About the best thing that I have done so far regards buying a Tripod is not to buy one. I would have got it so wrong!! I had totally underestimated the weight of the new lenses, the effect that a strong wind can have on a tripod, and the height that is required when you are 6ft 4″.
To continue the confession – I always sort of had tripods down as a posers device, and while I still have a huge issue with the whole ‘image’ of setting up to take a proper photograph, the need to prepare thoroughly has won and I now need to get my mind around a ‘proper’ tripod.
My research to date has boiled down to these key features in my view:
Stability – This has to be the most important factor, especially with the weight of the zoom lens.
Quality construction – I reckon as few plastic parts as possible is best, so need to look for metals such as aluminum, carbon fiber and titanium alloy.
Quick Release – Although the majority of photographs taken with the tripod will be planned, the need exists for speed of release from the mounting plate, and possibly even the option to have mutiple plates for different cameras.
Camera positioned horizontally and vertically
Height – High enough for comfortable viewing so you don’t have to bend over. The extended centre pole needs to be strong enough as well, as with the ones I have looked at to date when fully extended the stability suffers
Tripod heads – the popular method seems to be permanent three-way pan tilt heads, but ball heads are smaller, lighter and more expensive than pan-tilt heads but are faster and easier to use.
Clamps levers or flip-locks – Basically setting up and adjusting the tripod legs has to be easy and quick, especially if you are going to be taking shots outdoors in the cold with gloves on.
Bubble level – I hadn’t even thought about the need for this until I started straightening a lot of my photos in Photoshop.
I suppose it would be easy enough to say “just buy the most expensive one you can afford”, but as I wont be travelling that much with it weight isn’t a huge issue so I don’t need to pay for lightness. I don’t anticipate taking too many shots up mountains, so spikes at the bottom of the tripod legs may be somewhat excessive as well.
It goes without saying that I will need a full size tripod but the question is which one and how much?
And this is where the internet becomes overwhelming! A quick search on ‘professional tripods’ threw up about 1,630,000 entries. The equivalent of shopping in a mega store for music, sounds a good idea but I always end up getting agitated at how much there is to look at and then start feeling threatened and leave without looking at anything!
The Zhumell Professional Tripod TRIWDF4 looks pretty good, and reasonably priced. The Induro range seems very good as well? I could go on, but what I really need is help out of this maize!!! So, what do you use, what would you like to use, what do you suggest I get?
As ever, cheers!
Right now I use a Manfrotto tripod, which was good at the time I bought it. Now I find it a bit too fussy. I’m looking at one a friend got, and it seems very nice. I will let you know what it is soon.
I am sure that my mate used the exact same phrase to describe his first wife before he divorced her 🙂
Hmm… sounds like my relationship with my tripod. I might be breaking one of commandments but I really like what my friend has 🙂
I saw a past episode of Layers TV which had a product review of a Giottos tripod/ I ended up getting the tripod and ball head that were featured. Just got them tonight – definitely worth the bucks – professional, sturdy, construction. I was tired of buying cheaper models that I ended up not using for various reasons.
http://www.layersmagazine.com/layerstv-episode8.html
Received by email from Dorothy – cheers
I’ve got a cheaper model right now. It does OK for what I am using it for right now. It has a friction head, which is good for the DSLR, but not so good for the camcorder. It jerks when you pan. Something to think about…
Aha the tripod post!
I was told by my local photo shop guy not to buy the cheap ones he had in stock and to get a Giottos setup off the net. Go figure, an honest man! Haven’t purchased yet but would follow that advice as he seemed to know what he was on about.
I also need a Rocket Blower as I have dust on my sensor and it is extremely upsetting. Grrr.
By the way I heartily endorse the Gorillapod:
http://www.joby.com/
Super piece of kit.
[quote comment=”20963″]By the way I heartily endorse the Gorillapod:
http://www.joby.com/
Super piece of kit.[/quote]
Sands bought me one of these for the T7 for my birthday 🙂
The Giottos is coming up a few times now and looks a very serious bit of kit!!!
@Wayne – I will continue to use my ‘cheap’ Sony tripod for the camcorder, works a treat!
Am liking this one as a good deal?
