Can you gearheads give me some tripod advice please :)

[dug777]

I have been advised that I want a good two piece Manfrotto or the like, but it's bewildering to say the least 😉

Want something bulletproof, not hugely worried about the weight.

Any and all advice is welcome, thanks folks :beer:

 

[Krioni]

Well, it would really help to know your rig and what type of shooting you'll be doing. Studio? Outdoor/Landscape? etc.

I personally have the Bogen 486RC2 Ball Head that I use on some generic medium duty legs with my Nikon D50 and it is rock solid. But, my setup is certainly not the heaviest around.

There is also a 488RC2 that is larger and heavier... again, it depends on your setup and how you'll use it.

 

[ivan2]

see if you can find the Benro... M(edited, i found some of them on ebay.com.au) series, their latest combo should include the KB or KS series head with arcaswiss styled plate.

If you can't find the M series, I will go for the manfrotto 055 series aluminum tripod with a head of your liking. I've tried it out and it's big and heavy, definitely bulletproof.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Krioni
Well, it would really help to know your rig and what type of shooting you'll be doing. Studio? Outdoor/Landscape? etc.

I personally have the Bogen 486RC2 Ball Head that I use on some generic medium duty legs with my Nikon D50 and it is rock solid. But, my setup is certainly not the heaviest around.

There is also a 488RC2 that is larger and heavier... again, it depends on your setup and how you'll use it.

D80 and various lenses (I only own the 18-135mm but my old man and my bro have a small stable of Nikon lenses I borrow when on holiday with them). Nothing heavier than a 80-200mm F2.8 or maybe a 14-24mm f2.8 if I get my way soon 😉

Outdoor and landscape, don't see myself using it for much else.

Does that help?

Thanks folks 🙂

 

[arrfep]

Originally posted by: ivan2
see if you can find the Benro... M(edited, i found some of them on ebay.com.au) series, their latest combo should include the KB or KS series head with arcaswiss styled plate.

If you can't find the M series, I will go for the manfrotto 055 series aluminum tripod with a head of your liking. I've tried it out and it's big and heavy, definitely bulletproof.

Careful on the Benro stuff. The general consensus is that Benro stuff looks like the high end stuff, costs near the mid-range stuff, but is built like the low-end. This link goes around the photo forums every few weeks when someone asks about Benro stuff.

I'd go for a Mid-priced Giottos head, maybe the MH-1000 which leaves you over $150USD with which to get a pair of legs, plenty for some decent Manfrotto/Gitzo/Slik legs.

There's a company called Photo Clam that recently started selling in the USA. There's not much out there, but a good search turns up a few positive reviews.

 

[ivan2]

i haven't tried to open my ballhead yet, it's a KB-0. however there's no slippage on my 70-200F4L on 40D gripped, there's shift when tightning the ball but no shift with the pan knob. I had disassembled some part of the legs and found the locking mechanism to be sound and easy to lock. I had the M-168 KB-0 combo kit for roughly $200 USD, can't knock it consider they are carbon fiber pods, and the feel is right up there. for what it's worth, i won't go for their C series travel pods, which are pushing into Gitzo's price territory, but I think the M series combos are a significant bargain.

 

[arrfep]

I hear you Ivan, just passing on the info I've seen repeated out there. I personally don't understand the whole $1000 tripod thing. The ballhead I quoted is probably the most I would ever spend on a head, and I'm hoping to make photography a profession in the near future. TBH, I've been doing quite well for at least four years now with a super lightweight Velbon travel tripod. The ballhead is tiny but it seems to do the job well enough. I just have to make sure I've got a hand on my camera when I release tension.

 

[Jawo]

I have been looking around for a good tripod and head for awhile as well. At first I really liked the 190XProB with the 322RC2 head. Since I am tall (6'3", ~1.9M), I was told that I should probably look at the 055XProB as it would come up to eye level on me. I really ddin't like the 322RC2 in the store, and probably would go with the 488RC2 purely since it has independent controls for the pitch/yaw and panning (the 484 and 486 only have one locking mechanism). Then on my most recent trip to the local camera store, I found a Gitzo set up I really liked, the GT1930 with the GH2780QR head. The Manfrottos come in two variations the the the XProB which has a center column that rotates around to be horizontal to the ground, also demanding a small premium. The other flavor is the XB which has you standard tripod center column movement. The 190 is $130/$160 with the 055 at $160/175. The 48xRC2 heads range from $60-110. Yes, I would love a Gitzo 6x CF legs, but don't have $1k to spend! The GH2780QR is $350, or $275 for the standard mount. The GT1930 is $350, and the 6x CF are just ridiculously expensive....starting about $450 and way, way up. But if you have to have the best...

I haven't gotten anything yet since I'm still broke from my last trip, but still looking around. All prices are B&H list prices, they may be different in the land down under.

