# "budget" tripod or spend 100$ on one?



## Brotage (Dec 13, 2007)

So Im wondering if I should get a 40$ tripod or go and spend 90$-100$ on one. Is it worth it. It would mostly be for IR, or some low light light stuff. The only brands I've heard of are Slik and everybodys talking about those bogen ones.

If anybody could suggest one that would be GREAT and if someone could explain the differences between ball head and pan tilt. It would be great if it wasn't too heavy, I don't plan on hauling it everywhere because it seems like a pain.

I know im making a lot of "What should I get" threads and it's probably a pain for you guys, so im sorry.. and this is the last thing I need to pick out  (Great Caesars ghost!)


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## Sideburns (Dec 13, 2007)

100 is your max? lol.
Tripods are expensive.

Bogen/Manfrotto is probably the best bet in almost every case...
The leg/head combo can get tricky when you don't know what you want...but let me just say.  Invest in a quality tripod otherwise you won't even wanna use it...it'll just get in the way of your photography.

100 might be low if you want a serious tripod.  I got one one sale for 50 bucks, but I needed one.  When I have the dough (I'm a college student)...I'll probably go out and buy something that costs half as much as my camera.


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## Brotage (Dec 13, 2007)

Well I'm getting my camera for christmas, although mom has let me figure it out. I don't think I need a super duper tripod right now. I'm just not sure if a 40$ will be a piece of crap. or the 100$ ones will be something I don't need


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## JESWAW (Dec 14, 2007)

cheap ones break....way to easy


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## Garbz (Dec 14, 2007)

You have to take into account 3 factors:

1) is it strong enough to securely hold your equipment. If you have a D200 with an 80-200mm lens then you will NOT want to bolt it to a sub $100 tripod.

2) how long do you expect it to last? If you need a quick throw away tripod to take bush bashing then go for a cheap one. If you want to still have it in 10 years go for a Bogan/Manfrotto or Velborn

3) how study does it need to be? A tripod is only good if it holds the camera steady. With mirror lockup you have some leeway but with the 1-10 second exposures you'll need for IR you'll want something to hold the camera steady.


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## Josh66 (Dec 14, 2007)

My vote is to get a good one the first time.  If you get the cheap one, eventually you'll want to upgrade.  Might as well get the upgrade now.


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## jstuedle (Dec 14, 2007)

Only spend the money once. They won't get any cheaper with time as raw materials are sucked up by the new emerging manufacturers in China and elsewhere.


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## Steph (Dec 14, 2007)

Garbz said:


> You have to take into account 3 factors:
> 
> 1) is it strong enough to securely hold your equipment. If you have a D200 with an 80-200mm lens then you will NOT want to bolt it to a sub $100 tripod.
> 
> ...


 
I'll add a 4th factor to those:

4) weight. Sturdy, well built tripods can be heavy. If it is too heavy, it will stay at home more often than not and therefore will be useless.


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## Josh66 (Dec 14, 2007)

Steph said:


> I'll add a 4th factor to those:
> 
> 4) weight. Sturdy, well built tripods can be heavy. If it is too heavy, it will stay at home more often than not and therefore will be useless.



Weight can be good or bad though.  Personally, I like heavy tripods.  When I'm looking at tripods, that's a big factor for me.  I look at how much weight it can support, then I look at how much the tripod itself weighs.  All else being equal, I prefer the heavier one.

Now, if I were doing a lot of backpacking or hiking - yeah, I would go with a light weight one.

I guess it all depends on how you plan on using it.  I have a big heavy tripod, and a light compact one - the heavy one gets a lot more use.


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## Alex_B (Dec 14, 2007)

100$ for a tripod (without a tripiod head) i would still consider "budget" .. I agree with most things said above.


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## usayit (Dec 14, 2007)

You should be able to get a nice (but used) Bogen tripod and head off of ebay for maybe $150.....

Tripods are simple things... not much to break and you shouldn't be scared to look into used.  My BOgen 3001+3 way pan was obtained from a local camera swap for $35.  Yeh.. its old.. scratched up.. had someone elses name etch on it but hey.. it stronger than anything new for $35.


