Comments on: STEADY ON! [An Introduction to Tripods]

By: Crista

Crista — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:02:05 +0000

I can tell you all whom to avoid:
That would be the Targus Digital crap.
Dont confuse them with Targus computer accesories as they are two different companies entirely.
I have hadt two break in the exact same spot within one month each.
The first one I took bak for a replacement to Target. (I LOVE Target)
when the The second one broke I decided to contact Tragus Digital.
That was a at least two months ago and I havnt heard not one reply from them.
Nevermind the fact that they boast a six year warranty on the box and on an insert.
Moral is:
You indeed get what you pay for.

By: Alexis

Alexis — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:48:39 +0000

Hi – I’ve recently been assisting at weddings and I have one tomorrow. My lenses, both Nikon were only 3.5 to 5.6 so not very helpful in Churches where no flash is allowed. I have bought a Nikon 50mm F1.8D in the hope that this will be a lot better. Was this a good choice and will I still need a tripod for the ceremony do you think or is handheld likely to be OK ?

By: Mandy

Mandy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:10:40 +0000

Thanks for this article. I’m in the market for a new tripod, I have a cheap Hama Star tripod at the moment but I would like something more substantial. I like the sound of the Manfrotto tripod with ballhead – I’ll look into it further…

By: peter k

peter k — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:38:32 +0000

Well, I have two tripods. For dayly use I take with me at all times a Joby Gorillapod with Cosmo ball head (with spirit level). Whenever I think it might help me, I take also a usual tripod – a cheap one (less than $100) with no name, I think a China made piece of sh..- and a wired remote control, and, at least till now, was enough. Anyway, there are a lot of moments when you descover that the Super Steady Shot and/or high ISO are not enough, and that a tripod is realy usefull.

By: Davey

Davey — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:32:20 +0000

@Sandra–
If your $50 tripod is working for you–You go girl! :) I’m with you!+

I myself couldn’t decide between a monopod or a tripod and found (for my sub $400 panasonic fz 18) a product by SunPack that has both a monopod and a tri-pod together for under $90. Are they top of the line? Absolutely not. Is it safe to keep my equipment from crashing to the ground? Yes. Does it keep everything steady… yes. for my lowly level of amateurish photography does it work… yes!

Now, Sandra, your photography is better (I’m sure–I’ve got the shots to prove it). ;) but if it’s working for you–rock it out!

Do I have fun! Yes!

Do I care that other folks have either dedicated their lives to photography and have it as a profession or are absolutely avid hobbyists and are willing to commit the resources to purchasing these amazingly lensed, dslr’s. YES!

I love the fact that people who need/want to have that really high quality stuff have folks who’ve tried it and can tell them what works and what doesn’t.

I want them to enjoy and be happy with what they are doing–and I genuinely enjoy hearing about their passion.

But I know that I’m probably not ever going to end up doing this professionally or as ardently as most folks here. :)

I’m ok with being Mr. 25th percentile!

That’s ok. I’m sure I don’t have the top of the line model. I don’t think it would hold up a typical 504mm lens. (But then I don’t know if I could carry all that equipment with me either!)

My point is that there are different levels of equipment out there for different needs, and that is wonderful. Viva La Difference…

Besides, by hearing about how the gorillapods fall apart easily I’ve been able to skip that! :)

Great Post!

By: Helen

Helen — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:50:34 +0000

I think you need to decide what you want to use your tripod for, if its for landscapes and involves trekking – then it has to be light, and sturdy. If you are just going to be out in the garden shooting birds , flowers etc, weight isnt such a big factor. We have an ancient aluminium velbon, that was my Dads, its not comfortable to carry, its so angular ! This has a pan and tilt head
We also have a Slik pro 714CF II, I like it quite a lot, the head on it which is a Slik AF2100 probably weighs more than the tripod, but we can take the head off and share the load !
I decided I just had to have carbon fibre, and looked at all the manufacturers versions. If I had lots of money I would have probably bought a Gitzo. The Slik varies considerably in price, some places were £100 or higher more, whereas we found it for less, and only paid £150, shop around folks, and happy shooting- oh and yes, do check the weight the tripod can carry as others have said, I found a lot of retailers got the weight wrong, and went each time to the manufacturers site to verify the details

By: Johnny Styx

Johnny Styx — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:53:28 +0000

To get rid of even more camera shake don’t forget to set your camera to mirror lock-up, that way the mirror will lock on the first depression and the shutter will open on the second. If you have a cheaper tripod this willimprove your shots even more!

By: Tim A.

Tim A. — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:20:52 +0000

@Sandra

I agree with you that there are some nice tripods out there at around $50. And in my opinion, those are just fine for a high end point and shoot or even at Canon XTi with a kit lens (I had one too). But as you get better and better gear, it just gets heavier and heavier. And the cheaper ones…they start to suffer in stability. Sure, the carbon fiber ones are light too but they are very very sturdy. The aluminum and other cheap ones tend to have weak joints just overall can’t handle the weight.

The standard answer is, do you want a $50 tripod responsible for holding up $3000+ worth of gear over jagged rocks….

Even a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L is pretty heavy. Move on to the 70-200 f/2.8L and we’re talking around 3.2lbs just for the lens. Slap that on a 50D or a 5D MkII and it’s a pretty heavy combination that you’re going to try to mount onto your $50 tripod…

So yeah…depending on your gear, I think there is nothing wrong with a cheaper brand. I used that with my XTi and a light wide angle lens or a prime for years. Served me well too. But as soon as I started investing in lenses breaking the $1000 barrier and getting heavier and heavier…well…my new Gitzo is far far far more stable and gives me a peace of mind that I won’t turn around to see the tripod slowly falling over onto a hard surface with my camera and lens…

By: Paviwpg

Paviwpg — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:16:50 +0000

I’m a beginner photographer and I just recently purchased a tripod that I am very happy with. It is a lower end tripod but good enough for my purpose and budget. The one I got is HAKUBA S4500 TRIPOD W/QR 3-WAY HEAD and it cost me $45 CAD at Henrys.com. It does a great job supporting my SONY Alpha 200 even with a 300 Zoom Lens.

By: aykut

aykut — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:50:29 +0000

Do you think these two sets are the good choise below for max 400USD total;
tripod: 190xProB or 055xProB
head: 482RC2, 322RC2

and if you know any, what can the alternatives be?