 

[Jawo]

Originally posted by: arrfep

Originally posted by: ivan2
see if you can find the Benro... M(edited, i found some of them on ebay.com.au) series, their latest combo should include the KB or KS series head with arcaswiss styled plate.

If you can't find the M series, I will go for the manfrotto 055 series aluminum tripod with a head of your liking. I've tried it out and it's big and heavy, definitely bulletproof.

Careful on the Benro stuff. The general consensus is that Benro stuff looks like the high end stuff, costs near the mid-range stuff, but is built like the low-end. This link goes around the photo forums every few weeks when someone asks about Benro stuff.

I'd go for a Mid-priced Giottos head, maybe the MH-1000 which leaves you over $150USD with which to get a pair of legs, plenty for some decent Manfrotto/Gitzo/Slik legs.

There's a company called Photo Clam that recently started selling in the USA. There's not much out there, but a good search turns up a few positive reviews.

Might also want to look at Adorama's Flashpoint house brand as it is getting great reviews. The F-1228 has similar stats of the 055XB, but with CF vs Aluminum construction!

 

[soydios]

055XPROB + 488RC2 is what I use. I previously had a 190XPROB + 486RC2. I would get the 488RC2 head over the 486RC2 any day. Pick the legs based on what you want: the 055XPROB is simply a bigger, stronger, heavier, and more expensive 190XPROB.

EDIT: I should clarify why I would get the 488RC2 over the 486RC2 any day. It's because the 488RC2 has a separate panning lock, which means that you can take panoramic stitches without having to unlock the wobbly ball head. Furthermore, the ball head lock on the 486RC2 is not strong enough to hold up a 400mm f/2.8 lens at odd angles (like taking photos of the moon), while the 488RC2 is.

 

[tdawg]

Of the ball heads I've tried, I really like the 468MG. It's noticeably more expensive than the 486 or 488, but it's extremely nice to use. I currently use a 488RC2 on 3001 legs, which were the US name of the 190X, I believe. A nice set to be sure--light enough to carry around, but sturdy enough to support 12 lbs.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: soydios
055XPROB + 488RC2 is what I use. I previously had a 190XPROB + 486RC2. I would get the 488RC2 head over the 486RC2 any day. Pick the legs based on what you want: the 055XPROB is simply a bigger, stronger, heavier, and more expensive 190XPROB.

Leaning towards this thus far. Would love the 468MGRC2 but it's a lot more coin.

Thank you all for the suggestions and advice, keep it coming 🙂

 

[virtuamike]

Good article

Once you go Arca compatible, you'll never go back 😉

No mount slippage, super precise adjustments . . .

It'd be tough to squeeze into your budget (buying used would help), but it's possible if you can stretch a little.

Some ballhead options -
Kirk BH-3 (comes with universal plate too)
Acratech UBH
RRS BH-25 *


* - would be pushing the capacity on it so bigger would probably be a better idea, but RRS is conservative with their ratings

If you don't care about weight, then you can save some money by not going with carbon fiber tripods.

Useful for macro -
Bogen 190XPRO (gah, they changed the model numbers)
Gitzo 2220 (what I use, sexy)

Solid basic tripod -
Bogen 190XDB

I've used Benro tripods and they're not too bad, but the Bogen stuff is better built. Personally I like the twist locks of the Gitzos over the flip locks of the Bogens, but it costs a lot more. I'm not too impressed with Giottos tripods. Slik makes some decent ones. Also consider Feisol if you insist on carbon.

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: soydios
055XPROB + 488RC2 is what I use. I previously had a 190XPROB + 486RC2. I would get the 488RC2 head over the 486RC2 any day. Pick the legs based on what you want: the 055XPROB is simply a bigger, stronger, heavier, and more expensive 190XPROB.

EDIT: I should clarify why I would get the 488RC2 over the 486RC2 any day. It's because the 488RC2 has a separate panning lock, which means that you can take panoramic stitches without having to unlock the wobbly ball head. Furthermore, the ball head lock on the 486RC2 is not strong enough to hold up a 400mm f/2.8 lens at odd angles (like taking photos of the moon), while the 488RC2 is.

This is what I have. It's a great combo. Love it. I haven't used anything heavier than a 70-200 with a 1D body on it and it felt very stable.

+1

 

[ghostman]

You guys are pretty hard core with your tripods. I didn't want to spend over $200 on a tripod, especially when a $50 tripod would probably serve 90% of my uses. I ended up getting one off ebay - a Dynatran CF994 (I believe that's the model I got). It's sturdy, looks nice, but it's heavy (probably no heavier than the Bogen) and the twisting leg locking mechanism requires two hands (no slippage like I've seen with clips, but slower to deploy). It's still an excellent tripod, but I've only used it once outdoors and test portrait setups at home. I probably could have gone with something a lot less expensive and sometimes regret that I'm not making as much use of it as I'd like. Here's a review:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=164099&highlight=Dynatran

I also got a Velbon Maxi tripod, which I use more often than the Dynatran.