What travel tripod?

[cottonfoo]

I've been looking around at tripods this afternoon, I quickly realised I know absolutely nothing about tripods. I'm not a pro so don't need anything top of the range.

I want something small, light but sturdy and steady. Budget is around £50. Can't be too big when folded, and ideally about 1-1.5Kg max. Any recommendations?

[fathomfive]

I got one of these, can't fault it.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.as...

[DIW35]

cottonfoo said:

I've been looking around at tripods this afternoon, I quickly realised I know absolutely nothing about tripods.

I generally find that the ones with three legs work best!

[cottonfoo]

Well what I meant was I know nothing about what brands are safe bets or not

I'd seen the Manfrotto earlier, but then wondered if tripods with the legs connected to a vertical tube at the bottom would be sturdier. Does it make any difference?

[beano500]

DIW35 said:

cottonfoo said:

I've been looking around at tripods this afternoon, I quickly realised I know absolutely nothing about tripods.

I generally find that the ones with three legs work best!

Don't confuse us with the facts!

[GetCarter]

"small, light but sturdy and steady"

Tell me if you find one. I never have.

Sturdy & steady = heavy (for a heavy camera).

[cottonfoo]

It appears those with stabilisers at the bottom are a pain to set up on an uneven surface.

That Manfrotto is winning the race so far!

[beano500]

Sturdy and lightweight equals expensive

Inexpensive and lightweight compromises sturdy - although weighting it down with your camera bag might help

Inexpensive and heavy means bad back or left a home

Expensive, lightweight and sturdy means carbon fibre

Then the head has to do the movements you want it to and be capable of taking the load you intend and not slip every time you let go of it - equals more expense.

Then a head to do panoramas accurately means more money

Then a head and L-plate to let you do portrait shots well, without tipping over the centre of balance means more money


...and generally, all round stabbing pain in the wallet


Just my personal take.....

[GetCarter]

I use Manfrotto and Benbo.

IMHO - For uneven surfaces Benbo are by far the best.

[cottonfoo]

I have a mere D50 and no long lenses, this is mostly going to be used for landscapes, and longer exposures at night. I will have a remote control so's not to touch it, especially while taking bracketed shots for HDR.

Don't mind a little bit of weight (it'll just eat into my baggage allowance), size and some rigidness are probably most important, I'll be strapping it to the outside of my rucksack.

[fathomfive]

I will just add that while I love the Manfrotto I do only have a 450D and am not using any big lenses at the moment. It's a lightweight tripod which I wanted so as not to carry too much more when I was on my mountain bike. I don't think I'd be using it with something like my fathers 1D Mk3.

Agree with the words said above about varying degrees of expense.

[Furyous]

Ive been shopping around for a cheapish tripod as Im currently unsure how much use I will get out of it. Much as Im aware that the big name stuff is superior quality, this one caught my eye...

Not bought yet as I want a 50mm first.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heavy-Professional-Alumini...

[mgp1969]

I have bought a Gorillapod this afternoon in Singapore. Am on my way to Vietnam, wanted a tripod but am travelling light (also have just brought one fixed focal length lens to make me work on composition - although I suspect I may be tempted by the offerings at Singapore airport). Will see how I get on with it.

[Whitefly Swatter]

think about height until I got a benbo I'd suffer from back pains crouching down to a max height of 1500mm

[_dobbo_]

I hate carrying a big tripod around, so I have something similar to one of these hanging off my bag:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-Mini-Tripod-Traveller...

It's exactly what it looks like - the legs are very thin and it's not that sturdy. However it's been used for long exposure shots in London, Venice, Japan and Las Vegas, and has never really let me down. Infact I have two now as I forgot it when I went to Vegas so I bought another.

[Fetchez la vache]

_dobbo_ said:

I hate carrying a big tripod around, so I have something similar to one of these hanging off my bag:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-Mini-Tripod-Traveller...

It's exactly what it looks like - the legs are very thin and it's not that sturdy. However it's been used for long exposure shots in London, Venice, Japan and Las Vegas, and has never really let me down. Infact I have two now as I forgot it when I went to Vegas so I bought another.

Strewth - a tenner. Was height does it extend to, and what kind of camera can you put on it?
I'm thinking that with my "chunky" E1 and a long lense I wint be able to stand the thing up..

[_dobbo_]

I've put my d200 and 28-70 on it, which probably weighs close to 2kg in total. You would be unlikely to use a much heavier combination on a tripod for landscape work.

More often I use it with a d200/sigma 10-20 combo which isn't as heavy but still much heavier than a smaller DSLR and kit lens.

Rest assured - it's not sturdy or stable - but if you work around the limitations it gets the job done without making any appreciable difference to the weight you carry or the size of your bag.