Tri-Pod?

Whats a Tri-Pod?

My experience with tripods is you get what you pay for.

Big names off the top o’ my head: Gitzo, Bogen, Benbo, Slik. I’m sure others can continue the list.

My favorite? Bogen. But I also like Gitzo. Went with Bogen b/c I found what I wanted on sale. Could support everything from my Canon DSLR up to my 4×5. I liked the controls. Overall weight was acceptable as I go backpacking with the things.

If you can get to a camera store, go in and play with the tripods. They should have them out where you can fiddle with them. If not, just ask. Take your camera with you and place it on the tripod. Try using it. If you don’t like how the controls work, you are going to be cursing the thing for eternity.

But again, I like Bogen. I imagine everyone is going to have their own favorite, and I don’t think anyone is right or wrong.

Bogen and Gitzo…professional standard If your photography includes video (panning for instance) a tripod with a fluid head would be in order (but very expensive)...plan ahead.

I’d say it all depends on wHat you’re gonna use it for. If it’s just for taking pics for urself, you can get a good one for only $20.

If you’re gonna use if to film your next Spielberg flick then you gotta pay MUCH MORE to get SUPER smooth movement.

bogen manfrotto is if you have the money, otherwise something simple can sometimes be the best just a tilt and rotate tripod, but if you get a cheap tripod and get some big lens or try to put something heavy on it, don’t count on it, it will flex and bend and .. not the way to go, but when you can afford big lenses/heavy equipment then buying a 100$ tripod would be nothing.

seconded XCNuse’s recommendations-we use Bogen Manfrottos at work and they’re tough and have good fluid-heads for smooth panning. Their mounts are pretty fancy too with the ability to shift the weight of the camera forward/backward while mounted. Best bang for the buck (even though a bit pricier)...but as he mentions, if you’re already in the mid-range DSLRs, it’s worth it.

i tell you what’s cool though, have you seen those pistol grips? where you pull the trigger and it turns into a joystick basically? those things are fun to play around with lol

price wise though, my dad’s friend has one and i toyed around with it and checked it out at B&H (adorama didn’t have one at the time)... the head alone was just under $200 lol