Tripod for a beginner
Discussion
Good afternoon collective PHers,
As the title says really. looking to buy a tripod, however I am a complete novice at the moment. Looking to do some night shots and learn about landscapes. Using a Nikon D5100 at the moment....thats enough to learn with at the moment. Been reading up on tripods, and most say get a good quality one...but I don't know which ones are "good" quality. Any advice would be greatly received. Many thanks
As the title says really. looking to buy a tripod, however I am a complete novice at the moment. Looking to do some night shots and learn about landscapes. Using a Nikon D5100 at the moment....thats enough to learn with at the moment. Been reading up on tripods, and most say get a good quality one...but I don't know which ones are "good" quality. Any advice would be greatly received. Many thanks
markmullen said:
What's your budget?
For twenty quid you'll get something crap.
A hundred quid or so will get you a manfrotto, good mid range and will keep you going for a while.
A few hundred quid will get you a carbon fibre gitzo.
Thanks Mark. Realistically £100ish so looking at Manfrotto. They seem to get reasonable reviews, and seem to be pretty sturdy. I realise that should I improve, and upgrade camera etc, then it would be realistic to upgrade tripod accordingley.For twenty quid you'll get something crap.
A hundred quid or so will get you a manfrotto, good mid range and will keep you going for a while.
A few hundred quid will get you a carbon fibre gitzo.
A few things.
First get one that gets the camera to eye level without the centre column.
Measure your eye level, subtract the height of the camera, ( and the tripod head if you are getting separately) and thats how tall it needs to be.
It also needs to be stable ( really, some arnt!) and easy / quick to use.
Manfrotto 190 or 055, gitzo, sirui, feisol etc worth looking at.
You pay more for high, strong and light! If you are not trecking in places then get an aluminium one.
First get one that gets the camera to eye level without the centre column.
Measure your eye level, subtract the height of the camera, ( and the tripod head if you are getting separately) and thats how tall it needs to be.
It also needs to be stable ( really, some arnt!) and easy / quick to use.
Manfrotto 190 or 055, gitzo, sirui, feisol etc worth looking at.
You pay more for high, strong and light! If you are not trecking in places then get an aluminium one.
RobDickinson said:
A few things.
First get one that gets the camera to eye level without the centre column.
Measure your eye level, subtract the height of the camera, ( and the tripod head if you are getting separately) and thats how tall it needs to be.
It also needs to be stable ( really, some arnt!) and easy / quick to use.
Manfrotto 190 or 055, gitzo, sirui, feisol etc worth looking at.
You pay more for high, strong and light! If you are not trecking in places then get an aluminium one.
What Rob said.First get one that gets the camera to eye level without the centre column.
Measure your eye level, subtract the height of the camera, ( and the tripod head if you are getting separately) and thats how tall it needs to be.
It also needs to be stable ( really, some arnt!) and easy / quick to use.
Manfrotto 190 or 055, gitzo, sirui, feisol etc worth looking at.
You pay more for high, strong and light! If you are not trecking in places then get an aluminium one.
"Manfrotto 190 or 055, gitzo, sirui, feisol, Giottos etc worth looking at."
I went through this last year with the same camera.
Don't forget to budget in your head.
I ended up with a Manfrotto 055XPROB because it is really strong and sturdy and I can use it without crouching over. I like the way the legs can be set at different angles to get it really close to the ground too, and the centre column can be placed horizontal too which gives you more choices when composing.
You develop your arms and put the mrs off coming out with you because "it's embarrassing, everybody will look at us" .
Win win I think
Don't forget to budget in your head.
I ended up with a Manfrotto 055XPROB because it is really strong and sturdy and I can use it without crouching over. I like the way the legs can be set at different angles to get it really close to the ground too, and the centre column can be placed horizontal too which gives you more choices when composing.
You develop your arms and put the mrs off coming out with you because "it's embarrassing, everybody will look at us" .
Win win I think
RobDickinson said:
A few things.
First get one that gets the camera to eye level without the centre column.
Measure your eye level, subtract the height of the camera, ( and the tripod head if you are getting separately) and thats how tall it needs to be.
It also needs to be stable ( really, some arnt!) and easy / quick to use.
Manfrotto 190 or 055, gitzo, sirui, feisol etc worth looking at.
You pay more for high, strong and light! If you are not trecking in places then get an aluminium one.
Thanks for the tips about height....hadn't even considered that. Hopefully most use will be from the highlands of Scotland...travel twice a year there, and looking to move, so lightweight might figure.First get one that gets the camera to eye level without the centre column.
Measure your eye level, subtract the height of the camera, ( and the tripod head if you are getting separately) and thats how tall it needs to be.
It also needs to be stable ( really, some arnt!) and easy / quick to use.
Manfrotto 190 or 055, gitzo, sirui, feisol etc worth looking at.
You pay more for high, strong and light! If you are not trecking in places then get an aluminium one.
Thanks also to all other contributors on this thread, some useful tips
Amazon have got a lightning deal on the Manfrotto CF190, not sure how much it will be but it starts at 19:00 so may be worth checking out...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0014YYFQG/ref=...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0014YYFQG/ref=...
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