Good tripod? (Page 2): Thanks. Right now I have an entry level DSLR, a Nikon crop sensor D3200. Some day ( I have no idea when someday is) I will move up to maybe a Nikon D750. No...

karrun

Eddy Vortex wrote:

What's the heaviest/longest lens that you're going to mount ?

Thanks. Right now I have an entry level DSLR, a Nikon crop sensor D3200. Some day ( I have no idea when someday is) I will move up to maybe a Nikon D750. No super long lenses, so shouldn't be too heavy.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

digit-up wrote:

I shiver when people suggest/recommend “CRAIGS- LIST” the most dangerous way to shop. Again IMHO!!!!

Agree 1000 percent.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

PixelStan77 wrote:

Agree 1000 percent.

I bought only one time from Craigslist and got a bargain on essentially new sandbags for holding down light stands. I have sold a lot of stuff on Craigslist, including expensive iPhones, Wescott lighting equipment, Gravely attachments, a Canon photo printer, etc. The people who bought these things were very pleased.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

karrun wrote:

I hope this is the right place to ask this. I am an enthusiastic amateur and have a super cheap pan tripod. I would like to get a better one and saw this one listed on Amazon for $99, which is in my price range. Would I be doing okay to get this one?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZGY74JK?tag=amz-mkt-chr-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-win10-other-nomod-us000-pcomp-feature-pcomp-wm-3-wm-8-wm-4-wm-1&ref=aa_pcomp_exp4

The Amazon tripod is a very compact travel one with five leg sections. Do you actually need that degree of compactness? If not I would get one with fewer leg sections - the more sections the less the stability. You might look at the Benro line which I've found is good quality for the price although I don't know it well enough to make a specific recommendation and haven't looked at the prices anytime recently.

LenCreate

Looking at the link, near the bottom it compares that tripod with similar ones. The Geekoto 77” has 297 reviews with most being 5 Star and costs $79.99. I’d buy that one.

kcj Loc: Seneca SC

karrun wrote:

I hope this is the right place to ask this. I am an enthusiastic amateur and have a super cheap pan tripod. I would like to get a better one and saw this one listed on Amazon for $99, which is in my price range. Would I be doing okay to get this one?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZGY74JK?tag=amz-mkt-chr-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-win10-other-nomod-us000-pcomp-feature-pcomp-wm-3-wm-8-wm-4-wm-1&ref=aa_pcomp_exp4

Just received this tripod from b and h also 99.00 the original price is twice this so good sale. Also love this tripod easy to carry and study you won’t be sorry

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

karrun wrote:

I hope this is the right place to ask this. I am an enthusiastic amateur and have a super cheap pan tripod. I would like to get a better one and saw this one listed on Amazon for $99, which is in my price range. Would I be doing okay to get this one?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZGY74JK?tag=amz-mkt-chr-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-win10-other-nomod-us000-pcomp-feature-pcomp-wm-3-wm-8-wm-4-wm-1&ref=aa_pcomp_exp4

There are 3 things about that tripod that should give any knowledgeable person pause,
1. Its extendend height is less than 5 feet. How tall are you?
2. It's aluminum, carbon fiber does a much better job of dampening vibration.
3. That folding center column! Where a tripod needs to be the strongest this one is weakened by having a section removed for a gimmicky folding center column.

Don't walk away from this, RUN !

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

Save your money for a good tripod. Consider your “when my ship comes in” perfect kit in your wildest dreams as the weight holding minimum. You’ll not be sorry. Going cheap will restrict you and you’ll eventually be looking for the next cheap tripod sale. As the owner of 3 inexpensive and 2 really nice ones. Guess which ones I use. I’d be embarrassed to sell the cheap ones to anybody i even slightly respected.......which is why they still take up space in the basement. Do call Carter as mentioned above.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

karrun wrote:

