Advice on tripods and tripod heads.

[has91]

Hey guys,

I've been searching the net for tripods and a tripod head. I cant seem to make up my mind. Even if I did, I might choose the wrong tripod and wrong tripod head. So basically right now I will be getting a Nikon D70s with 18-70mm, 50mm and a SB600 external flash. In the future I might want to upgrade to a better DSLR but I don't think I will go too far till a full frame (unless in the future it costs aroudn 1.5k ). I don't really know whether I should get a ballhead or a pantilt head. So I hope you guys can give me recommendations. I don't plan on buying a carbon fibre tripod even though people says that the vibration dampening is bad. I don't think this will be much of a problem for me cos I've got something in mind to improve the vibration dampening. (Hehheh like evil plan like that. Anyone interested?) So I need a cheap as possible tripod but reliable. Thanks CSers!

 

[elmobarney]

Hope this may help
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=384016

 

[ianwurn]

Seems like a problem that everyone has.... haha..... the constant need to upgrade etc.

Well, just to share some thoughts.....

Your setup is probably never going to exceed like 5 kg with the camera, lens & flash thrown in. If you are not intending to go FF, then the likelihood of exceeding 5kg is really low, in my opinion la....

Ballheads are fine for me as I find the pan-tilt heads having too many axis to control before your shot. Subject gone by the time I am done... haha.... But the ball heads are not as precise in terms of adjustment if you are stitching landscape. Unless u get one with panaromic panning function like the 488RC2 from Manfrotto....

Anyways, if you're not too picky about the weight etc, I think Manfrotto 190xproB series with a 486RC2 ballhead is pretty good : Good build, good function but costs a little bit more than norm (Slightly below $300 if I am not mistaken). Drawback of this set is that this weighs more than 2kg, but I think it's an ok weight to lug around in Singapore. However, if you are gg to take this overseas, might be a tad long to pack inside normal bags.

There are other cheaper alternatives like the Fancier (Sold on mass sales section) which is pretty decent for <$100 and also Benro which is a great brand gaining reputation. More ex brands like Gitzo are certainly well built but costs more.

Interesting comment from you. How to improve vibration dampening ? *Curious* heh heh.... and oh, why do you need vibration dampening anyways ?:think:

 

[pat33]

Try this might answer some of your questions.

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/jrp_faq/index.html

 

[has91]

Seems like a problem that everyone has.... haha..... the constant need to upgrade etc.

Well, just to share some thoughts.....

Your setup is probably never going to exceed like 5 kg with the camera, lens & flash thrown in. If you are not intending to go FF, then the likelihood of exceeding 5kg is really low, in my opinion la....

Ballheads are fine for me as I find the pan-tilt heads having too many axis to control before your shot. Subject gone by the time I am done... haha.... But the ball heads are not as precise in terms of adjustment if you are stitching landscape. Unless u get one with panaromic panning function like the 488RC2 from Manfrotto....

Anyways, if you're not too picky about the weight etc, I think Manfrotto 190xproB series with a 486RC2 ballhead is pretty good : Good build, good function but costs a little bit more than norm (Slightly below $300 if I am not mistaken). Drawback of this set is that this weighs more than 2kg, but I think it's an ok weight to lug around in Singapore. However, if you are gg to take this overseas, might be a tad long to pack inside normal bags.

There are other cheaper alternatives like the Fancier (Sold on mass sales section) which is pretty decent for <$100 and also Benro which is a great brand gaining reputation. More ex brands like Gitzo are certainly well built but costs more.

Interesting comment from you. How to improve vibration dampening ? *Curious* heh heh.... and oh, why do you need vibration dampening anyways ?:think:

vibration dampening because especially in events like weddings people tend to walk around causing the ripod the vibrate which in turn might ruin the shot. haha not only in photography where carbon fibres are such a madness. Even in archery everyone are soooo into carbon fibre risers(the handles) and carbon fibre limbs (the place where most tension is located) mainly also for the same reason of good vibration dampening. But magnesium risers also exists which means people would need to add more vibration dampers to their risers as compared to carbon fibre risers. Short to say, it is possible to make use of the vibration dampers from archery and fix it to the tripod. But don't try this yet though, I'll try it first then I will post the results. Erm haha, how do i even do the experiment? lol.

 

[has91]

btw i'm 1.66m tall.

 

[ianwurn]

vibration dampening because especially in events like weddings people tend to walk around causing the ripod the vibrate which in turn might ruin the shot. haha not only in photography where carbon fibres are such a madness. Even in archery everyone are soooo into carbon fibre risers(the handles) and carbon fibre limbs (the place where most tension is located) mainly also for the same reason of good vibration dampening. But magnesium risers also exists which means people would need to add more vibration dampers to their risers as compared to carbon fibre risers. Short to say, it is possible to make use of the vibration dampers from archery and fix it to the tripod. But don't try this yet though, I'll try it first then I will post the results. Erm haha, how do i even do the experiment? lol.

Cool ! Ha.... never thought of that before cos I just rely on the VR lens for my Nikons.... Let us know the results !

Pre and post for the experimentation I suppose. In this case, with and without the vibra dampeners. Not too well versed in archery so am trying to visualise..... heh....