First time tripod buyer please help

[Tinkerbell]

I am about to buy my first tripod.. I finally got my first "real" camera for christmas which is a Nikon D3000 and I have been asked to help out at my cousins wedding (which is in 3 days ) with a photo booth they have set up. They have a whole backdrop and area set up to take pictures of all of the guests instead of signing a guestbook so I'm thinking that it will be so much easier if I had a tripod. The problem is I don't want to spend a ton of money on it but I don't want something that is so cheap it wont work. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Which height will work the best? Thank you in advance

[sabianq]

hi there!
I have an old heavy Bogen that i love but i cant take it anywhere as it weight a ton.

so i saw a (what i though was a carbon fiber one called a Silk Pro 2 at Penn Camera.
since i was in the market for a tripod, this caught my eye as it is very small and quite light, perfect for back packin.

i bought it on the spot. 100 bucks, (you can get it cheaper online)
since i found out it is not carbon fiber rather black anodized aluminum, i though i would have buyers remorse.
however, i have to say, that i have grown to really like the tripod, a lot.
it is well built and very quick to set up.

the head is removable and you can put other brand heads on it. (although the Penn Camera guys were adamant that the head is not removable until i unscrewed it infront of their stupified faces)

the legs open up all the way like a professional tripod and it stands quite tall (im 6foot and i can get the camera to eye level)

you can also configure the tripod to work upside down with the camera hanging between the legs for ground level shots.

THK Photo Products, Inc.

cheers!

[Michael_2010]

What's your budget and how tall are you?

[Shokinen]

Hey Tinkerbell,

You don't have to spend a tons of money to get some stabilisation. I made this shots with a 40$ tripod I purchase at Futureshop (along with others but this is not a dog show hehehe. This was only to give you an example) and I cannot complain.




In tripod world, material will increase the price (carbon fiber is more expensive than plastic); quality of the head will increase the price; amount of weight the tripod can support will increase the price; and so on. Today I'm using a manfroto with a 3-way head.

Hope this helps

[Krusty79]

Here are a couple of other threads on buying a tripod - Thinking about a new tripod

"help" tripod purchase?

[ddr]

the $ you spend on your tripod depends on how often you use it, and what (and how $) equipment you use on it

there are many stories of the head snapping, entire tripods falling because of strong wind

i suppose if you can compromise with the conditions which you use your tripod in it's ok to go with a budget one for now. i.e. indoors; still night; area with minimal foot traffic

if budget is a concern get a cheap used one

i always recommend the manfrotto 190xb+496rc2 for 1st time owners. you probably won't buy another one for a long time

[Tinkerbell]

Thank you very much to all of you! I actually just ran out and bought a $30 tripod since I was in such a time crunch and it was being used at a stationed photo booth where it really didn't need to move just needed to hold up the camera so I wouldn't get so tired of holding it. The tripod I got ended up working great for this occasion but I'm pretty sure I'll be looking for another, better one since I'm not sure how well this one will hold up in outdoor conditions when the time comes for me to travel outdoors and shoot.

oh and my budget is preferably less than $100 and my height is 4'11

thanks again everyone!