I hope this is the right place to ask this. I am an enthusiastic amateur and have a super cheap pan tripod. I would like to get a better one and saw this one listed on Amazon for $99, which is in my price range. Would I be doing okay to get this one?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZGY74JK?tag=amz-mkt-chr-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-win10-other-nomod-us000-pcomp-feature-pcomp-wm-3-wm-8-wm-4-wm-1&ref=aa_pcomp_exp4

If it's all you can afford, it's all you can afford. But if you can afford a better tripod that you will not have to ever replace, then get a Manfrotto or Gitzo. I have 2 Manfrotto's and a Gitzo. The only reason I've got 2 Manfrotto's is so that I can set up 2 cameras to do star trails and milky way photos at the same time. My first Manfrotto is 9 years old and still going strong.

RRS Loc: Not sure

karrun wrote:

I hope this is the right place to ask this. I am an enthusiastic amateur and have a super cheap pan tripod. I would like to get a better one and saw this one listed on Amazon for $99, which is in my price range. Would I be doing okay to get this one?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZGY74JK?tag=amz-mkt-chr-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-win10-other-nomod-us000-pcomp-feature-pcomp-wm-3-wm-8-wm-4-wm-1&ref=aa_pcomp_exp4

First look at how many leg sections that tripod has, and it comes with a ball head too. Have you ever used a ball head? At $100.00 I wouldn't touch it. Let me say that if you don't have a tripod that this one would be better then none but not by much. As someone else has already said, you'd be much better off by going to a reputable camera store and check with hands on. You'd also be better off saving for a little while and buying a better tripod. Look for leg sections, how many, fewer is better and the thickness of the legs. A CF tripod will be lighter but you can still get a good tripod made of aluminum too. You say that you are an "enthusiastic amateur" and I don't know what lenses you have nor do you know what you will acquire along the way. Look for a tripod and then see what will work best for the head that you will buy. Good luck but think, look and take your time, a good tripod should last you a life time.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

The ad talks about holding 17 lbs. which is very nice for a tripod as compact as this one. If that is true the price is very reasonable.
It has a 5 position legs but my recommendation if you buy it is to make sure you do not go to full extension with it because it could become unstable. Good tripod techniques will solve the majority of the problems. I will not talk about the ball head because I do not know how good its quality could be but will most probably be enough for your needs. I have a $40 Dolica aluminum tripod and I have done well with it to the point that I use it more often than not.
Ideally you should try the tripod to make sure it is what you need.

Meadwilliam

Is it tall enough to be able to plan your shots without having to stoop over. At 60 inches plus a couple more for the camera, if your over about 5’5” it could be a problem.

photogeneralist Loc: Lopez Island Washington State

How high is your eye above the ground/floor? Is this tripod (I know nothing about this make/model nor about you) tall enough to not have to stoop to look through the camera while waiting for the bird to be in the right place or the sunlight streaming through the hole in the clouds to finally illuminate the tree by the lake. Are the legs long enough that you don't have to to extend the center post to reach your eye height? Center posts are just another joint to be not solid no matter how tightly clamped they are, and can introduce their own type of wobble (which contravenes the reason for a tripod in the first place) What equipment will you mount on it? Does it allow for future growth as your equipment size and type grows. Most reviewers will tell you from experience that good tripod advice is to buy once wisely rather than cheaply many times.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

photogeneralist wrote:

How high is your eye above the ground/floor? Is th... (show quote)

The specs on that tripod say its height is 59" extended. It's poorly designed to begin with and then if you have to extend it to get it less than 5 feet tall, you're adding vibration to make it even worse.

RichJ207 Loc: Sammamish, WA

digit-up wrote:

I shiver when people suggest/recommend “CRAIGS- LIST” the most dangerous way to shop. Again IMHO!!!!

I live near Seattle, found a tall, top-of-the-line RRS tripod on the Bellingham, WA Craigslist and a RRS BH-55 ball head on the Portland, OR Craigslist. Both were in excellent condition, a perfect match for my requirements and priced just right. Obviously, you do need to apply some good judgement when considering a purchase from anyone. You will only have to buy RRS products once.