Best place to buy a tripod?

[tazdevil]

Ok, I finally picked up a Nikon coolpix 5700, and now realize to do any good macro with it, I'm going to need a decent tripod (Big surprize-not). Any suggestions on best place to find one for this camera?

(Don't mention Nikon, I've already been to their website, no tripods).

Again, thanks in advance.

 

[mkirda]

Any suggestions on best place to find one for this camera?

I'd vote for a Bogen/Manfrotto leg set with a 3-way pan head. Any number of setups will work. Try B&H or Adorama's web sites for some of the better prices around. If you have a professional camera shop around somewhere nearby, I'd suggest stopping in and playing with them.

You might also consider a Macro rail. Velbon's Magnesium one is light and does very well with my Nikon 35mm setup. Plus it moves side to side.

Regards.
Mike Kirda

 

[Anonymous]

Man, those are SPENDY! Taz, I suggest Googling. For what I believe is a lightweight camera, you won't need something so heavy duty (and likely heavy) as one of these units. They can run a couple of hundred dollars easily. A GREAT place to get advice on this sort of thing is to be found at http://www.dgrin.com (a.k.a. Digital Grin), a fantastic little digital photog forum I found.

There you can find lots of links to places like Steves Digital Photo Reviews, imagesource.com (sorry, I haven't got the links for you right now), etc. I've been pricing tripods too, and I must have something as lightweight as possible, but will likely be waiting since my father has a lot of stuff that I can borrow, including two different 'pods. I need a polarizing filter (big time!) and a telephoto lens (missing bird shots for want of the telephoto, even with the 10x optical on my Oly C740). I'm also shopping for a digital slave flash.

 

[mkirda]

Man, those are SPENDY! Taz, I suggest Googling. For what I believe is a lightweight camera, you won't need something so heavy duty (and likely heavy) as one of these units. They can run a couple of hundred dollars easily.

Yes, a good tripod isn't cheap. And you want it a little heavy, otherwise you can tip that camera over very easily. You want to put a thousand dollar piece of equipment on a $20 tripod? 8O

Just make sure that whatever leg set you buy, the camera is high enough on it that you can look through it without having to raise the center post. If the legs are so short that you must raise the center post, you will find that the tripod moves enough that your pictures are not as sharp as they could be.

Regards.
Mike Kirda

 

[tazdevil]

Thoughts on this one:

http://www.adorama.com/GTVT809.html



Looks decent, and not terrible priced. ( I did see a few that approached the 1,000 dollar amount). Anyone see any negatives with this one?

 

[Anonymous]

Bogen tripods rock! Even for a smaller camera, a good stable tripod is a pleasure to use.

 

[azcaddman]

I second the B&H .. just got my bogen 3221wn w/3030 pan/tilt head last week from them, its great so far.. only thing i'm wishing it had was some bubble levels in the head (but I can add them)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=217269&is=REG

 

[Anonymous]

I have a good, heavy tripod, and I hate using it. The thing can even cut off my fingers if I'm not careful. For my own purposes, the 2lb tripod I'm using is more than adequate. Plus, at this time I can't justify spending as much on the pod as I did for the camera (needless to say, mine didn't cost me $1K).

The sites linked seem to get great reviews and, from my own research, are good sources with decent prices on this equipment. Bogens are indeed very popular with photogs, too. There's another brand.. starts with an "M", can't recollect the exact name.. <shrug>

 

[Anonymous]

The sites linked seem to get great reviews and, from my own research, are good sources with decent prices on this equipment. Bogens are indeed very popular with photogs, too. There's another brand.. starts with an "M", can't recollect the exact name.. <shrug>

"Manfroto" or "manfoto" or something like that. It's an offshoot of Bogen if I remember right.

I guess after thinking about it, my thought is to evaluate what you plan to do with photography. If you just need to have a tripod around for the occasional family photo that you want to be in, the occasional tank shot, etc., then snag a $20 or $30 tripod from your local camera store. If you think you may be getting sucked into photography, invest a hundred bucks or more in a really good tripod that you'll be able to use for years.

