Tripod Suggestions

[friedmud]

Being tall (6'4") I had some stron opinions about the dimensions of my tripod!  I had first bought a cheap little travel one that I hated because I couldn't stand fully upright when using it.  The second time around I went with Manfrotto 055XProB and a Manfrotto trigger ball head (488RC2 I believe).

It's a bit larger than most want to carry around, but I LOVE it.  It's travelled the world with me, I hike with it all summer and ski with it in the winter.  I love how solid it is, living in the mountains we get plenty of wind!

I bring this up because everyone wants something different out of a tripod.  I wanted a huge, sturdy beast while others want a tiny carbon fiber twig.  All of the advice here is good, but remember to find yourself in your tripod.  If you get the wrong one it will frustrate you until the end of time...

[RC]

... Wish I'd listened to the many photogs saying do the research, save up, and buy the one you want for your particular needs from the beginning.  Otherwise you may be just buying it later anyway.

Excellent advice!    I don't like forking out bucks for something that takes me only 75% of the way there because I will likely end buying the better/preferred item later resulting in waste of money from my original purchase.

...
Does anyone have a good recommendation for a cheap Tripod? 

Not sure what your definition of cheap is and where the line is drawn from what is cheap and what is not so be careful of "cheap."   You don't want to put your expensive gear on an unstable device--the old phrase "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link" perfectly applies here!

For lower end tripods that are high quality products that won't drain your bank account,  I would look at the Manfrotto 190 & 290 series and Vanguard.  Visit a good camera shop and put your hands on them.  I purchased Vanguard supports because of the dealer's large selection and I was able to evaluate them hands-on. 

I have:
- Alta Pro 264AB, ball head SBH-100
- Alta Plus 235AP, pan head PH-22 (smaller travel unit)
- Tracker AP-284 (monopod), ball head SBH-30

Now I did not exactly follow my own advice (from above) since my photog funds are limited but for me this was an acceptable compromise.  When it comes to glass, nope, not cutting back.

[ac5d3]

If you are looking for portability, this is the best I've found:
Velbon tripod
http://www.velbon.biz/product/ultrek/index.html

[gary]

Check out the Benro range, I use the carbon fiber tri C-258EX and Mono MC-91EX pods. I also use the B0 ball-head. All Easy and lightweight to carry. Even if you are not keen on the ball-head I strongly recommend the rest, great value for money.

[MyPhotographer]

Hi Lady,

I was a Manfrotto photographer for years. I ended up selling the kit that I had and changing to Cullman and haven't looked back. It's German precision engineering andvery high quality but at a fraction of the price.

http://www.cullmann.de/en/tripods.html

I'm sure you can find a local stockist...   It's worth having a look at them. I've gone carbon fibre for mine as I travel, again far below the Manfrotto price tag.

Regards,

Jonathan

[airforceones25]

Can someone recommend me a quality ball head? I recently splurged into quality equipment and picked up some Gitzo GT3531 legs the other day brand new for $500. It's more tripod that I need but for the price I couldn't say no.

As far as the ball heads go I know RRS, Markins, Kirk are all probably the way of choice and I have this bad habit were I always have to buy the best now. Haha. I'm shooting with a 5d3 (eventually gripped) and the longest lens I own at the moment is a 70-200. Down the road I plan on venturing into bigger lenses but for the time being i've spent enough cash. Can someone point me in the proper direction before is spend another $450 on a ball head overkill to complete with my new Gitzo 3series tripod or should I just suck it up and never look back!

Decisions decisions.

[scrappydog]

Can someone recommend me a quality ball head?

I have two ball heads:  the RRS BH-55 with a panning clamp, and a Markins Q3T.  Both are rock-solid awesome.  The BH-55 is stupidly expensive ($575 USD), heavy, and has impeccable workmanship.  The Markins is less expensive ($290 USD), very light, and is well built.  If I could do it over, I would get the Markins and spend my extra cash on a lens because the Markins is a really great ball head. 

Neither tilts forward when mounting front-heavy lenses.  One advantage of the RRS over the Markins is that the spirit level is not under the clamp area.  In addition, the panning clamp on the RRS is nice.  One advantage of the Markins is that the tension on the ball head seems more discrete than the RRS, meaning that you can clamp down the ball head a bit so that the lens does not droop, but it can be moved easily when you grip onto the camera and move it around.  In comparison, the RRS seems either "clamped" or "unclamped" onto the ball head without any middle ground.  Hence, if you clamp down on the ball head, the lens does not really move you try to shift the camera.  In this regard, I much prefer the Markins.

[Wilmark]

This is my favorite travel tripod:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RBX0GO

I have used it with my 70-200 ii on my 5d3. Just dont use it with this long a lens where there is wind. It tends to vibrate a little in wind so with video its not suitable. Long lens /heavy lenses mount on the lens itself where its balanced.

I own 4 ravelli tripods and i think they are great value.

[K3nt]

I got a Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 (3 for the stability vs the 4 sectioned version) plus their 327RC2 joystick head for around 530USD. Brilliant piece of equipment. No going back.