Tripod Recommendations?

[Jeff Reagan]

I'm looking to get a new tripod which hopefully will fit all of my needs:

Scenario #1:
Canon 1Ds + 400mm F5.6L + 2x Telextender
Wildlife, sports, extreme landscape, limited astrophotography

Scenario #2:
Canon 7D + external microphone + variety of lenses
Beginning video, wildlife, sports, general photography

Any recommendations or other scenarios to consider?

I'd like to budget less than $200 for this, but could possibly stretch to $300 if it made sense. I'd be doing still photography for the most part, but also some beginning video with the 7D. Thanks!

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

I'd steer you towards the Manfrotto/Bogen and Vinten ranges - both companies offer a very wide range of superbly built tripods and tripod heads.

Manfrotto.com - homepage

Vinten | www.vinten.com

[Bill Pryor]

If you're going to be shooting video, then you need a tripod with a fluid head. The cheapest one I've seen that is smooth and well built and has minimal bounceback on pans is the Libec 22. It's OK for a Canon XH A1 but a little light; I sold mine and got a Libec 38. For the 7D package, the 22 might be OK. Tapeworks Texas (a sponsor here) is the best place to buy them, I think.

[Matt Newcomb]

Hmm, I was interested and tried looking at their site. Looks like they need to fix something.

Page Not Found - 404 Error Page
The page you are looking for (http://tapeworkstexas.com/libec_ls_22_1.html) is not here.

[Bill Pryor]

Their website sucks. Better to call and talk in person. Scot Cantrell is the person I've dealt with there, and you won't get better customer service anyplace. I know most of us prefer to peruse a website and get information that way, but they're a bit old fashioned in that regard; there's no sales pressure when you call.

[Jeff Reagan]

I've spotted this:

Manfrotto 501HDV Pro Video Fluid Head with Quick Release - Supports 13.2 lbs

How does this sound for the head only?

I believe the maximum weight I'll have on the head is no more than 8 lbs.

Thanks again for all of the help!

[Raymond Tsang]

I just purchased the 501HDV for my 5D. It pans incredibly smooth but there's a slight 'bump' or 'catch' right before each pan. Other than that, for $185 it was well worth the money. I've come near the 6-7 pound range without any issues.

[Don Miller]

Unfortunately if you get into big lenses it takes a tripod rated at 22 lbs. That's going to be $1000 plus for a good fluid head. I have the Gitzo 1380, which is a commonly used head. It's good with the 5DII and 500/4.
There's definitely a difference between a $200 head and a $500 head. Cheap heads that initially seems to pan smoothly just don't work out except for casual use.

As far as scenario #1 you are way under budget. At 1000mm plus equivalent it takes a good setup and skill to not shake. Considerably more than a still camera.

[Jeff Reagan]

Originally Posted by Don Miller

Unfortunately if you get into big lenses it takes a tripod rated at 22 lbs. That's going to be $1000 plus for a good fluid head. I have the Gitzo 1380, which is a commonly used head. It's good with the 5DII and 500/4.
There's definitely a difference between a $200 head and a $500 head. Cheap heads that initially seems to pan smoothly just don't work out except for casual use.

As far as scenario #1 you are way under budget. At 1000mm plus equivalent it takes a good setup and skill to not shake. Considerably more than a still camera.

Thanks for your insight. I really appreciate it!

It will only be on VERY rare occasions that I'll have the 400mm F5.6 lens mounted with a 2X Telextender. I probably won't be shooting a lot with the 400mm by itself either. And it's a slow, VERY LIGHT 400mm lens to boot.

As an aside, I believe the 400mm F5.6L is one of the best bargains out there. Sure, it's slow, but what's one-stop these days in our age of high ISO performance image sensors? Compare it to the 500mm F4L, for example. The 500mm F4L costs $5000+ more, yet only provides one-stop extra of light gathering, 25% more reach, and weighs over twice as much as the 400mm! The IS is the biggest difference maker, but I'm not paying $5,000 for it. The 400mm is light by comparison, and I've gotten very many useful handheld shots from it.

I imagine most of my mounted shooting will involve the 70-200mm F4L IS zoom, a reasonably weighted lens (not exceedingly heavy).

Would the Bogen 3021BPro and the Manfrotto 501HDV Pro Video Fluid Head be a reasonable combination to get started?

[Jon Fairhurst]

With rolling shutter cameras, you don't need a high-capacity tripod to carry heavy lenses. You need a high-capacity tripod for rock-solid stability with long focal lengths. In fact, the lighter your camera/lens, the more susceptible to vibration it is.

I got a great deal ($325) on a used Bogen 516 head and 3192 legs. (By random chance, Tramm ended up with the same setup.) First, the bad news: it has a fixed spring that is set for a heavy camera. If you tilt up or down and let go, the head will drift toward a level shot. Also, it's a boat anchor. Don't bring this on the trail, unless you have a team of Ansel Adams' pack mule descendants.

The good news is that if you shoot narrative films, you can say "action", do your move, yell "cut", and move on. It's another story if you're shooting Gaddafi's endless speech to the UN General Assembly. Your arms will fall asleep if you have to hold the tripod handles that long.

As far as the weight of the system goes, well, it builds character...

One nice thing about the 3193 legs: they have two tubes per leg all the way to the floor, and they have only two sections. This helps keep the thing from twisting, winding up, and snapping back at the end of a pan. The bad news is that the tripod can't get all that low.

The bottom line is that a correct spring tension is important for shooting long events, but not such a big deal for narrative work. And weight is only important if you hoof long distances.

But don't be fooled by your light weight camera and lens. It's rolling shutter that demands better stability than you ever needed with CCDs. The good news is that better stabilization gives you a more professional result.

[Shaun Walker]

So the H38 head will go on these solid 2-stage 75mm ball top legs (Sanford and Sons of ??) w/ mid-level spreader I got used on eBay with decent old head for $150ish total.

The smaller Libec 22 head seemed fairly good in the brief try I had with it ... Should be cheaper or come complete with legs for same price as H38? I forget.

With the Bogen legs I have 10 degrees of leveling help via this under the head:
Manfrotto by Bogen Imaging 438 Compact Levelling Head - Ball Camera Leveler
Manfrotto by Bogen Imaging | 438 Compact Levelling Head - | 438

Maybe get some affordable used and/or Bogen legs and then spend money on a good head rather than getting an all-new but cheaper/lower set up?

[Jeff Reagan]

I think I've pretty much settled on the budget (but excellent) SLIK 700DX tripod.

Now I have to determine which head I'm going to mount on it. I'll likely end up getting the 501HDV for video, and a separate Manfratto head for photography.

Given my setup and gear, any suggestions for a suitable photography ball head to use with the SLIK 700DX? Thanks!

[Matt Newcomb]

Hmm, I was thinking of picking up a lighter weight photo tripod, but for extra stability maybe it would be better to just use the Vinten I have for my XL2.

[Jeff Reagan]

I'm torn between the 488rc or the 490rc heads. Leaning towards the 490. It's rock solid.

[Les Nagy]

I realize that this is a DSLR section, and that people are dealing with a different budget mindset here, but..........

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/tripod-s...y-why-why.html

HD is HD is HD. What holds true for full "true" HD video cameras holds true for DSLRs doing HD video. The tripod and head are just as important as the lens and the camera. $200 will not buy anything worthwhile other than to hold the camera off the ground in a static shot in no wind.

I have no experience with it and I am not recommending it but you might want to try this:
Libec | LS22M2A Tripod System | LS-22M(2A) | B&H Photo Video
as a bare minimum that might be good enough rather than spending $200 on something that is 100% sure to be not good enough.