This one looks pretty cool, and useful for Macro, but I would want a ball head as well which would push the cost up.
I don’t know… Seems like the ball head would be a little overkill for a pro/am and kind of a pain to get lined up and even all the time. ? Maybe? Then again, I’ve never used one. 🙂
I am generally in favour of the Manfrotto range. I was able to see them locally and have bought two locally. My perception is that the Giotto range is also worth considering, but they weren’t available locally the last time I was in the market.
As far as heads are concerned, I have a friction-damped video head on one Manfrotto and a ball head on the other one. Additional quick release plates are available. (I’m sure I bought one, but I can’t for the life of me find it!)
Given the long lens you bought, you might want to be careful and check that the combined weight of the body and lens will be supported by your proposed combination of tripod and head. I notice that Manfrotto have a new “Tripod Configurator” linked from their home page. Whether you end up going with Manfrotto or not, it might repay you to run through it to get a feel for the sort of spec you should be looking at.
Regarding Mac’s opening comment about having come to find his Manfrotto “too fussy”, be aware that they have various different designs available. Although both of mine were bought within six to twelve months of each other and I spent approximately the same amount each time, the leg locking mechanism is different for each one. I have a vague memory of coming to find the locking mechanism irritating on the first one. I have no real problems with the second one. Except, perhaps, that I’d like it to be able to go a bit higher.
Since my “main” tripod – the one I use when I go off out with the SLR – has the ball head on it, a built-in spirit level (aka Bubble level) is irrelevant. There’s no great point in levelling the tripod then the ball head could easily be set way off level. I will generally raise the tripod so that the centre column is approximately straight. The degree of straightness is only really relevant if I plan to shoot a set of overlapping shots that I’m going to try to “stitch” together to make a long panoramic shot. Even then, with the “simple” ball head, it’s debatable whether it’s worth while.
I use a little levelling accessory similar to this which slides on and off the flash hot shoe. (NB If I shoot without removing the level, my Canon Eos 350D records in the EXIF information that flash was used, thinking that a “dumb” flash was in the hot-shoe.) Using this, I’m straightening the camera and at the end of the day, that’s what’s important.
Another consideration for your tripod is how low can it go? You might occasionally want to shoot at or near ground level. Not all tripods will allow you to go down to ground level.
Final thought for you for now… Try to make sure that the tripod you end up going for has independent leg mechanisms. My first couple of tripods, many years ago now, had interlinked legs. You really want to have legs which can be set to different angles, to suit varying shooting circumstances. (I’m not referring to being able to extend each leg to a different length.)
@Chris – When did you get a new lens, and what is it???
I don’t use a tripod, it doesn’t suit my style of photography. However the Manfrotto range is where I’d look. It’s worth considering as an option, a bean bag which can let you make use of any stable object as a base for your camera.
As for me, unlike you, I still use film as a medium, not just for the look but how could I possibly find anything to rival my Contax/Zeiss SLR and rangefinder kit.
A friend of mine ordered this one:
http://www.amvona.com/?page=shop/flypage&view=1&product_id=1838
I really like the trigger like, quick ball release handle. Also it is tall. Fully extended puts the camera a few inches above my 6’3″ hight. The construction is very sturdy with 3 level indicators, 2 on the head and one on the tripod itself. It’s really easy to extend, and fold back. One draw back to it is that it’s pretty heavy, but at $60 + shipping, is not a bad deal, since I can use the “trigger” head on my manfrotto tripod.
@Mac – where did you see the $60 price? It certainly seems an option, but I see it costing $199
@wayne – i recently picked up a Sigma 135-400mm and a Sigma 10-20mm and I am very happy with them so far!
The 135-400mm is the one that has made me think more about the need for a sturdy tripod, and some visits to the gym to build up my arms!!!!
[quote comment=”21033″]As for me, unlike you, I still use film as a medium, not just for the look but how could I possibly find anything to rival my Contax/Zeiss SLR and rangefinder kit.[/quote]
I should dig out my SLR and take some comparative photographs out of interest!
@Gary – thanks! Seems a short answer for such great advice, but all your points are really helpful – as are all the comments on this subject!!!
