I need a tripod and it's a minefield out there.

I think i like the Gitzo legs.

Thom says get the Kirk BH1 ballhead
My friend likes the Arcatech Ultimate Ballhead

:wonder:

Do I also need a centre column and then a plate for my 1DIIN for quick attachment/release?

I actually would like it to be light (carbon fibre), not too worried about it being my height when extended.
I want to be able to switch between portrait and landscape orientation (I do like the little quick release plate thing).
It needs to take the weight and balance of my 1DIIN and potentially a 100-400L - never anything bigger/heavier.

And I don't want to spend all day constructing it and putting it away :)

And hopefully all under 500 notes please.

Can someone suggest a combination, breaking down each part I will need to order?

Not personally but I can happily say that for up to £500 notes you'll get a very decent set up :thumb:

lol, I'll take that as a "Go Chef, go!", but I'm still confused :|

500 notes will buy you a lot of tripod. If I had the cash I'd still probably go for a Manfrotto (given my experiences) but would definitely want something where I can reverse the centre column so as to get right down low to the ground -- or go for one of the Benbo Trekker series. As for heads, the Arca Swiss are well up there with the best and Kirk's ballheads are reckoned to be in the top drawer as well. I still like my joystick (ooh err missus!) option with the Manfrotto 222 head as it's quick and easy to manipulate. Really Right Stuff also do a series of heads well worth looking at. Carbon Fibre tripods I looked at and to be honest there wasn't much of a saving in weight, maybe half a pound (or was that half a kilo?) but you paid a lot for that saving so if you don't plan on trekking for miles on end you might want to save a few quid and put it into buying a better head. Also, worth noting if you are into your landscpe photography, it's worth picking up a tripod with a built-in spirit level either in the head or on the tripod body.

Manfrotto seconded here. I have a 055pro and it will do eexatly what you want although its a couple of kgs. Head currently is a ball head which I think might be getting replaced with a joystick head with a QR baseplate.

My setup cost 1/5th of what your prepared to spend.

I've got a carbon fibre Velbon tripod with a Manfrotto pistol grip head (which I might change at some point as it's a bit heavy). Think I paid about £150 for the lot, been using it for a couple of years, and it's been great :)

okay, that sounds good - landscape photgraphy is not my forte or preferred style even, but I don't want to regret not getting it right first time for the only tripod i'll potentially use.

... and if i don't have to spend 500 notes, all the better!

I have the Manfrotto 055b and 222 head bought from this very forum and its been great , a bit heavy but saves on Gym fees :D
Dont think you need to spend £500 though

okay, what about this gitzo G1278M
http://www.gitzo.com/webdav/site/gitzo/shared/products/G1278M/D0010_6c367673c66e53044779175e7b0d762e_L.jpg

and this gitzo G2220
http://www.gitzo.com/webdav/site/gitzo/shared/products/G2220/D0010_69f55a9eca944866f1bfc50fe9db64a0_L.jpg

£345 - that i've found so far

weighs 2.9kg and the head will support 6kg - that's plenty!

Don't get a ball head if your going to be pointing the lends at any angle other than horizontal.

I have a ball and I'm changing it, the lens just wouldn't stay where I wanted when I pointed my 70 - 200 skywards.

IMHO, nothing gets close to a setup like the following:
- Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fibre legs
Gitzo G1325 Mountaineer Mk2 Carbon Fiber Tripod Legs (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=2636&A=details&Q=&sku=145131&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation)

- Gitzo G1318 Center Column
Gitzo G1318 Carbon Fiber Rapid Center Column (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=details_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=170999&is=REG&addedTroughValue=145131_REG&addedTroughType=accessory_detail)

- ReallyRightStuff Ballhead (with pan fuction for panorama)
Really Right Stuff...for photography afield (http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/ballheads/index.html)

- ReallyRightStuff L-Plate
Really Right Stuff...for photography afield (http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/tutorials/L_plates/index.html)

I wouldn't buy a tripod with more than 3 leg sections because with 4 sections the tripod gets pretty unstable (but of course smaller when not in use). I personally prefer if the tripod leg joints needs to be turned to fix them (instead of clamps) because it gets you a better 'feel' on how tight the setup is.

I know this setup is pretty expensive but it will probably last you a lifetime and all plates, etc. are pro standard and aluminum (awesome quality!).

I own these Gitzo legs combined with a Arca Suisse Ballhead and a RRS L-Plate (which stays on the Canon 5D all the time) and am VERY happy with it. I actually never had the situation when I would have needed a center column (I shoot macro as well) with these legs. You could allways buy this column at a later. These legs spread almost horizontal on the floor.

-> rememeber that the best tripod is the one that you actually take along.

Hope this helps.. ;)

Don't get a ball head if your going to be pointing the lends at any angle other than horizontal.

I have a ball and I'm changing it, the lens just wouldn't stay where I wanted when I pointed my 70 - 200 skywards.

Really ? I've got a Manfrotto 222 and it's fine at an angle.

