most tripods can be had in carbon fibre rather than alloy, but there's a big jump in cost for only a small reduction in weight.
 
Hello Sarah

If you're using a DSLR then you might have a read of this: link (don't worry about which tripods get a mention, except to have a look at their specification and compare it to one you're thinking of buying).

It's a bit like buying a lens; the more you spend now on getting it right and buying a quality product, the longer you'll be satisfied with it and won't find that you're always wanting to upgrade.

It might help if you can tell us:
  • what sort of camera you'll be using
  • the biggest lens you'll want to support
  • the type of photography you like best
  • etc etc
If you intend to travel with your tripod then its weight is an issue if you have to carry it any distance; so a carbon fibre (more expensive) model might be appropriate. Then macro work lends itself to a more specialised type of head than studio or landscape.

Once we know what you're using and what you want to do, I'm sure you'll get plenty of good advice if you ask about specific models.

All the best,

BobG
 
I have a camlink tripod that I got over a year ago at Argos. I think it was £40 or so. Build quality is reasonable and its certainly sturdy enough, doubly so with a bag hanging off the hook on the centre column. I've not felt uncomfortable loading it with fairly hefty set ups (d7000 gripped with 70-200 2.8 & 2x tc).

Ill admit it doesn't have any fancy features and the pan tilt head isn't fantastic (it's not very smooth) but it has served me perfectly well without issues. I certainly prefer it to my friends 190xb, as its alot lighter, but I don't use it very often mainly because I don't like carrying it, but I'd find that with any tripod especially as my main transport is of the 2 wheeled variety.

But for the £40 odd I paid I'm happy with it and would recommend it as another option for your list.
 
Missy1981 said:
Haha, that's the other thing that confused me! That Amazon had it cheaper!

I would probably buy off Amazon as I trust them and their returns policy.

The other thing I can't fathom is that the 190xprob on its own is £82.99 and with the 804rc2 head is £140.26

But the 804rc2 head on its own is £48.54

So to purchase them separately is actually cheaper than to purchase them together?
Click to expand...

The pricing on Amazon can be crazy sometimes.

I'll be interested to find out what you end up buying and what you think of it. I'm considering a tripod/head myself now but looking more at the 055/498rc2 combo.
 
r1flyguy said:
That looks like a nice bit of kit!

I've been looking at Manfrottos all afternoon in Mong Kok, Kowloon, I'm surprised how heavy some of them are and expensive by Hong Kong standards :thumbsdown:
But it's also a minefield as there were sooooooo many on display
Click to expand...

Trust me its a proper sturdy bit of kit.
Spiked feed
Adjustable feet
Reversed centre for low shots
Interchangeable heads
Ball head included
Big sturdy quick release plate
Quick release legs
Two leg position with locking pin

I love mine, I admit the £200-£300 pods will be better but for this money there are none better out there.
 
I use a camlink tripod with a geared Manfrotto head.
The tripod is very sturdy and as such, is quite heavy! For me this isn't a problem as I shoot a lot of still life. When I do take it out it can be a pain to carry very far!

For still life the geared head is very good for making fine adjustments.
 
As a newbie, and just getting used to my tripod, something I learnt, and I think its important, is to handle it first rather than buy blind.

You need to feel comfortable when carrying it - especially if you have a lot of walking planned, then it can seem really heavy when accompanied by your camera gear.
 
Sarah, I presume that some of your co-students already have their own tripods. If so, have a play with theirs and see what you think and which type/brand/model of head you prefer. Bear in mind that you may want to take it a fair way on foot, so weight could be a factor in your choice.

I have 3 that get regular use - a Manfrotto 190Pro which is aluminium (so not very light) which is topped with a 410 geared head (for solidity and accuracy but again, not light!); a Manfrotto 190X-Pro CF which is carbon fibre so much lighter which is topped with a 322 ball/joystick head (lighter than the 410 but no featherweight! Quicker to aim than the 410 but not as accurate or slip-free) and a carbon fibre Giottos Vitruvian topped with the supplied (ball) head which is more compact and lighter than the CF Manfrotto.

My preference is for ball heads over 3-ways but (as can be seen above) others prefer 3-ways to balls. The 2 Manfrotto heads share the RC2 QR system (the 410 has an adaptor bolted on) as does my monopod. All my SLRs and lens feet are fitted with the relevant plates and I have some spare plates for other cameras too. I also have a couple of other support devices (a Gorillapod SLR Zoom and a Pod beanbag) that are topped with either heads or adaptors to the RC2 QR system.
 
Hi everyone, thanks for all the responses.

I did what I thought was the best thing and tested the weight of a Manfrotto (one of the students in my evening class had one) and it did seem a bit too heavy for me.

So based on weight and the recommendation of my tutor I've gone for the Benro Aluminium Travel Angel Kit Head. Got it off Amazon and it arrived the other day and I must say I'm delighted with it. Folds down nice and small, nice and sturdy (even when I was using it in strong winds a few nights ago), is light, comes with a quick release plate, a carry case and a ball head. All for £131. I am really pleased with it so far.

Thanks for all your help as always. Couldn't have made the decision without coming here first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top