Discussion
Slightly over budget but I picked up a Manfrotto 290 series (MK293A3-A3RC1 to be exact) for £65 just before xmas from Currys in their discount sale. Not sure if its still available new at that price but it's a cracking tripod so worth checking ebay etc. Rock solid and takes a D7000 with a heavy 18-200 with no movement at all.
Before Christmas I was looking for a cheap tripod and amongst lots of forum comments along the lines of "you won't find a usable tripod for under £100", I found several recommendations for this one:
http://dx.com/p/1-5m-aluminum-alloy-digital-camera...
I'd never bought anything from DX before but for £40 (inc free delivery) I figured it was worth a punt and I have to say it's well worth the money, really sturdy and well made given the price. The legs are easily adjusted and very stable once in position, they have a sprung lock on the pivot so they can splay out to around 45 and 60 degrees if you want more stability, and the ball head, although not as nicely engineered as a high end bit of kit, keeps the camera nice and still and is basically a copy of a Manfrotto from what I can see, including the quick release plate which is useful. According to one of the reviews the Manfrotto plate actually fits if you ever needed a spare, but I've not tried one.
http://dx.com/p/1-5m-aluminum-alloy-digital-camera...
I'd never bought anything from DX before but for £40 (inc free delivery) I figured it was worth a punt and I have to say it's well worth the money, really sturdy and well made given the price. The legs are easily adjusted and very stable once in position, they have a sprung lock on the pivot so they can splay out to around 45 and 60 degrees if you want more stability, and the ball head, although not as nicely engineered as a high end bit of kit, keeps the camera nice and still and is basically a copy of a Manfrotto from what I can see, including the quick release plate which is useful. According to one of the reviews the Manfrotto plate actually fits if you ever needed a spare, but I've not tried one.
Edited by LocoBlade on Monday 14th January 20:14
As long as you don't mind using a tripod with a ball head I'd recommend the Hama Traveller Compact Pro Tripod. I took one trekking in Nepal and it was sound enough to support my EOS 600D with a 70-300 lens on it quite happily. It extends to a reasonable height and you can adjust the angles of the legs to cope with awkward space situations.
te51cle said:
Hama Traveller Compact Pro Tripod.
That looks interesting (for the money).I can see the "compact" bit, although not what the "Pro" stands for
Is there anything like this that would take a separate head (once you've used a decent ballhead it's difficult to contemplate going back! ...and I like the Swiss/Arca fitting much more than that fiddly QR system!)I don't know why they call it "pro" either but it works surprisingly well for the price, its not as solid as one of the big boys but its easy to carry around, reaches a reasonable height and doesn't feel fragile. Having said that I found that the head unscrews because I noticed it was a bit loose one day and wondered what the cause was ! A quick twist had it solidly back on there, but if you can unscrew the head so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to replace it with another if you wanted.
ImDesigner said:
I don't really know which way to turn
ImDesigner said:
Are there any features in the head of the tripod that I should really be looking for?
Whilst there are more exotic things like "action heads" and similar, most tripod heads come in Ball or Aerosol...... (no - hang on that's a Swedish Chemist Shop Joke....) ..... Ball, or "Three Way Pan and Tilt".Any idea which one you want?
If not, definitely have a 3-way if you are going to do any video. Otherwise, whichever you want!
For 3-Way, you want it to be ROCK SOLID when each movement is locked down, and it be "man enough" to hold the mass you expect to use, and each movement to be relatively smooth (especially if using video, obviously).
Ballheads mean that you can release them and set the camera anywhere the ball will let you! It needs to allow for smooth movement too, and SOLID LOCK DOWN. With a Ball, you also need to check that there's one section of the "cup" which will allow you to angle the head downwards, and that this is easy to use.
Whichever, you need the knobs, dials or "sticky-out bits" to be big enough to fall easily to hand - nothing worse than fiddling around with little tiny knobs when your fingers are frozen and watching the fireworks go up in smoke in front of you!