Another vote for the Manfrotto 055 pro b & 222 head :)

Manfrotto and Gitzo are the established top brands, but there are loads of good brands out there. You tend to get what you pay for, but carbon fibre is a waste of money in my view. The range is vast - take a look at Warehouse Express - Photographic Equipment, Camera Accessories and Lenses, Canon, Nikon Digital Cameras (http://www.warehouseexpress.com) for easy comparisons and good prices. But you really need to try stuff for yourself and WE is mail-order only.

I really like the handy tilting centre column that Gitzo do (see pic above) for getting down and dirty but my favourite tripod is the Manfrotto Neotec. It's very quick to set up, but not that light - good tripods are not light, helps stability, so get the missus in training :D

Heads are a different matter. You can stick any head on almost any tripod and although ball heads are popular (and the Manfrotto joy-sticks a clever adaption of that system) if I could only choose one, it would be a three-way pan-tilt jobbie where each movement is controlled independently. Maybe I'm just old fashioned. Manfrotto has a new and very light 3-way head with QR plate and that, stuck to my Neotec, is my tripod of choice.

You can of course spend a fortune on fancy heads. I don't see the need, but each to their own.

Oh, and if you shoot portrait style a lot, there are brackets to fit around the camera which allow you to shoot portrait or landscape mode without tilting the head, thus retaining optimum centre of balance. Good for heavy kit, and for really long lenses there are trick (expensive!) heads that make these monsters much more manageable.

Hope I haven't addded to the confusion ;)

Richard.

PS Edited to add that you can also get panoramic adjustment plates that sit under the head for perfect horizontal adjustment. Much easier than messing about with the legs on bumpy terrain. But I guess you have to be big into panormas to make this extra feature worethwhile.

Well said as always Hoppy :thumb:

One thing I would reinforce is that heads are a very personal thing, and only you can decide what suits you. If you can get yourself somewhere with a decent range of tripods and heads and have a feel to see which you get on with and for what & how you want to shoot. I made my decision on what worked for me at the Focus Live exhibition at the NEC, where Manfrotto had their full range of heads to play with :D

As Hoppy says a 3 way head has the advantage you can change one plane at a time, which is usefull if your subject moves slightly or to re-arrange a shot from landscape to portrait format. On the other hand the joystick heads, like my favourite the 322RC2, allow single handed adjustment in any plane :) Each to their own ;)

Don't dismiss Benro (http://www.benro.cn/). Do a search on photography-on-the-net for plenty of user reviews. I bought the C298 legs (http://www.benro.cn/Product/1/c298.html) and KJ-1 ball head (http://www.benro.cn/Product/2/kj2.html) and have been very pleased with them. I compared the legs to the Gitzo equivalent in B&H Photo the other day and you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart.

I think I paid about £200 all-in from this eBay shop (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/hkcarris_Tripod_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ2QQftidZ 2QQtZkm) and can recommend them. If you are in the market for a decent tripod and head, don't discount Benro - this review on The Luminous Landscape (http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/indiro413.shtml) is of a re-badged Benro, as far as I can tell. :)

Velbon AEF-3 for me. I recall paying double the price of some of the others because I wanted one that was solid and which could go down almost to ground level.

It was about 20 quid new.
















In about 1976. :cool:
Still used regularly, a bit bashed looking but no slack.

Personally... don't like ball heads, camera's always flopping over, and unstable when you're trying to adjust - I found it difficult to frame well, but maybe I'm a klutz!

Don't forget that most big glass has a tripod mount collar that rotates. I'd guess with the 100-400 you'll mount the lens on the 'pod, not the camera. All my tripod collars let you work with the collar slack, and just rotate the camera for portrait/landscape w/o the head ever moving.

I take it that you don't agree with this article then ;)

Digital Killed My Tripod (http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/digital-killed-my-tripod.htm)

Rather a pompous article !

He has a couple of reasonable points, and gets everything else wrong IMHO.

I guess panoramas aren't his thing, or multiple exposures. His street shot at 1/15th might have been a lot better at 10 seconds, or 10 minutes... who knows, he's not going to try...

I usually rate Ken Rockwell's articles on Nikon lenses as he's usually a very practical sort of guy but this article is full of bull**** IMHO. I'll not be giving up my tripod for a long while yet. For one thing, it slows me down and makes me think about what I'm shooting which I think is a good thing!

Lots to think about here :eek: and all very sensible and practical advice :) thanks :D

the three way head makes a lot of sense.

i will need to go to a camera shop to have a look at some of these.

Mr rockwell is talking sh*te too - it's taken me a *lot* of practice to get sharp images from my 1D, stance, bracing techniques, breathing - sharpness wise, nothing compared to putting the camera on a wall and using the 2sec timer ;)

even better with a tripod :D

i'm in Boston all week next week - anyone know any shops in that city?

Can't help with photo outlets ChefDude but enjoy Boston - I certainly did when I was there -- great city and friendly people. Can you sink a pint of Samuel Adams for me when you're there? :)