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## Garbz (Dec 14, 2007)

Steph said:


> I'll add a 4th factor to those:
> 
> 4) weight. Sturdy, well built tripods can be heavy. If it is too heavy, it will stay at home more often than not and therefore will be useless.



True this will decide if you get a set of carbon fibre legs (out of the question for $100) or a set of aluminium ones. But bear in mind if it's too light the tripod is top heavy when the camera is mounted and much more susceptible to falling.


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## Sw1tchFX (Dec 14, 2007)

Alex_B said:


> 100$ for a tripod (without a tripiod head) i would still consider "budget" .. I agree with most things said above.



ditto.


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## Bobby Ironsights (Dec 14, 2007)

Sw1tchFX said:


> ditto.


tretto?


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## usayit (Dec 14, 2007)

Garbz said:


> True this will decide if you get a set of carbon fibre legs (out of the question for $100) or a set of aluminium ones. But bear in mind if it's too light the tripod is top heavy when the camera is mounted and much more susceptible to falling.



You can always weigh down the tripod with a bag or some rocks.


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## Brotage (Dec 14, 2007)

How much do you guys think I should spend on a tripod?


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## Josh66 (Dec 15, 2007)

If it were me, I'd be looking at about $200 - $100 for the legs, $100 for the head, to get started.


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## usayit (Dec 15, 2007)

Brotage said:


> How much do you guys think I should spend on a tripod?



Depends.. how much is your equipment worth to yah?  What is the max weight you intend to put on this tripod?

For lighter cameras... check out Bogen/Manfrotto digi-tripods.  A listing on BH showed "systems" starting from $87 on up.

A listing on ebay showed a lot of choices between $100-$200.


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## Brotage (Dec 16, 2007)

Well I only have a XTi and a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 blah blah blah something II. if things go well I would like to buy a nice telephoto lens (looking at the 70-200m f/4L) and a flash... I'm not sure how much all that would weigh.. maybe  a couple pounds?

Heres the ones I've been looking at.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131427-REG/Slik_615_315_700DX_Pro_Tripod.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/439931-REG/Slik_613_338_Pro_340DX_Tripod_Black_.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/303600-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_718B_718B_Digi_Tripod_with.html

any favorites?

I like the 700DX because it looks normal compared to the ones I've used and It's getting a ton of perfect reviews.. but its pretty heavy. this could be a bit of a pain since it might throw me off while im skating somewhere.. but maybe not.

The 340DX says its support 8.8 lbs but in the review it says around 5 lbs.. and on the slik website it says 11 lbs. if it is less than I expect I don't wanna stick something on here and have it explode in to a million pieces.

The bogen ones... well.. you guys seem to swear by them


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## Ls3D (Dec 16, 2007)

I just went from a $39 no name POS to a Slik 300DX ($120) and I'm very happy with it. My shop threw in a nice bag for 8 bucks! Of course I did drop over two grand the week before...

-Shea


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## Josh66 (Dec 16, 2007)

Brotage said:


> Heres the ones I've been looking at.
> 
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131427-REG/Slik_615_315_700DX_Pro_Tripod.html
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/439931-REG/Slik_613_338_Pro_340DX_Tripod_Black_.html
> ...


It appears that the Bogen is the only one that has a reversible center column (that might not matter to you, but it lets you get a lot closer to the ground), but I don't like the head it comes with.  That gigantic handle sticking out looks like it would get in the way.

Either of the Sliks look like they'd be fine.  The 340DX is shorter (by 10 inches) than the 700DX when folded.  If you're going to be carrying it around a lot that might be a factor to consider.
The 700DX has the tallest max height (might not matter to you).  I generally try not to raise the center column (it's less stable with it up), the 700DX doesn't give a spec for max height without center column extended...

So, out of those three - my favorite is the 340DX.  It wins because it has a lower minimum height than the 700DX (my personal preference, I shoot low more than high), and it's more compact when folded.
I would not even consider the Bogen, only because I don't like the head it comes with.  With a different head it would win.
Just because _I_ would pick the 340DX doesn't mean it would be the best for you...  I think you'll be fine with any of them.  (But that is a pretty ugly head on the Bogen...)


