D7000 Tripod Recommendation

[jpmensah]

I am new to photography and have gotten to a point where I need to purchase a tripod. Doing research has totally confused me and was hoping I could get some help with picking a tripod and tripod head for the Nikon D7000. If this helps, I am 5.8 in height and my heaviest lens right now is the 70mm-300mm.

I would really appreciate some recommendations. brand and model numbers too would be helpful

[OsmosisStudios]

Here's the trick

Heaviest lens/body combo you can see yourself having in the next 5 years
Multiply by 2.
Find a head that supports that weight
Add the weight of the head to the previous amount
Find legs that suit.

Manfrotto is one of the premier brands. Their 190XPROB legs would likely be perfect, though which head is to be determined based on your personal preferences. I recommend the 804RC2: it's a 3-way head, but those arent for everyone.

[Shokinen]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Manfrotto is one of the premier brands. Their 190XPROB legs would likely be perfect, though which head is to be determined based on your personal preferences. I recommend the 804RC2: it's a 3-way head, but those arent for everyone.

+1

That's what I'm using and I love it. I've carried my tripod everywhere and the legs are as stiff as when I bought it two years ago. A lot of people are saying that a ballhead is faster, but the thing is I'm never in a hurry when I'm using my tripod. Once you get use to it, 3-way heads are really convinient and it's even easier to do things such as several pictures stich together to make a panoramic. Just level the camera, loose the bottem handle, and there you go you can go up to 360 degre !!

[Lonewolfjustin]

Originally Posted by Shokinen

+1

That's what I'm using and I love it. I've carried my tripod everywhere and the legs are as stiff as when I bought it two years ago. A lot of people are saying that a ballhead is faster, but the thing is I'm never in a hurry when I'm using my tripod. Once you get use to it, 3-way heads are really convinient and it's even easier to do things such as several pictures stich together to make a panoramic. Just level the camera, loose the bottem handle, and there you go you can go up to 360 degre !!

Two very valid points you brought up that I haven't ever considered. If your using a tripod, why is faster better. Isn't that the point of a tripod, take your time to get an amazing shot. And I completely agree about the 3-Way working better for panos too. Ballheads if you loosen them they move every which way which would be terrible for panos. I was looking at getting a ballhead but now I think I will reconsider. Thanks for your input Shokinen!