I am slowly going mad searching through all the options. I don’t know if there is a half decent camera shop near here, but ideally I want to check out few options ‘in the flesh’. There is one small store in the Mall that I know sells some tripods but I will be amazed if they are high quality!
@Chris – There is a little secret to it. The company has an ebay store here: http://stores.ebay.com/amvona-com
They have their regular stuff for normal sale, but they also auction off some things as well.
If you go to that store, then on the left you will see a list of the products… click on tripods and monopods, then pick any tripod….. scroll down the list of specs….. almost at the bottom they will have a list of items that are on auction. That’s were picked up mine for 60 + shipping.
That is a great shout thanks, am bidding on one already 🙂
> ideally I want to check out few options ‘in the flesh’
If you have any more trips back to the UK or over to the US coming up soon, perhaps you could make appropriate detours to see some of the bigger camera stores at that time and view the tripods in the flesh. And then order by mail order once you return home, to save trying to lug an awkward, heavy tripod onto a plane?
Alternatively, instead of a local camera store, maybe there are local camera clubs? They’re not everybody’s scene, but might give you exposure to some tripods and their owners opinions of them.
No trips planned, nor do I want to take any!
Seems to me like you guys all have a number of tripods so I am going to try and get the one that Mac got as he rates it and we have similar requirements, and then I will see how I get on with that one and when I get a chance try a few others for size.
At the fourth attempt ……… success!!!
First bid I lost at $76, the second at $86 and the third at $96 so I was really pleased to win the bid this evening at $76. Add the $80 to ship via UPS and that is not a bad price for a brand new tripod that retails at $425.
3-5 days and it should be here.
Funnily though I spoke with my parents earlier and they are off to watch the Shuttle launch on Thursday and video it and were thinking of getting a tripod!!!!
@Chris
That seems like a real bargain. Hopefully it won’t end up like your iphone by incurring import tax, I bought a motor drive on ebay for my Contax camera from a guy in the usa. He put it’s worth as $100 on the package though I paid only about $40. When it arrived via UPS I had to pay for the import tax based on his valuation plus a collection fee. In the end it cost me twice as much as I paid for it. Since then I’ve never bought anything from the states.
It should be fine as the actual amount that I paid was less than the import threshold.
The iPhone is the only thing that has been ‘caught’ in the 6 years we have been here, but I am a lot more jittery now when I order stuff.
Hope you don’t mind me going off topic here, but seeing as all the camera crew are following this thread wanted to ask a question. I’d dearly love a digital SLR, finding my point and shoot too limiting now. However, I am new to all the kit so looking for advice. Budget wise it would have to be lower end around the £350-£400 price range. Had a look at a Canon EOS 350D for £325 last weekend. Pretty sure i have heard good things about some of the Canon range.
Welcome any advice!
I ventured into the DSLR world not so long ago, with a Nikon D40. Superb camera, fantastic images.
Be warned – addictive, expensive hobby. Cases, lenses, flashes, filters, memory cards, software – yes even tripods!
I would advise on doing a lot of research. Because once you get into a brand, and get accessories and lenses, it’s hard to switch. It’s all preference. Some are Nikon fans some Canon, and there are others. But all offer one thing, all proprietary. Personally I have the Canon and I like Canon. Knock on wood, never had any problems with it yet. Nikons on the other hand are a different story. That is why when I was making my choice, this bad experience weighted in favor of Canon. I really like my 400D or Canon Digital Rebel XTi. I find it easy to work with, and a lot of fun. Right now it fits my needs perfectly. Chris will say the same thing about his Nikon D80 (I think that’s what he has). They are both very similar cameras. So choose, but choose wisely.
You are not totally locked in to a manufacturer, certainly in terms of lenses. Sigma and Tamron, for example, make great lenses that will happily mount on most cameras. Just check and make sure your particular autofocus system is compatible.
But generally speaking accessories work best with each other if they come from one source.
Oh and don’t listen to the Canon fanboys. They don’t know what they are on about. Nikon all the way. 😉
http://www.dpreview.com and the forums there are probably the best places for reviews and advice, as always forum posts to be taken with a pinch of salt.