Then the matter of how you attach the camera or lens collar: some have "QR" or "quick release" plates that you screw into the camera bush. Some (usually up the cost bands) use "Swiss-Arca fitting" and allow you to have both a simple plate, but which is gripped much better, AND an "L-bracket" on the camera that means whether the camera is in portrait or landscape mode it still sits over the tripod centre of gravity (otherwise it's flopping on one side when you switch to portrait format and stupidly unstable!!!!! (Avoid at all cost!!!). QR plates (and L-brackets) should allow you to keep them on the camera at all times and not impede the opening of any battery or card doors and any cables to be attached.....no excuse for poor designs!
HTH
m4rt1nphoto said:
Slightly over budget but I picked up a Manfrotto 290 series (MK293A3-A3RC1 to be exact) for £65 just before xmas from Currys in their discount sale. Not sure if its still available new at that price but it's a cracking tripod so worth checking ebay etc. Rock solid and takes a D7000 with a heavy 18-200 with no movement at all.
You were very lucky to get it for £65, I could only find it at £99.99 in Currys and that included a supposed £20.00 sale discount. I went in today to buy one only to find the £20.00 discount finished last night and they are now back to £119.99. I asked if there was a chance of them knocking the £20.00 off as the store was empty and a £100.00 sale is better than nothing......no chance. Oh well, here's another punter that will buy off the web.Edited to add...ebay purchase £79.99 free postage...sorted
Edited by nurburgring1 on Thursday 17th January 16:45
nurburgring1 said:
m4rt1nphoto said:
Slightly over budget but I picked up a Manfrotto 290 series (MK293A3-A3RC1 to be exact) for £65 just before xmas from Currys in their discount sale. Not sure if its still available new at that price but it's a cracking tripod so worth checking ebay etc. Rock solid and takes a D7000 with a heavy 18-200 with no movement at all.
You were very lucky to get it for £65, I could only find it at £99.99 in Currys and that included a supposed £20.00 sale discount. I went in today to buy one only to find the £20.00 discount finished last night and they are now back to £119.99. I asked if there was a chance of them knocking the £20.00 off as the store was empty and a £100.00 sale is better than nothing......no chance. Oh well, here's another punter that will buy off the web.Edited to add...ebay purchase £79.99 free postage...sorted
Edited by nurburgring1 on Thursday 17th January 16:45
Nurburgring1, Do you have a link for that?
ImDesigner said:
nurburgring1 said:
m4rt1nphoto said:
Slightly over budget but I picked up a Manfrotto 290 series (MK293A3-A3RC1 to be exact) for £65 just before xmas from Currys in their discount sale. Not sure if its still available new at that price but it's a cracking tripod so worth checking ebay etc. Rock solid and takes a D7000 with a heavy 18-200 with no movement at all.
You were very lucky to get it for £65, I could only find it at £99.99 in Currys and that included a supposed £20.00 sale discount. I went in today to buy one only to find the £20.00 discount finished last night and they are now back to £119.99. I asked if there was a chance of them knocking the £20.00 off as the store was empty and a £100.00 sale is better than nothing......no chance. Oh well, here's another punter that will buy off the web.Edited to add...ebay purchase £79.99 free postage...sorted
Edited by nurburgring1 on Thursday 17th January 16:45
Nurburgring1, Do you have a link for that?
I am on my second tripod as found the first not good enough. I now have a Giottos professional aluminum tripod and its fantastic. Very stable and loads of options as to angles you can put it at. http://www.giottos.com/
ImDesigner said:
One more question.
I'll mainly be focusing on automotive photography but no doubt I'll dip into landscape and perhaps a bit of wildlife too. Should I go for a ball head or a 3 way?
I prefer a geared head, essentially an upgraded 3 way where each axis can be individually adjusted at a very low level, ideal for levelling horizons. Ball heads are quicker, lighter and cheaper but not as accurate in that if you release the ball to adjust one axis you might accidentally adjust one of the other axes. a 3 way is between the two, lighter and cheaper than a geared head but less accurate but still more accurate than a ball.I'll mainly be focusing on automotive photography but no doubt I'll dip into landscape and perhaps a bit of wildlife too. Should I go for a ball head or a 3 way?
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