Reasonable tripod & head combo

[Mosccol]

Good evening everybody

I am looking to upgrade my tripod. There are plenty of easy answers above $1000 but they're not for me!      

So, using the good old principle that you can get 80% of the top quality for 20% of the obscene price, what would your recommend?

I am upgrading from a cheap and cheerful all aluminium thing with an unstable central column (that will sometimes drop!), no ball head, no spirit level... no wonder I do quite a bit of Lightroom cropping...

I am looking for something reasonably light and sturdy, that will collapse to a size that can hang on the side of a back back and that can support the weight of, say, my slr, battery grip, 70-200 + flash, let's call this 3kg tops.

Any clever recommendations?

PS: While you're at it, my Slingshot 200 is getting too small. Any fave backpacks using the same 80-20 rule?

Thanks a lot

François

[Jeremy Payne]

Start here ...

http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

[PeterAit]

Good evening everybody

I am looking to upgrade my tripod. There are plenty of easy answers above $1000 but they're not for me!      

So, using the good old principle that you can get 80% of the top quality for 20% of the obscene price, what would your recommend?

I am upgrading from a cheap and cheerful all aluminium thing with an unstable central column (that will sometimes drop!), no ball head, no spirit level... no wonder I do quite a bit of Lightroom cropping...

I am looking for something reasonably light and sturdy, that will collapse to a size that can hang on the side of a back back and that can support the weight of, say, my slr, battery grip, 70-200 + flash, let's call this 3kg tops.

Any clever recommendations?

PS: While you're at it, my Slingshot 200 is getting too small. Any fave backpacks using the same 80-20 rule?

Thanks a lot

François

Hakuba carbon fiber tripod (from B&H), AcraTech ball head (direct), terrific combo. I use it with various setups including a Nikon D80 with a Sigma 100-300 EX zoom, it seems very solid.

Peter

[Paul Sumi]

I am looking to upgrade my tripod. There are plenty of easy answers above $1000 but they're not for me!      

So, using the good old principle that you can get 80% of the top quality for 20% of the obscene price, what would your recommend?

Unfortunately the only way I can see you getting 80% of the goodness for only US$200 is to buy used gear.  US$500-600 opens up a lot more possibilities.

A couple of questions:

Is weight important?  Does the "80%" include carbon fiber legs, or is aluminum sufficient?

Do you want to use Arca-Swiss type ball-head clamps, camera and lens plates, or simply attach the camera using a tripod head's threaded screw?  Companies like Manfrotto also have proprietary quick release systems.

Paul

[DarkPenguin]

www.feisol.com

[Sheldon N]

Light, cheap, sturdy.

Pick any two.

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi!

You may consider a Velbon Sherpa Pro 630. It's pretty good for the price add an RRS BH-40 ballhead or an Acratech Ultimate. I'd recommend that whatever head you buy that you consider using RRS (Really Right Stuff) lever type Quick Release adapter. Although I like the Acratech head I more than once loosen the QR instead of the panning because I turned the wrong knob.

Best regards
Erik

Good evening everybody

I am looking to upgrade my tripod. There are plenty of easy answers above $1000 but they're not for me!      

So, using the good old principle that you can get 80% of the top quality for 20% of the obscene price, what would your recommend?

I am upgrading from a cheap and cheerful all aluminium thing with an unstable central column (that will sometimes drop!), no ball head, no spirit level... no wonder I do quite a bit of Lightroom cropping...

I am looking for something reasonably light and sturdy, that will collapse to a size that can hang on the side of a back back and that can support the weight of, say, my slr, battery grip, 70-200 + flash, let's call this 3kg tops.

Any clever recommendations?

PS: While you're at it, my Slingshot 200 is getting too small. Any fave backpacks using the same 80-20 rule?

Thanks a lot

François

[Bronislaus Janulis]

In my research, in smaller tripods, the cost to weight ratio favors aluminum. You pay a lot for not much gain in carbon fiber. Giottos makes some very nice smaller tripods with twist leg locks, my preferred method. They are quick, quiet and don't foul in sand.

The Giottos compare very favorably to the extremely expensive Gitzos I own.

Giottos ball heads compare very well to my Markins and Really Right Stuff ballheads I own and use.

As with all small and light support gear, good technique is essential for good performance.

Bron

[DarkPenguin]

BTW, if your budget is 20% the cost of a good tripod try a Slik 700dx or whatever the current version is.

[Mosccol]

Thanks everybody, I will investigate all your suggestions.

Just to clarify, I meant 20% of the obscene price, not the merely expensive. So that's probably 20% of $1500-2000 all in, or $3-400...


