Can someone recommend me a tripod?

I use a Canon 30D, with battery pack and sometimes a big lens, so fairly heavy.

I have a shitty tripod at the moment, does the job but can wobble a bit in wind etc.

Not looking to spend a lot of money, so nothing too fancy.

Fairly lightweight, and foldable (smaller the better) but don't need CF!

Available in the UK too would be an advantage

Ta!

 

[QUOTE=AquilaEagle,Jan 21 2007, 08:07 AM] Can someone recommend me a tripod?

I use a Canon 30D, with battery pack and sometimes a big lens, so fairly heavy.

I have a shitty tripod at the moment, does the job but can wobble a bit in wind etc.

Not looking to spend a lot of money, so nothing too fancy.

Fairly lightweight, and foldable (smaller the better)

 

Check out the Bogen 3001 leg and 486rc2 head and see if those specs match what you're looking for.

 

Norm has some good self-examination questions. IMO, the cheapest tripod that would do it for me was a Bogen 3021Pro (maybe $175 for the legs). I love the cross-bar ability. I used a series of super-cheap tripods in my youth and they are all instruments of torture. I found reasons not to take them along.

I personally like the Bogen leg flip-clamps. Others swear by friction collar style clamps but they are not fast enough for my taste.

I have not found "the" ball head to recommend. I'm thinking about the smaller Markins or Kirk. I'm using the Bogen RC2 with their quick release (QR) and it is cheap but barely adequate. My two negatives -- it has almost no drag control (either free or stopped) and it moves a bit when locking up. When I do tripod work I try to frame my shots exactly and a little motion can be frustrating. The Bogen QR works okay but you have to keep tightening the mechanism.

I have an older Linhof QR that locks up like a bank vault but the base plates are no better than Bogens at resisting twist (prefer the Arca-Swiss custom-to-the-body) and the edges are so sharp it hurts when the camera bounces on my chest!

Another tiny detail most people don't mention, get a camera strap with quick-releases, IMO. I hate having the full strap hanging off the camera when I'm doing tripod work but I also refuse to handle my bodies off the tripod without a strap (I'm too butterfingered).

 

I've been looking at legs and heads lately too. I like the Bogen 3021Pro because of the horizontal bar as well. Alot of people on the photo forums ar suggesting the Markins, Kirk or RSS ball heads. I'm still up in the air about which ball head to get.

 

I'm looking into a better tripod as well. I'm still stuck with my crappy $10 tripod that came with my camera.

 

I have the exact same system you have.

I purchased a Slik Pro 700 DX Tripod (legs only) from B&H for $84 and then I got a Slik AF2100 pistol grip ball head. The tripod will hold 15 # and the ball head will hold over 10#. I bought my ballhead on ebay for $39. The whole thing weighs 7.5 lbs but is rock steady. For what I do, I can't see spending $400++ on a tripod when this slik has such good reviews. Good Luck

 

ive been using a $30 tripod from walmart... mx2000.. Not the best, but im very happy with it for the price. Just havent shelled out the money for a really nice tripod yet.

 

Thanks guys. I'll do some self examination first, sounds fun that

 

All I'd say Ian is don