-edit-
I just noticed that one of your original questions hasn't been answered yet...
The difference between a ball head and a pan/tilt head is this:  A ball head can move in every direction all at once, a pan/tilt head only moves one direction at a time.  Lots of people love the ball heads, but I prefer the pan/tilt heads.  My take on it is that ball heads would be great for stuff that moves around a lot, pan/tilt is more precise in it's adjustments (you're only moving on one axis at a time), but slower.


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## Ls3D (Dec 16, 2007)

FYI my Slik 300DX is reversible, so maybe the 340DX is as well.

-S


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## Josh66 (Dec 16, 2007)

Ls3D said:


> FYI my Slik 300DX is reversible, so maybe the 340DX is as well.
> 
> -S


Only reason I mentioned that is because the spec sheet on the Sliks didn't say that they were reversible, so I wasn't sure.  If the 300DX is, my money would say that all of them are.


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## THORHAMMER (Dec 16, 2007)

my 115$ tripod is already falling apart after like only 15 months 
the screws are coming loose and stuff like that, other then that its still good. 
But then again Im using that thing a lot.. throwing it around and stuff too. 

I bought one of those 30$ ones once, the plastic gears tore apart within 2 months of heavy use. 

I also broke 2 plastic "video" tripods too within a month of each other. 

The only thing I haven't been able to mess up is a 20 year old tiltall thats like a tank

seriously you can get them on ebay , get an old tiltall and you will never have issues, just its a little heavy and the legs can get stuck... on second thought just pony up the 200 and get something better


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## Sw1tchFX (Dec 16, 2007)

Spend between $200-$300 if you never want to buy another one again. The head is just as important as the legs, if the head's not tight, than it doesn't matter what the legs are doing and vise-versa.


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## Joves (Dec 16, 2007)

Well I have an older Slik U2000 and, it has been good for me. I hike alot so it has to be small and, light so I can tie it to my Camelback pack. The thing has actually taken a good amout of abuse and, is still living. I like the 700dx looks like it would work well for you.


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## Sw1tchFX (Dec 16, 2007)

Ive slain many men with my 3021 BPRO and 488RC4...


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## JIP (Dec 16, 2007)

Now now you people let him alone.  All of us found out buying our cheap tripods that you get what you pay for.  Why should he save the $200+ we all spent on multiple cheap tripods before we realised what was good.


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## Brotage (Dec 16, 2007)

I think im gonna get the 700DX, I don't see myself bring the tripod everywhere, so I don't think I need to spend so much on one.

I have to share this with you guys though. My mum and I went to best buy to look at tripods and some other stuff. So I thought I was past the stage where I got embarrassed when I was seen with my mum. However she managed to completely abolish this thought tonight. I really don't like stores when too many people are in them... It's Christmas, and we're in a big electronics store.. so it was packed. Anyway we found the tripods. they were all between 20-40$ and then a 175$ bogen (Which is also the 87$ one on B&H)
So mum proceeded to set up every single tripod they had on display (which was around 7) in a cramped isle. People didn't even come close to the isle. The guy that works in the camera section needed something from there for someone else and told them to wait until it was clear. This is when I peeked over the isles to see 2 of my friends. Disaster. I quickly scurried over to the guitar hero demo and started jamming. This didn't stop mum though, she proceeded yelling at me "Do you like this one? Or how bout his one!?" over a good section of the store. I did a fake look-around to give off a nice "I'm not related to her" look. She started walking towards me, much to my chagrin. I ran to her and tryed to disassemble the tripods as fast as I could. and leave the store. Fortunately the local camera store keeps theirs behind the counter.


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## Ls3D (Dec 16, 2007)

:lmao: OMG, what a funny story!  Malcom in the middle..

-Shea


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## kundalini (Dec 16, 2007)

JIP said:


> Now now you people let him alone. All of us found out buying our cheap tripods that you get what you pay for. Why should he save the $200+ we all spent on multiple cheap tripods before we realised what was good.


 
In a mentoring aspect (you guys, not me) you should help prevent someone from making the same mistakes you did.

I had an old cheapo and when I got my dSLR and the rest of the gear, said old cheapo failed miserably.  After a lot of searching, I wound up with the Bogen *055X PRO legs* and *488RC4 ball head*.  No regrets, but look at $280.


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