cheap tripods, usable?


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I saw some cheap tripods ($50) reaching about the height of 1.5m and very light.. are they suitable for my D60 with lets say a 105mm macro lens? too heavy? how do we choose a tripod? hopfully not by price;)
 

Usable? yes. Good? NO
how to choose? put your camera and then bump it a bit. or put it on sheares bridge at night where heavy traffic passing by and try to take long exposure shot. If got vibration then no good.
 

I saw some cheap tripods ($50) reaching about the height of 1.5m and very light.. are they suitable for my D60 with lets say a 105mm macro lens? too heavy? how do we choose a tripod? hopfully not by price;)

i think you should not waste your money on plastic tripods, they break easily

you end up buying 10 p[lastic tripods for every metal one.. end up spend $500, might as well spend $120 - $180 can last at least 20 plastic tripods.

bare minimum i would say, go for $120.. at least, and make sure you get a reputable brand. slik these days, quality is subpar.. maybe go for a manfrotto prosumer tripod. the one i have been using for travel shots has been serving me quite well, and it has been severely abused for nearly a year already. seawater dunking, sand dune trekking, cliff climbing, it has been there, it is still surviving well.
 

... or put it on sheares bridge at night where heavy traffic passing by and try to take long exposure shot. If got vibration then no good.

When the ground itself is vibrating that much, does it really matter how much the tripod cost?
 

When the ground itself is vibrating that much, does it really matter how much the tripod cost?

Yes.... The weight of camera and lens + the reliability of the swivel head locking mechanism. Loose legs/ Poor Lock mechanism type.

Tripods that have problem functioning in water/ inclement weather. Tripods that are too heavy - add fatigue and later stop bringing... Kill creativity...

Loosing the picture is one thing. Breaking equipment/ Camera is BIG Thing!

I say better spend a little more on a solid foundation.

Cheers!
 

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yes.. haha.. very good.. when the ground is moving, tripods dont really have any use then.. unless u have good suspensions like a mercedes benz? haha.. i dont know about tripod breaking.. never seen it happen before!! and weight is actually quite impt dont u think? some of the "branded" ones are pretty bulky and heavy. i guess maybe those characteristics add on to the stability of the stand. hai... but carrying a tripd for a long time is really tiring..
 

I would like to take this opportunity to ask you all, what about Monopods?
For travelling purpose (easier to carry along), if we just need to stabilise the camera for slower shutter speed, instead of leaving it there to take picture by itself, would a Monopod suffice?
Those of you who have experience with Monopods, do you buy an expensive one (worth it or not?)?
 

I saw some cheap tripods ($50) reaching about the height of 1.5m and very light.. are they suitable for my D60 with lets say a 105mm macro lens? too heavy? how do we choose a tripod? hopfully not by price;)

They can be used. But would not be reccomended. These are super light and flimsy and may topple easily.

With a tripod, what you would want is stability and ease of adjustments to reach the angle you wish to shoot. With such light tripods, they may be ok when you do not extend it, i.e. all legs are kept retracted. But when you extend them fully, you'll see them swaying and flexing under the weight of the DSLR and lens.

Always get a tripod which can support the rig's weight with room to spare (i.e. if your whole rig adds up to 2kg, make sure the tripod and head can support at least 4kg.)

And to increase stability, some even hook a bag under the tripod. Not all tripods offer this function.

Save up and get something more decent like a Slik or a Manfrotto. You'll appreciate it better.

As for monopods, they are meant to assist you in getting a short with lowered shutter speeds or when you have a longer focal length lens and you need more stability than just your bare hands. When using a monopod, rest it securely and hold your camera down with both hands to make sure that you're not moving it about.
 

manfrotto will be worth your cash.

of course you can keep your freebie tripod for self-portraits kinda shoot

but one that you expect to serve you long enough, you have to spend on it.

manfrotto is my choice though
 

D60 is quite light isn't it?

I have an old Velbon CX-570 aluminium tripod. Those old type but it is extremely sturdy and stable. Ran me around 40 USD when I bought it way back in 2002-3. It has served me well and traveled with me all over the world.

Sure it does not have a separate head, and it is a 3-way pan and tilt head, not ball-head. The head is plastic, not metal, but it is very heavy-duty and very stable so far.

I have another china brand tripod that cost me around 50 SGD which I leave in my other home in china. That one is similar to the Velbon except that it is slightly better made and slight more sturdy.

Thing is, if you are using D60, weight is not that much of an issue. Just make sure you do not use those freebie tripods that come with the camera. I have a fuji-freebie one and it is terrible.
 

He may be using D60, but what if his lens is heavy..?
 

yea it is, he said 105mm micro lens.

but dunno which brand, but it's still relatively heavy though
 

Hmmm. My tripod works well with all the heavier stuff too, like the old film stuff (all metal). Max weight rating is 6kg. The china one is also rated at 6 kg. So far no problems. I ever thought of getting a good manfrotto or gittzo, but looking at my current setup, there are not enough reasons for me to spend a few hundred dollars to get the brand name.
 

bro... don't waste the money on a 50 bucks tripod if you're taking macro...

i have been using a 120 bucks tripod and just got my macro lens last month... i could tell you that it's pain in the a** to take macro with that tripod...

1. stupid ballhead - the stupid ballhead just won't hack it when i want the precision in AF point... for landscape most probably you won't see the difference... but for macro slightly off AF points could result in totally unusable photos...
2. tripod can't take such weight - even my 900grams lens (body some 600grams) is having a tripod collar hence slightly better balance, i would get shutter vibration even when i try to shoot landscape with it...

i suggest a minimum of Manfrotto 055 series and a much better ball head like RRS, Arca or Markins... you'll be fiddling the ballhead so much that a slight design failure would trouble you all the time...
 

Also, D60 body is around 500g. Nikon 105mm 2.8 mirco is 790g. Total less than 1.5kg. It is not that heavy la. Not like those Bazookas. Economy no good, can save money save.
 

jaRV1s, I thought you are supposed to lock down the ball-head first, then focus. hmmm. Unless you are using autofocus you need to focus then recompose. Most macro photographers are doing MF leh.
 

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