 

[Ben Rubinstein]

Thanks everybody, I will investigate all your suggestions.

Just to clarify, I meant 20% of the obscene price, not the merely expensive. So that's probably 20% of $1500-2000 all in, or $3-400...


 

The new manfrotto range of carbon fibre are lighter and cheaper than the old range. Might be worth a look.

[EdRosch]

www.feisol.com

I have a feisol with their CB-50 ballhead.  The good news is that it's a decent tripod.  The bad news, which I knew, but didn't truly think through all the ramifications is that their quick release plate is a nonstandard size while it seems everyone else uses the arca standard.  This has proven to be a considerable nuisance as chances are you'll want some attachment (like an L bracket) that they don't make.  I would not do it again.

Ed

[DarkPenguin]

I have a feisol with their CB-50 ballhead.  The good news is that it's a decent tripod.  The bad news, which I knew, but didn't truly think through all the ramifications is that their quick release plate is a nonstandard size while it seems everyone else uses the arca standard.  This has proven to be a considerable nuisance as chances are you'll want some attachment (like an L bracket) that they don't make.  I would not do it again.

Ed

I paired my feisol with an Kirk BH3.  The combo works fine.  L brackets and everything.

Is the plate larger or smaller than the arca ones?  Actually the question is the clamp.  Is the clamp to small to take an arca plate?  One could just buy an arca clamp.  It definitely looks like the clamp is removable.  I've swapped out clamps on more than a few tripod heads.  About $60 gets you a nice kirk clamp.

There are quite a few brands that do not use the arca standard.  I've products from Giottos, Manfrotto, Slik and Novoflex that are all proprietary.  So far as I know there are no brands that do the arca thing that are in the price range of the OP.

[EdRosch]

I paired my feisol with an Kirk BH3.  The combo works fine.  L brackets and everything.

Is the plate larger or smaller than the arca ones?  Actually the question is the clamp.  Is the clamp to small to take an arca plate?  One could just buy an arca clamp.  It definitely looks like the clamp is removable.  I've swapped out clamps on more than a few tripod heads.  About $60 gets you a nice kirk clamp.

There are quite a few brands that do not use the arca standard.  I've products from Giottos, Manfrotto, Slik and Novoflex that are all proprietary.  So far as I know there are no brands that do the arca thing that are in the price range of the OP.

Thanks, good thoughts all.  The feisol legs are decent.

Ed

[Tony Ventouris Photography]

I second Feisol, but with an RRS head.  I'm about to get one myself.  I like the fact that there is no center column.

[Ken Bennett]

I got one of the 3-section Manfrotto carbon fiber tripods a few months ago. Not the one with the tricky 90-degree center column. Cost about $250 from B+H. It's light, fairly rigid, small enough to hang on a backpack, and handles my 70-200. I wouldn't put a 300/2.8 on it.

Is it as good as my big Gitzo? Of course not. But it does its job -- that of a lightweight tripod that I will actually carry with me while hiking and birding -- very well.

The Feisol also look good.

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi!

I have used Manfrotto gear and I have several reservations about the stuff I owned. I had a C55 (aluminium) and it was quite heavy but not really stable. There was some play on neck (where the legs are joined) and that ruined stability usin my Pentax 67. I also have some reservations about the QR system which I consider a poor design. The major disadvantage is that ost QR plates are only with a excentric knob on one side, that is a single point of contact. Arca type plates are solidly clamped on both sides. New Manfrottos may be much better than what I used to have.

Now I use a Velbon Sherpa Pro 630 with RRS BH40 head, but I have a Gitzo GT 3541LS (?) scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

Best regards
Erik

Unfortunately the only way I can see you getting 80% of the goodness for only US$200 is to buy used gear.  US$500-600 opens up a lot more possibilities.

A couple of questions:

Is weight important?  Does the "80%" include carbon fiber legs, or is aluminum sufficient?

Do you want to use Arca-Swiss type ball-head clamps, camera and lens plates, or simply attach the camera using a tripod head's threaded screw?  Companies like Manfrotto also have proprietary quick release systems.

Paul

[douglasf13]

I've got a Benro carbon fiber tripod on the way for travel to supplement my Gitzo studio tripod.  You may want to look at Benro.

[Mosccol]

I've got a Benro carbon fiber tripod on the way for travel to supplement my Gitzo studio tripod.  You may want to look at Benro.

Funny this, I've recently received a link via a French bulletin board for their local distributor:

http://photoaddict.fr/index.php

(some pages are in half-decent English)

Any other views on Benro?

[stever]

i'm happy with my feisol - bought it after researching the other Gitzo knockoffs