Tripods?

[Draconian Guppy]

So I used to own this tripod which I got for free as someone gave it to me, found out it costs $10 (at the time, it's now at $14 on amazon ), well i still own i, but my mum was nice enough to lose teh quick release plate a couple of months ago. :angry: So i googled for a new one and a new release plate cost more than the damn tripod! Long story short, looking for a new tripod locally, shipping of anything just for for sheer volume, would get me ass raped by my courier...

Anyway, I never had a complain about said tripod, it's very light weight, closes up to almost 1/2m ( 2-3ft) and when open up it goes to like 2.5m tall ( 7-8ft). The only complaint MAYBE is that the ball head doesn't tilt from side to side. Build quality is alright, lot's of plastic and metal, but nothing I would be afraid of placing my camera on...

So I was browsing amazon and man those gitzo tripods are crazy expensive some even around $700, when I could get a fully functionaly one for $14 :s Now I know... "yeah yeah I don't want to punt my $4K of camera equipment on a $14 tripod" So I say to thee, why not? It gets the job done, keeps the camera firm and tight in place for taking photos. Don't get me wrong, there probably are thousand of very cheap tripods that would break which is why people prefer uber expensive manfrottos or gitzos I guess. But in the long run, I can't see myself spending more than $50 on a tripod and even then I would think about it :p

[HawkMan]

I got myself a sherpa or something to replace my old on that couldn't handle the increased weight of my D90 with batterypack and 300 lens :)

they're pretty damn awesome, good quality, fairly cheap (ok not 10 dollar cheap but..)

[lawtai]

I think one possible concern with a cheap laptop is that it would get easily bent so your camera is no longer able to stay level. I personally just have a <$100 tripod which has worked fine for me, but I don't use it very often.

[Argote]

Some of them have stronger heads for heavier equipment, others are taller or slightly more stable, others are lighter or have a lower minimum height. $700 does seem excessive though, I can understand like $120-$150 tops.

[Draconian Guppy]

I got myself a sherpa or something to replace my old on that couldn't handle the increased weight of my D90 with batterypack and 300 lens :)

they're pretty damn awesome, good quality, fairly cheap (ok not 10 dollar cheap but..)

never heard of that brand i'll look into it :)

I think one possible concern with a cheap laptop is that it would get easily bent so your camera is no longer able to stay level. I personally just have a <$100 tripod which has worked fine for me, but I don't use it very often.

Laptop :p ? Yeah yeah I know :p

Well maybe that $10 isn't built like a rock and could get bent, but for that to happen I would have to either put my weight on it ( 230lbs ) or a couple of bricks :rofl:

@ Argote try $800 :/ carbon fiber craziness. Oh I agree for heavier equipment and whatnot, It's just unbelieveable IMO.

I ended up looking at second hand stores/thrift shops for a cheap one, still haven't found one, found 2, but without quick release. :(

[HawkMan]

never heard of that brand i'll look into it :)

ah, as I suspected, it's not the brand.

it's actually a Velbon Sherpa. I think

[crazzy88ss]

My tripod was $120 and couldn't be happier with it after I went through three 'pods that cost $50 or less. I've had my current one for about a year and it's still going strong. The other lasted less than a year each, maybe about 8 months?

[Draconian Guppy]

Brand crazzy?

[lawtai]

haha oops, laptop/tripod :shifty:

[Andre]

Velbon Sherpa carbon series are pretty good. I have the CF-640 myself. It's light, well built and sturdy. Surely costs a bit more than an average tripod, but better spend more now than have to deal with broken cheap ones in the long run.

[crazzy88ss]

Brand crazzy?

http://www.amazon.com/Slik-Professional-Tripod-M-T-Alloy/dp/B000ISFJCS - SLIK AMT.

haha oops, laptop/tripod :shifty:

same thing :p

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

i spent ?80 on a velbon tripod and around ?40 on a monopod.

[SyntaxError]

Sears/Kmart sells a few decent tripods for $15-20.

