Tripod questions (Page 2): I bought an Oben from B&H. Found it to be very sturdy and well-made. The other factor that impressed me was that it was sized as a factor of the combined...

pz

I bought an Oben from B&H. Found it to be very sturdy and well-made. The other factor that impressed me was that it was sized as a factor of the combined weight of the body and lense. I have Nikon D5300 and the Tamron 16-300 lense, which combined weighs less than 6 pounds. Oben has higher capacity tripods and I believe the heads can be interchangeable. I also talked to a csr there and they were very helpful with a somewhat inexperienced photographer. Also, the price was very good.

jct842

Would a surveyors tripod be of any value for photography? Of course discounting the fact that they are heavy and large to carry around.

RichieC Loc: Adirondacks

streetmarty wrote:

Hello all, br After reading a few tripod reviews o... (show quote)

Decide what you want and then watch ebay for it. A real good tripod not only holds it value, it holds up as well. So a used good tripod is still a good tripod, both for you, and whoever you in turn sell it to!
This is by far the best way to get better equipment at a much better price. But be patient!

Sphinxman

I have the Manfrotto 294 and am very happy with it. For the uses you described, I think you'll be satisfied with it. I'm 6 feet as well and I can use it with any head attachment comfortably.

streetmarty Loc: Brockton, Ma

Gene51 wrote:

At the risk of sounding rude, you already know what you want and you know what you want to spend - so just follow your instincts and buy it.

You risked it and yes you're rude, again. This is the second time you've given me a smug response. NO, I do not know what I want, if I did I would not waste our time! If you read the original post, and comprehended what you read, you would see I had picked 3 different tripods, all of which I really know nothing about, I also added, if there is something I missed please let me know. Does that sound like a person that already knows what they want?! Follow my instincts? OK, Ill buy a Gitzo GK2542-82QD, thanks Im all set now.

streetmarty Loc: Brockton, Ma

RichieC wrote:

Decide what you want and then watch ebay for it. A real good tripod not only holds it value, it holds up as well. So a used good tripod is still a good tripod, both for you, and whoever you in turn sell it to!
This is by far the best way to get better equipment at a much better price. But be patient!

Good idea, thanks for the help.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

streetmarty wrote:

You risked it and yes you're rude, again. This is ... (show quote)

You were clear that you wanted to hear only what you wanted to hear - no reviews, no suggestions to wait until you can justify a decent tripod, then you ask about 3 tripods that come with heads in the range of $120 to $220 - nothing higher. That says several things - you don't care about details, quality means little, price is more important to you than functionality, and, worse of all, you will likely follow through and get one of the three you have narrowed your choices to. These are all different tripods intended for different purposes. The Sirui is a travel tripod, The Davis is a really light duty tripod marketed as a travel tripod that is quite short, and the Manfrotto is no longer made. Frankly I would not recommend any of the three - unless you are using a really light camera and will take extra measures to provide stability to minimize movement from shutter shock.

Without knowing what lenses and cameras you are planning on using, it is not possible to provide any meaningful advice, other than as a general rule functional tripods usually start around $300, the rest is pretty light duty and will either fail (break) or loosen up over a short period of time (a year or so), or just not be stable enough to make it worth the trouble to carry. Been with photographers who have been there and done that. Nothing is more frustrating than using an inadequate tripod and coming back and seeing image sharpness stolen because of it.

You obviously don't need the expensive Gitzo Traveler, but you should be looking at tripods with similar qualities and performance - there are many but none that I know of below $220.

If weight is not an issue, then you don't need a traveler tripod with 5 leg sections - it will vibrate.
If you are 5'10" or taller, the Davis is too short, even fully extended, because to get to 60" you need to almost fully extend the center column. Bad idea if you want want freedom from camera-shake induced blurring.
I would not buy the Manfrotto because it too is short without extending the center column, and it's leg locks and other components use too much plastic that stress and break over time.

If you are not intending to do Macro or use lenses longer than 200mm, and you don't need a light tripod that packs down to a small dimension, and are ok with using a fairly decent pan and tilt head, and you want to stay under $200, you may want to take a look at the the Tiltall tripod, originally manufactured in Rockleigh, NJ at the Leitz NA headquarters.

http://www.adorama.com/tpte01b.html?gclid=CjwKEAiAqJjDBRCG5KK6hq_juDwSJABRm03hJh3rxUCr_Z5rFZu17kF-3GKyZqjEnlX-6T79FSuDDRoCjofw_wcB

It's 6.12 lbs, can go to 57" without extending the center column, includes the hardware to use it as a monopod, has a load capacity of 44lbs (meaningless, but this does matter to some), and collapses to 30."

It was quite popular in the 60s and 70s among the pros, at least here in NY, doing all the fashion and commercial shooting in the photo district around Madison Sq, and 5th Ave. I had one and can attest to it's stability, though I wouldn't use it with any expectation good consistent results with anything longer than 300mm, or really close macro. As far as build quality and brute strength goes, it makes the other considerations look like the toys that they are.

Once again, I really wasn't trying to be rude - it just seemed that you had already made up your mind (implying it was closed to suggestions even though you asked to provide a suggestion in case you missed something), but your choices were all over the place - and none of which I would have selected to do the type of photography you stated. In fact, if you have lenses that have VR, you can save yourself $200 and go without a cheap or heavy tripod, which would most certainly gather dust in the closet, and end up making the tripod you really need cost $200 more.