 

[tazdevil]

Yeah, this sucks you in just like keeping reeftanks! :lol: 8O :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Tell me about it. I started with a webcam hooked to a laptop just to take a couple shots of the tank, then all of a sudden it's a couple years later and I've got a couple grand worth of camera gear and am getting ready to start shooting weddings and senior portraits this summer! 8O :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Oh tell ME about it!! I've finally got my injury settlement coming in and I'm having the most awful thoughts!!

Y'all oughta check http://www.dgrin.com - good helpful folks there who don't know sheet about shooting fish! (So I sent 'em here.)

 

[Anonymous]

I'm afraid to get into another online forum. I can barely keep up with the 3 I'm already in!! hehehe

 

[Anonymous]

And as if on cue... I got my check for running the school play, and my tripod broke tonight while doing some still-life stuff with some flowers. Hah! Bogen, here I come!!! Woohoooooo!!! :-D

 

[TomViolence]

Man, those are SPENDY! Taz, I suggest Googling. For what I believe is a lightweight camera, you won't need something so heavy duty (and likely heavy) as one of these units. They can run a couple of hundred dollars easily.

Yes, a good tripod isn't cheap. And you want it a little heavy, otherwise you can tip that camera over very easily. You want to put a thousand dollar piece of equipment on a $20 tripod? 8O

Just make sure that whatever leg set you buy, the camera is high enough on it that you can look through it without having to raise the center post. If the legs are so short that you must raise the center post, you will find that the tripod moves enough that your pictures are not as sharp as they could be.

Regards.
Mike Kirda

I agree 100% bro, Thousands for camera equip and $20 on a stand. WOW 8O no way!!!!!! I gave about $175 for my pod, and still want more.

scott

 

[tangir1]

We use nothing but Manfrotto at work here. Very nice tripods. I think the one we use is almost $1K per head. But personally, I use cheapo Taiwanese pod 'cause I am not taking much photo on pod outside of work.

 

[RWL]

I checked the adorama link in this thread, they have a good price on slik tripods, the one i was looking at in a local store was 139.00, adorama had the same one for 89.00, i believe i know where i am going to buy mine from

 

[madmeri]

I've got both manfrotto tripods and monopods, and would suggest one of those

then, I paid $50 thereabouts for my monopod. Still haven't got a head for it yet, just waiting for the right one

 

[Anonymous]

I forgot about SLik's.

SInce I've got a cheap little light weight camera, I"m using a $2 garage sale one. IT didn't have the mounting screw, so I welded one up. It's a cheap-o walmart camcorder tripod. It's a little sturdier than the cheapo camera version. And it's tall, light, and I'ts got a reversable center post!

B

 

[Anonymous]

Thoughts on this one:

http://www.adorama.com/GTVT809.html



Looks decent, and not terrible priced. ( I did see a few that approached the 1,000 dollar amount). Anyone see any negatives with this one?

Thats almost the same exact thing I have! Except I payed about $70 at my LCS! (Local Camera Shop; Im gonna start using these abreviations for everything! )
Excellent tripod; Im shooting stuff with an old Minolta 35mm SLR from the freakin' 70's, but that pod was a great deal for this heavy lunker!
Details on my pod are as follows:

Made by Sunpak, ToCAD America, Inc
The model is Sunpak 8001 UT Medium Duty Tripod
Supports up to 6.6 lbs. (3.0 kg)
Extends to 60.2"
Closes to 22.6"
Weighs 2.9 lbs. (1.34 kg)
Limited lifetime warranty...

The cool thing is, theres two levels on this thing; one for the panhead in the standard orientation, and another on the center colum for leveling the pod itself! I didnt see that on any of the others at the LCS...
Hope that didnt sound like a pitch!... I love the thing; sturdier than I would have imagined, and yet light enough to be moved easily! You guys will probably get better price quotes, but then again Im not a photography buff (yet)!
HTH!