Here's a few. These links won't work in Firefox, btw. Poorly coded site.

Digipower Tripod w/ 3-Way Panhead $20

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00354654000P

Digital Concepts Tripod, 55 in. 2-Way Panhead $17.99

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_107000000SAKTR60P

They actually have a large selection of tripods, in a wide range of prices.

[crazzy88ss]

You'll go through a $15 tripod every 8-12 months. Those ones you linked looked extra crapy.

[SyntaxError]

If you take care of your things, they will last. Even the cheap things.

[crazzy88ss]

I ALWAYS take care of my gear and I went through two cheap department store tripods very quickly. Plastic and cheap metals don't last long, especially when dealing with heavy gear. Talk to lots of people in the photo community and you'll find that most agree that the tripod is not something you should cheap out on.

[HawkMan]

Sears/Kmart sells a few decent tripods for $15-20.

Here's a few. These links won't work in Firefox, btw. Poorly coded site.

Digipower Tripod w/ 3-Way Panhead $20

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00354654000P

Digital Concepts Tripod, 55 in. 2-Way Panhead $17.99

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_107000000SAKTR60P

They actually have a large selection of tripods, in a wide range of prices.

That first one looked like my old tripod.

works great for PS cameras and small DSLRs with small lenses. well on the DSLR It's not very stable and can be a bit hard to stabilize.

however once you get a bigger DSLR and/or a bigger lens, the head can't cope with the weight and no matter how hard you tighten, it'll just tip forward.

[Prince Charming]

It's not that cheap tripods don't necessarily offer the stability, but they break so damn easily, they're a waste of cash repeatedly buying vs a more expensive tripod that will last. Generally speaking, at least.

I had a cheap tripod I was using in Paris, and one of the legs snapped (thankfully not with a camera on it), so I tossed the whole thing, in its cute little tripod bag, into the nearest bin. I then got followed by four french police officers for about half an hour, after which they stopped me and had a rather long conversation which barely understood; the best I could tell, they thought it was extremely suspicious and I think they were trying to arrest me.

I'm currently using a not-expensive tripod from the 70s. It's not necessarily sturdier or offers firmer support, but for my purposes, it's fine, if a bit on the heavy side. One plus side, they don't make em like they used to, it's built like a brick ****house, and looks like it would survive a nuclear war.

[crazzy88ss]

It's not that cheap tripods don't necessarily offer the stability, but they break so damn easily, they're a waste of cash repeatedly buying vs a more expensive tripod that will last. Generally speaking, at least.

exactly

I had a cheap tripod I was using in Paris, and one of the legs snapped (thankfully not with a camera on it), so I tossed the whole thing, in its cute little tripod bag, into the nearest bin. I then got followed by four french police officers for about half an hour, after which they stopped me and had a rather long conversation which barely understood; the best I could tell, they thought it was extremely suspicious and I think they were trying to arrest me.

Seems weird that FOUR french police officers NONE of them speak English. I went to Paris for 5 days last year and everybody spoke SOME amount of English.

[:: Lyon ::]

I've been using a $23 Tripod from DealExtreme to take photos of my gadgets for the review posts on my blog. Quite sturdy and good quality - fits well on my Canon EOS 500D

[o0moonman0o]

gitzo all the way!

[Draconian Guppy]

gitzo all the way!

Says the guy with over 10k oh photo gear :rofl: Not using a gitzo on your stuff would be blasphemy !

[crazzy88ss]

Says the guy with over 10k oh photo gear :rofl: Not using a gitzo on your stuff would be blasphemy !

$10k is just a piece or two of moonman's gear :p

[Draconian Guppy]

:rofl: Tru.dat I bet he has like some crazzy ass $1000 adamantium tripod :p

[crazzy88ss]

I bet you he has a $100,000 unubtainum tripod :p

--

We should turn moonman into the next Stig or Chuck Norris.

Some say that his photos are from the future, and that he IS photoshop, all we know is he's the moonman. :p