I personally use a Feisol CT 3472 which weighs 4 lbs and has a very stable 37mm top tube ($525) with my long lenses (up to 600mm with a 1.4x TC) and macro. And I also recently purchased it's little brother, the CT3442 ($310) which weighs 2.31 lbs and has a 28mm top tube, for general use and when I am backpacking. I find the smaller pod good enough to shoot with a 300mm lens and for closeups, and it fits nicely in a carry-on bag for travel.

streetmarty Loc: Brockton, Ma

Gene51 wrote:

You were clear that you wanted to hear only what you wanted to hear - no reviews, no suggestions to wait until you can justify a decent tripod, then you ask about 3 tripods that come with heads in the range of $120 to $220 - nothing higher. That says several things - you don't care about details, quality means little, price is more important to you than functionality, and, worse of all, you will likely follow through and get one of the three you have narrowed your choices to. These are all different tripods intended for different purposes. The Sirui is a travel tripod, The Davis is a really light duty tripod marketed as a travel tripod that is quite short, and the Manfrotto is no longer made. Frankly I would not recommend any of the three - unless you are using a really light camera and will take extra measures to provide stability to minimize movement from shutter shock.

Without knowing what lenses and cameras you are planning on using, it is not possible to provide any meaningful advice, other than as a general rule functional tripods usually start around $300, the rest is pretty light duty and will either fail (break) or loosen up over a short period of time (a year or so), or just not be stable enough to make it worth the trouble to carry. Been with photographers who have been there and done that. Nothing is more frustrating than using an inadequate tripod and coming back and seeing image sharpness stolen because of it.

You obviously don't need the expensive Gitzo Traveler, but you should be looking at tripods with similar qualities and performance - there are many but none that I know of below $220.

If weight is not an issue, then you don't need a traveler tripod with 5 leg sections - it will vibrate.
If you are 5'10" or taller, the Davis is too short, even fully extended, because to get to 60" you need to almost fully extend the center column. Bad idea if you want want freedom from camera-shake induced blurring.
I would not buy the Manfrotto because it too is short without extending the center column, and it's leg locks and other components use too much plastic that stress and break over time.

If you are not intending to do Macro or use lenses longer than 200mm, and you don't need a light tripod that packs down to a small dimension, and are ok with using a fairly decent pan and tilt head, and you want to stay under $200, you may want to take a look at the the Tiltall tripod, originally manufactured in Rockleigh, NJ at the Leitz NA headquarters.

http://www.adorama.com/tpte01b.html?gclid=CjwKEAiAqJjDBRCG5KK6hq_juDwSJABRm03hJh3rxUCr_Z5rFZu17kF-3GKyZqjEnlX-6T79FSuDDRoCjofw_wcB

It's 6.12 lbs, can go to 57" without extending the center column, includes the hardware to use it as a monopod, has a load capacity of 44lbs (meaningless, but this does matter to some), and collapses to 30."

It was quite popular in the 60s and 70s among the pros, at least here in NY, doing all the fashion and commercial shooting in the photo district around Madison Sq, and 5th Ave. I had one and can attest to it's stability, though I wouldn't use it with any expectation good consistent results with anything longer than 300mm, or really close macro. As far as build quality and brute strength goes, it makes the other considerations look like the toys that they are.

Once again, I really wasn't trying to be rude - it just seemed that you had already made up your mind (implying it was closed to suggestions even though you asked to provide a suggestion in case you missed something), but your choices were all over the place - and none of which I would have selected to do the type of photography you stated. In fact, if you have lenses that have VR, you can save yourself $200 and go without a cheap or heavy tripod, which would most certainly gather dust in the closet, and end up making the tripod you really need cost $200 more.

I personally use a Feisol CT 3472 which weighs 4 lbs and has a very stable 37mm top tube ($525) with my long lenses (up to 600mm with a 1.4x TC) and macro. And I also recently purchased it's little brother, the CT3442 ($310) which weighs 2.31 lbs and has a 28mm top tube, for general use and when I am backpacking. I find the smaller pod good enough to shoot with a 300mm lens and for closeups, and it fits nicely in a carry-on bag for travel.

You were clear that you wanted to hear only what y... (show quote)

Gene, I must say when you give a response you do get into it, very impressive. I apologize for my first response, reading an email it is difficult, for me anyway, to tell whether or not somebody is being sincere or a wiseguy.

I have been a photographer for coming up on 50 years and never used a tripod. Getting older now, shaky, and with different interests I am thinking a little help would be nice. Originally I was going to buy the Sirui P-204s and be done with it. When I decided to see what was also available at that price range I found there are some decent tripods for around the same money. Quality does matter as does functionality but I am not spending $300 for a tripod that will be used to take a handful of landscape pictures twice a year. I am a street guy. As for the weight, I use a Nikon D610 with 3 primes. 24,50 and 85. So nothing crazy heavy that is going to throw balance off. I looked at the Tiltall and it looks good. I am taking my time and checking e-bay etc. I waited this long I can wait some more as I won't need it until summer. Thanks again for the input. Marty

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

streetmarty wrote:

Gene, I must say when you give a response you do g... (show quote)

No problem. I've got 50 yrs behind a camera, and a couple of years on the other side, sorta, as a food stylist. I will use a tripod only on long exposures. Lately I've set my bird photography free by acquiring a 150-600 Sigma Sport and using it hand held. The optical stabilization is pretty impressive - I've gotten some decent shots at 1/25 sec (longer than I'd want to use on a 50mm lens), at 600mm.

Anyway, you might google Tiltall Leitz Tiltall, and Star-D Tiltall, as they are all somehow related. There is a blog on these tripods, as they were immensely popular when everyone else was either creating and selling junk, or your choices were the really heavy and solid Gitzo Studex, LInhof and other monsters. If you go Tiltall, you may want to get better acquainted with them here:

Have a great New Year!

http://tiltallsupport.blogspot.com/2010/03/mystery-of-star-d-tiltall.html

There are a few used ones on eBay, btw.

I don't do much street, but I do a lot of everything else:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gene_lugo/