And I like Ken Rockwell for no-nonsense reviews and advice. http://www.kenrockwell.com/
He has a high opinion of himself and is unpopular in some quarters but his site has been very useful for me.
Oh and definitely get a proper flash at some point. It makes a HUGE difference in the quality of your shots, especially indoor shooting. The rest of you guys think the same?
I have a D80. I blogged a lot about the selection at the time (search on DSLR) and went with Nikon in the end purely because I preferred them. Within the relevant price ranges I found that each brand was pretty much the same so it came down to personal choice.
What I would say though is that unlike a P&S a DSLR is just the start, so be patient. By that I mean avoid the bundled deals however attractive they look as they will be shipping out of date and not particularly useful lenses.
In my experience you are going to add lenses as you go, so my theory was (and is) buy the best body that you can afford as this will stay with you for a long time. Lets be honest here a good DSLR body is going to be good enough for years with new lenses added and the software that is available today.
So what I did was buy the D80 and a pretty basic lens and used that until I was comfortable with that and had worked out what lenses I wanted.
Funnily enough I am hoping top post later on the subject of camera equipment!!!
@Dunks – Just after Chris bought his his Nikon, I had to try the Canon. I’m by all means no Canon fanboy, but I have heard nothing but good things about the Rebel XT/XTi series. This being my first DSLR I wanted quality, but within a decent price range.
That being said, I like the camera. I like using it and it didn’t break my bank!
I was only joking. The whole fanboy thing amuses me!
We have Canon to thank for creating the entry-level DSLR market by releasing the Rebel in the first place, and that is something.
I simply prefer Nikons for probably ill-defined reasons. One is heft and build-quality – the D40 seems built like a tank whereas the equivalent Canon at the time was much more plastic-y.
Plus I have used Nikons for some time without issues, and several Fujis, Sonys and Canons (compacts) have gone wonky on me.
No problems! 🙂 I didn’t know there was a Canon/Nikon rivalry! Should have known, though…
Oh it’s a bitter forum-based war that’s been going forever! It is highly entertaining…check any photo site.
You don’t need geopolitics for a good scrap. Just put two photographers who use different brands in a room together and stand back.
@John … I have to disagree, about being locked in. Yes there are 3rd party companies that make lenses for all the brands of cameras out there, but once you pick your poison be it Nikon Canon etc, the lenses from these cameras are not interchangeable. So essentially you are locked in to the body manufacturer.
Nikon… bah humbug!!! 🙂
I’m going to let you have it in the camera equipment post! 😉
But yes, once you have chosen the light (Nikon) or dark (Canon) side of the force (photography) you are committed, so a choice to be made carefully.
Having said that most sensible photographers say that it doesn’t really matter what you use, just get out there and shoot!
@John
This time I will whole heartedly agree with you. It’s not the equipment that takes good pictures.
Also isn’t Darth Vader indefinitely cooler looking than his wussy kid?? Join the Dark Side…. at least it’s more fun 🙂
I think through all the movies the dark side was more powerful too… 😉 At least they had a lot cooler effects. 🙂
My advice would be to go with the camera with the best lenses. In my opinion, Zeiss is the best. They make adaptors for both Canon and Nikon so check them ouit
[quote comment=”21929″]Oh and definitely get a proper flash at some point. It makes a HUGE difference in the quality of your shots, especially indoor shooting. The rest of you guys think the same?[/quote]
I’m not a fan of flash photography John though it is a useful accessory for those snapshot moments. I’ve always gone for fast lenses and high speed films for low light photography. Of course with you digital guys, the iso settings allow you to take pictures in the dark! I’d recommend a prime lens of f1.4. The added benefit of being able to create an extremely shallow depth of field is more than a good excuse for the price of one of these beauties.
Fill and bounce flash can make a beautiful photo, especially portraits where there are several people. I by no means claim to be a professional, but I think a better flash unit has made an enormous difference to my indoor shots.
An example – my baby son, with no flash the shot is quite yellow regardless of white balance and quite difficult to get a decent photo at lower shutter speeds, as he tends to wave his arms around quite a bit there was a lot of motion blur. With the Speedlight bounced off the ceiling his complexion was perfect and I could use a much higher shutter speed to “freeze” the little wriggler.
