Which tripod for less than £50?
Discussion
I read the Which Tripod thread from last month and was gutted I missed out on the Qentis CF deal - they now fetch over £100 
I've looked at Manfrottos and lovely as they are, I can't fork out that much for one. We saw a great 190CL yesterday but it was over-budget and fairly heavy. The cheaper ones seem P&S oriented. I'm going to be using a 30D with short-ish lenses, and weight is a factor as we'll be going on a couple of holidays with it.
Any suggestions?
I've looked at Manfrottos and lovely as they are, I can't fork out that much for one. We saw a great 190CL yesterday but it was over-budget and fairly heavy. The cheaper ones seem P&S oriented. I'm going to be using a 30D with short-ish lenses, and weight is a factor as we'll be going on a couple of holidays with it.
Any suggestions?
if you are on a budget you can get some nice slik stuff for your money. about 4 months ago i bought a slik pro 400dx tripod with a 3 way head for £59. i could have gone for the 500dx for £70-something but i tried htem out and realsied that i didnt need the extra height and the extra weight of hte 500 would be annoying.
in terms of the use of the one i got, i couldnt be happier. before it i had a similar size one from jessops which was terrible. the slik one is smooth, easy to use, much mroe sturdy, plus it is black which is nice for covert animal watching.
i got mine from bristol cameras, but i have a shop around and see what you can find.
definitely have a play before you buy. you may find that you prefer the way some work over others.
in terms of the use of the one i got, i couldnt be happier. before it i had a similar size one from jessops which was terrible. the slik one is smooth, easy to use, much mroe sturdy, plus it is black which is nice for covert animal watching.
i got mine from bristol cameras, but i have a shop around and see what you can find.
definitely have a play before you buy. you may find that you prefer the way some work over others.
speedychrissie said:
if you are on a budget you can get some nice slik stuff for your money. about 4 months ago i bought a slik pro 400dx tripod with a 3 way head for £59. i could have gone for the 500dx for £70-something but i tried htem out and realsied that i didnt need the extra height and the extra weight of hte 500 would be annoying.
in terms of the use of the one i got, i couldnt be happier. before it i had a similar size one from jessops which was terrible. the slik one is smooth, easy to use, much mroe sturdy, plus it is black which is nice for covert animal watching.
i got mine from bristol cameras, but i have a shop around and see what you can find.
definitely have a play before you buy. you may find that you prefer the way some work over others.
in terms of the use of the one i got, i couldnt be happier. before it i had a similar size one from jessops which was terrible. the slik one is smooth, easy to use, much mroe sturdy, plus it is black which is nice for covert animal watching.
i got mine from bristol cameras, but i have a shop around and see what you can find.
definitely have a play before you buy. you may find that you prefer the way some work over others.
Cheers for that, I like the look of it, but at 2.9kg it's a little on the heavy side. Ideally I'm looking for something half that weight.
I got this one last week. Pleased with it so far and I've used it a fair bit for some night time stuff this week. It's obviously not up to the quality of some of the more expensive ones but, it's good for the money.
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5705403.htm
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5705403.htm
I had been using a £40 canon one for a few years but recently invested in a good manfrotto one. What a difference! I'd vote for a 2nd hand manfrotto, or save up a bit longer maybe? Having said that I got away with my light and not very sturdy canon one for years through using self timer or a remote to combat shake.
For me the most important factor actually was the ability to position the tripod low down which basically means not having the restrictions of three legs that are tied together (if you know what I mean).
HTH
For me the most important factor actually was the ability to position the tripod low down which basically means not having the restrictions of three legs that are tied together (if you know what I mean).
HTH
I got something similar from 7dayshop for £10.99 ;
and while it doesn't have a silky smooth ball head for hollywood style panning shots, its ok for stills and reasonably light and well made and comes with a shoulder bag
www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=99654
and while it doesn't have a silky smooth ball head for hollywood style panning shots, its ok for stills and reasonably light and well made and comes with a shoulder bag
www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=99654
So how much is an ok ish Manfrotto tripod and head, I've been told it's better buying a good one once on more than one occasion of late? I don't want to spend silly amounts of money, I guess a ball type head and a tallish tripod as I'm over 6 foot tall would do the job, any suggestions from you lot would be welcome?
Well there is a special offer on at the moment (in fact there are two - I got one of them). I got the 055ProB legs and 804RC head (iirc) and they are absolutely superb. Sure, its heavy and carrying it a long distance would soon become tiresome, but my god it's well built. I know that I will have this tripod for many many years! Plus it can support the camera low to the ground and the legs click into lots of different positions so it very versatile.
I paid £149 and I think there is a version for £130 or so too, using different legs.
Highly recommended. Not sure what they go for second hand, but my experiecne of manfrotto suggests that even one that looks a bit worn on ebay is still likely to give years of good service.
I paid £149 and I think there is a version for £130 or so too, using different legs.
Highly recommended. Not sure what they go for second hand, but my experiecne of manfrotto suggests that even one that looks a bit worn on ebay is still likely to give years of good service.
Oakey said:
Yes, I've missed out on the Buy It Now bargains, and sellers have now caught on to their value. Auctions end up north of £100 now.
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