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Tripod? (1 Viewer)

Talon 1

Talon 1

Well-known member
Can anyone recommend a good tripod for my D70 135/400mm . I have looked at the Manfrotto gear but its expensive. obviously i want reliable stuff but any thoughts on maybe alternatives

Anybody got a tripod with this camera.

I have just about blown all my money and am on a budget here but dont want cheap stuff.

Regards
 
What is your budget????? if it is around 250$ then the Manfrotto 055CLB and the ball head 488RC2 should be a good combination.
 
It all really depends what your budget is.

The Velbon Sherpa series is good value for money, especially for photo work rather than digiscoping. Not as good as the Manfrotto stuff, but not that far behind. The only real criticism would be the PH-157Q head which "droops" a bit after you've locked it. You can get the Sherpa 450n for £70. The head can be upgraded for a better one later when the funds have recovered if you so desire.

Regards,

Duncan
 
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Personally I'd recommend going for a Manfrotto, even if it's a bit of a stretch - I have used four makes of tripod over the years (Manfrotto, Velbon, Opticron and Slik) and would not have anythong but Manfrotto now.
There are some cheaper Manfrotto options around that might be within your budget - take a look at the Manfortto Junior (MN390) - retails for about £70, comes with a three way head and extends to 160cm - not a bad deal.
Another option would be the Digi Compact tripod (MN728B) that extends to 175cm, comes with a three way head and retails at £90.
I'd recommend getting the tallest ripod you can (within reason), it is best if you can use it without extending the central column, as this make it a bit less stable. It's worth checking around secondhand too - you can sometimes get good deals. However I'd avoid secondhand Manfrotto tripods with the twist lock legs as these tend to get losser over time (click lock, and the 90 degree turn ones should be fine).

Do not buy a cheap tripod if it won't do the job - cheap tripods often are not stable enough, so you soon end up either not using it or buying another one. Personally I'd say you're better off being without a tripod for a couple of months and saving for a decent one, than buying a cheaper one.
 
mmmm! I presume all those above fit my D70.
Manfrotto does seem to be mentioned alot but the prices are a bit steep for me at the moment as we have just moved etc etc.

Where is the best place to look for secondhand manfrotto gear. Please dont say e-Bay!
 
Just been looking at the Warehouse express section on birding (click on Binoculours, then Tripods, manfrotto ) and its a new section on Bird tripods.

Some look decent for the money.

Any thoughts
 
Free said:
Just been looking at the Warehouse express section on birding (click on Binoculours, then Tripods, manfrotto ) and its a new section on Bird tripods.

Some look decent for the money.

Any thoughts
Click to expand...

I'm not too sure which tripods you're looking at - what model is it?

I think if you can get a Manfrotto you will not be disappointed - but make sure you get one big enough. By that I mean height wise - any of the Manfrotto tripods should have no problem holding your D70 and Sigma lens.
 
Free said:
Just been looking at the Warehouse express section on birding (click on Binoculours, then Tripods, manfrotto ) and its a new section on Bird tripods.

Some look decent for the money.

Any thoughts
Click to expand...

I would go with Yelvertoft's recommendation of a Velbon particularly when Warehouse Express are offering the Carbon Fibre 530 with the 157Q head at 1/2 price of £125. I use one for Digiscoping with a heavy Pentax Scope and CP4500 and whilst you can get a bit of head bounce with that combination I've still put some reasonable shots in. In my case I think it is the heavy back-end loading which un-balances the combination and wouldn't be as much the case with a camera.

Yeah sure I'd like a top-end Manfotto or Gitzo but you have to go with what you can afford and maybe upgrade latter.
 
Nigel G said:
I would go with Yelvertoft's recommendation of a Velbon particularly when Warehouse Express are offering the Carbon Fibre 530 with the 157Q head at 1/2 price of £125. I use one for Digiscoping with a heavy Pentax Scope and CP4500 and whilst you can get a bit of head bounce with that combination I've still put some reasonable shots in. In my case I think it is the heavy back-end loading which un-balances the combination and wouldn't be as much the case with a camera.

Yeah sure I'd like a top-end Manfotto or Gitzo but you have to go with what you can afford and maybe upgrade latter.
Click to expand...

Its only the Velbon carbon Fibre 530 pod thats £125 , with the head you mentioned its £160+inc PP.
But it still sounds reasonable.

Postcard cv, Its the Birdwatching manfrotto range i was looking at. Nothing in perticular just surfing them.

Thanks guys for the advice.
 
Nigel G said:
I would go with Yelvertoft's recommendation of a Velbon particularly when Warehouse Express are offering the Carbon Fibre 530 with the 157Q head at 1/2 price of £125. I use one for Digiscoping with a heavy Pentax Scope and CP4500 and whilst you can get a bit of head bounce with that combination I've still put some reasonable shots in. In my case I think it is the heavy back-end loading which un-balances the combination and wouldn't be as much the case with a camera.

Yeah sure I'd like a top-end Manfotto or Gitzo but you have to go with what you can afford and maybe upgrade latter.
Click to expand...

Though at £125 you could get a decent Manfrotto set up that would have a better head than the Velbon (the 157Q isn't great) and would be a bit more stable in extreme conditions. Could go for 005 legs (£90) and a 128 head (£60) - £150 all in for an excellent set up - warehouse have a couple of mail order return 128 heads for £30/35 so you coudl get an even better deal.

Unless weight is a big factor I wouldn't worry about going for a carbon fibre tripod - you don't save too much weight (esp. as you'll be carrying the camera kit anyway) and you'll notice that it's light weight if the wind picks up.
 
Free said:
Postcard cv, Its the Birdwatching manfrotto range i was looking at. Nothing in perticular just surfing them.
Click to expand...

All good tripods - the 190 or the 055 with the 128 heads are both good set ups. As I said before get one that its tall enough to use without the centre column (if you can) better to pay a bit more for a taller one than use one with the centre column fully up.
 
postcardcv said:
All good tripods - the 190 or the 055 with the 128 heads are both good set ups. As I said before get one that its tall enough to use without the centre column (if you can) better to pay a bit more for a taller one than use one with the centre column fully up.
Click to expand...

I agree that the 128RC is an excellent head for scope or video camera use, but something to bear in mind for photographic use is that the plate doesn't rotate to the vertical orientation. You cannot use a camera in "portrait" orientation with this head. This may not be important to you, you may only ever use "landscape" orientation but it's something to consider.

I upgraded my PH-157Q head to a 128RC for digiscoping but have kept the Velbon head for photo use, swapping heads as needed. I like to be able to flip the camera into "portrait" format quickly.

A little bit off-topic here, but I've just done a very cheap upgrade to my legs. Want leg-warmers or a bit of shoulder comfort padding? Use pipe lagging from a DIY store or plumbers merchants, cut to length, split along its length with a sharp knife and attach with a bit of double sided sticky tape.

Duncan.
 
Yelvertoft said:
I agree that the 128RC is an excellent head for scope or video camera use, but something to bear in mind for photographic use is that the plate doesn't rotate to the vertical orientation. You cannot use a camera in "portrait" orientation with this head. This may not be important to you, you may only ever use "landscape" orientation but it's something to consider.
Click to expand...

I've found with previous heads that they don't keep things very stable when flipped for portait shots.

The 135-400mm Sigma lens that Free is using has a rotating tripod mount, so you can turn the lens (and therefore the camera) to switch from landscape to portrait. A number of the Sigma lenses have rotating/removable tripod mounts allowing you to do this.
 
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