For shooting people in almost any circumstances you can avoid a lot of post-processing (most of which is voodoo to me) by using a good flash. Having said that, I use Nikon Capture NX which makes it a breeze to adjust exposure.
I would love a decent prime lens for my D40 but there isn’t one that comes with a built-in autofocus motor which is what I need…and to note for Dunks above there is no depth-of-field preview on the D40 which is a bummer and will probably make me upgrade at some point.
I’ve already pointed this site out to Chris, but let me mention it for anyone else who is either interested in learning more about the use of small portable flash gear – or doubts its value. (Lurk here for a while and then see if you can still say that flash is not a worthy tool for creative/controlled/enhanced photography! 🙂 )
Strobist
I’m not “into” flash photography just now (main interest is landscape type work), but if/when I do decide to get into it, this is the place I’ll start! I’ve been lurking for, I think, about a year and a half.
I will second that site Gary – has been really helpful.
In reality I think you are looking at Canon or Nikon for your DSLR.
I have that one bookmarked too.
Chris is right. While Pentax, Olympus, Sony and others make great DSLRs too I am sure, it is really between Nikon and Canon.
For sensible peeps who bought a Nikon, this is one of the best sites to go to also:
http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htm
He has some great ebooks available for particular models of Nikon DSLR (including the D80).
I’ve finally got some time to comment on some of phase two of this thread.
@Chris #32
> avoid the bundled deals however attractive they look as they will be shipping
> out of date and not particularly useful lenses.
Sorry, but I disagree. Looking at the Canon EOS 400, which has replaced the EOS 350d I bought in May 2006, it looks (according to the Jessops site) as if it still comes with the same lens.
This is not an out of date lens. Neither is it a “not particularly useful lens”. I would argue that the 18-55mm range is a reasonably useful range, especially for a beginner to (D)SLRs. It’s also pretty compact.
What’s it’s not is high quality (optically). I was warned about this before I bought, but decided to proceed. For, oh I don’t know, maybe the first ten months it was my only lens and I was generally happy with it (as far as it went, range-wise). It was only after I bought my Sigma 10-20 lens that I began to realise that, optically, it produced slightly “soft” images in comparison. But you have to spend a lot more to get the higher optical quality lenses.
Dunks – in case my comments about the quality have put you off, take a look at any of the images in these three pages, where virtually everything is shot with the standard kit lens, in three quite different situations.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Sony Bravia advert
Dunure Castle
Some other dealers put together their own bundles with different lenses.
I can’t speak for the Nikon range, but I don’t see them being any different.
However, apart from that, I think I pretty much agree with the rest of you comment. 🙂
@John #30
> Oh and don’t listen to the Canon fanboys. They don’t know what they are on about.
> Nikon all the way.
Saith the Nikon fan-boy! I bet you come from Edinburgh too! 😉
Seriously though, I’m a long term Canon user. If I was starting over again I would consider Nikon as the first alternative to Canon. There are quite a lot of similarities between the two ranges. They tend to try to leap-frog each other when they release new models.
@John #43
> and to note for Dunks above there is no depth-of-field preview on the D40
> which is a bummer and will probably make me upgrade at some point.
I’ve had five SLRs over the years. I’ve tinkered with the DOF preview on a number of occasions, but never once been able to use it properly. By the time I use the DOF preview, the viewfinder’s always too dark to be able to discern whether what I want to be in focus is actually in focus or not, and vice versa.
Are you telling me that you actually, genuinely get benefit from it? (Or is it just that you know it’s missing from the camera you currently have and would like to try it because of what you’ve read?) Inquiring minds wish to know! 🙂
Crikey! Disparage my choice of camera if you must, but I draw the line at being accused of being a Scot! 😉
I’m English, although mother hails from South Africa originally. At one point back in the medieval day the family ruled over Kent…
Anyway, back to cameras.
Gary, I used to use DOF on my old Pentax film SLR, with mixed success. It is a noted missing feature on the D40, and apparently works quite well on the D80 (Chris?).
But I have to say after reading Understanding Exposure I have determined the best way to judge DOF is to take LOTS OF PICTURES. 😉