What tripod

woody12

woody12

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Hi, really into landscapes and I need to update my tripod which is as basic as you can get - cost £10 new! What I need is a new more advanced tripod which is goes lower to the ground and is lightweight. I don't understand what a monopod is and the difference between monopod and tripod. I know is stupid question but this is basic. Keep hearing that redsnapper but I'm confused about types and setups with heads and such like. Any help would be appreciated.
 
A monopod is basically just a pole. It supports the weight of a heavy lens. A tripod with a pan and tilt head and a built in spirit level is probably the sort you are looking for for landscape use.
 
I have one of these - Giottos GTMTL9351B
Its about £100 and is a really good tripod in my view. Its by no means the best out there but you can get really low to the ground, have the camera on a horizontal pole on top the tripod, hang the camera underneath, basically every way you could imagine.
Its aluminium so not the lightest but its very sturdy - I have my D7000 and Nikon 24-70 or Sigma 70-200 on it no problem
 
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Mono means "one" as in one leg, i find mine great for track days etc when i just want to take the weight of the body & lens from my hands and steadies the camera more when shooting longer distances or slower shutter speeds.

As for tripods it depends on your budget, quite a few people on here like and really rate the red snapper brand and their prices are very good too. Ive not personally seen/used one so couldn't comment.

I've always been a fan of Manfrotto kit and couldn't rate it any better, the 055PRO is a very nice piece of kit and very sturdy. The 190 is another option.

Its a fine balance between build quality, weight and features.

You rarely get a tripod that excels in all three areas to get great build quality and features usually means a more hefty tripod and to get a light tripod usually means you loose stability (this can however be compensated for with some weight tied to the bottom)

As for the heads Ive only ever really used a simple ball type head on my mono pod and a pan and tilt on my tripod so i wouldn't be the best to advise on that.

Hope Ive been some help,
Ben
 
Hi Ben, thanks for the advice really helpful. The manfrotto seems the way to go, will give it a look. Thanks for the other comments and advice
 
Got to be sure to get a really sturdy tripod, esp. if using telephoto lenses.

I have a Velbon 233 Sherpa and thought it was OK until yesterday. I had all 3 legs almost fully extended and my camera with 300mm f4 Nikkor on it (mounted using the tripod collar on the lens). Lens was focussed on a dyke about 400 metres away. Just the slightest touch on the camera set up a vibration that was visible in the viewfinder. That is got to be a sharpness degrader.
 
I use a Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod http://SPAM/cpvebx4 £104 and Manfrotto 496RC2 Compact Ball Head £52 http://SPAM/cc9vyq6,
Its a great all round tripod for landscapes, strong enough the hold a long lens as well, also it goes flat to the ground so great for low angle landscapes and macro photography
 
I would recommend the Giotto MTL 9351B as well - I got it as it done virtually 99% of what the Manfrotto 055/190 series could in respect of getting down low to the ground & the horizontal aspect - but at a cheaper price too...
 
For what it's worth I would not recommend the Giotto tripods at all. I have had mine for less than 6 months and its already falling apart. I started asking around about these tripods and found out that they have a lot of complaints as well. They are just poorly put together with poor parts. They look like quality but don't be fooled. I thought that the guy at the local camera shop was crazy when he said that I might just want to cut my losses on this (250$) tripod but now I think he may be right.
 
For landscapes I'd recommend either a 3 way head, or if budget will allow, a geared head, rather than a ball head. Whilst a ball is quicker to use this isn't usually an issue with landscapes, a 3 way or geared head will allow you to move the camera in one plane (eg left to right, top to bottom or tilt) at once, they make aligning horizons a lot easier.
 
Trig's said:
I would recommend the Giotto MTL 9351B as well - I got it as it done virtually 99% of what the Manfrotto 055/190 series could in respect of getting down low to the ground & the horizontal aspect - but at a cheaper price too...
Click to expand...

If you do as few searches you will find the above tripod is winning most of the reviews and is recommended.
 
Reidy36 said:
If you do as few searches you will find the above tripod is winning most of the reviews and is recommended.
Click to expand...

:thinking: If you re-read what I had wrote.......

Trig's said:
I would recommend the Giotto MTL 9351B as well - I got it as it done virtually 99% of what the Manfrotto 055/190 series could in respect of getting down low to the ground & the horizontal aspect - but at a cheaper price too...
Click to expand...


you would have noticed that I already got a MTL9531B ... Or have I totally mis-read this and you are saying about the Manfrotto :shrug:


there is a review on the forum for the MTL ----> A TP review on the MTL9351B
 
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OP requested "lightweight"... not sure 3KG is lightweight (referring to the Giotto MTL 9351B) :D

I've got a manfrotto 055 and I find that too weighty for carrying around, so before I went to the Lakes I bought this Benro: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00511OHUC/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

At just over a kilo it was spot-on for me, and solid enough too.
 
IIRC, my Giottos CF Vitruvian tripod weighs in at around 1.77 kilos in its bag with the toolkit (a couple of Allen keys), far less than my slightly more stable Manfrotto 90 ProB which has a central column that can be rotated to the horizontal for shooting straight downwards and to allow it to be adjusted so the baseplate of the camera is only a few cm off flat ground. The centre column can also be mounted upside down, allowing the camera to be sited below ground level should you ever need that feature!
 
I would like to second JustDave on the 055XPROB very robust tripod.
 
when i bought my first tripod i created a very similar thread on another forum and found although the comments helped the best thing was to take a trip to a camera shop and try out all the tripods and if your lucky they will make you a cup of tea as you will be there some time.
 
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