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Cheap tripods
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I see that Aldi are selling their tripods for 16.99 again – I have one in the house and I can’t fault it – its plenty sturdy for my 350d with the 300mm lens fully zoomed and has a hook to add extra weight if needed. Great value for any other beginners I think. :D
I started on a cheapo jessops one and had to upgrade it so I found getting a cheap tripod to be a false economy in the end.
Possibly the aldi ones are better than jessops but in my experience cheap tripods are not worth the grief (even using weights and a timer). I struggled to get the thing level nevermind movement free over long exposures.
I’m onthe “false economy” wagon here as well. Unless you get one for free … not much point. I’d go ahead and spend a little bit more on something that meets the needs of the shooter if photography is a hobby you really want to get into.
Well I won’t call them top quality or anything but they are at least as good as one I’d spent over 50Eur on in the past. This one has two spirit levels, a portrait setting on the head and socket jointed rubber feet on its legs so they will sit comfortably on uneven surfaces. I won’t cliam to know much about more expensive tripods as I haven’t even been tripod shopping but maybe you guys could suggest how much to spend on an entry level tripod and what would you look for in it? Will you still get some camera shake unless you use a remote trigger in long exposures?
I got a nice one in the spectra photo place on Patrick’s street. ?30 with 2 spirit levels,hook for weight and little tripod feet things.finally able to take night shots now
Interesting discussion.
Does anyone know what is considered a good tripod.
Is paying over ?100 worth it.I’ve got this one: http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/tripods/tripods/bogenmanfrotto/PRD_83830_3114crx.aspx . It cost around ?120. I still like it, even though I upgraded recently. I’d love to find a video style head like the one on it for my new tripod. The only reasons I upgraded were weight and leg flexability. I’ll probably still keep it for when I’m in the hide outside the feeders…. 2 bodies and 2 lenses.
j_machale wrote:
maybe you guys could suggest how much to spend on an entry level tripod and what would you look for in it?
I would suggest ?100 and up for the legs, half again at least on the head. Legs should be circular, imo, (not extruded aluminimum) with twist locks. To see if your current tripod is up to the job then fully extend it, place your hands on top and see how much it moves. The less, the better.
j_machale wrote:
Will you still get some camera shake unless you use a remote trigger in long exposures?
If the tripod moves in the test above then you will always get camera shake. If the camera has a mirror lock-up then this will minimise or remove any shake. The more zoomed in you are the more camera shake you will get (without mirror lock-up).
If you’re having trouble with camera shake on your tripod and you have no mirror lock-up then keep the tripod as close to the ground as possible (the more extended it is the more shake you will get).
A tripod is for life, the right one will outlast most of the cameras you own and will never go out of fashion,
Dave
RavenAsh wrote:
Is paying over ?100 worth it.
Most definitely yes!!!
And don’t underestimate the importance of a good head, for which you should probably allow at least another ? 100.00.
Have a look at the Tripod thread from last year for some more useful info.
Cheap is an unknown term if we’re talking about photography. How can you leave your 350d and 300mm glass on a ?16 tripod without having a heart attack?
I would have thought that with all the interest in off camera flash at the moment that this is at least a good price for a second tripod for mounting your flash unit on? Might get one myself for that very purpose :-)
Expresbro wrote:
I would have thought that with all the interest in off camera flash at the moment that this is at least a good price for a second tripod for mounting your flash unit on? Might get one myself for that very purpose :-)
How small can it be folded?
Thanks for the link Hauke and Thorsten :)
Good thinking out of you Robbie :lol:
“A tripod is for life, the right one will outlast most of the cameras you own and will never go out of fashion”
Never thought of it in that way Dave, well worth the investment so. Thanks for that.
Haven’t a clue myself as I didn’t know they were selling them till I saw this post. I imagine they are similar to the Hama type tripods ie. not that compact. But they are usually fairly light and be handy for location work.
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