Camera Labs

'Scuse my ignorance on this, but I've just got a gorillapod and like the fact you can hang it almost anywhere....the one thing I think it needs is a quick adjustment facility to get my camera pointing EXACTLY where I want it to!

I'm looking to get a 484rc2 ballhead to achieve this, but one thing I've noticed while looking on the 'Tripods and Mountings' section for info is there seems to be constant reference to 'unstable' tripods everywhere....

Now, I've got a 'tuppence ha'penny' tripod from when I got my old Canon G2 and I've set up my 450D on it......and it seems rock steady to me!!

I can only assume you guys must mean the tripods are unstable when left alone (unattended) and in a VERY strong wind, as in up a mountain or near the seafront etc....

Whenever I've used my tripod, it's just to eliminate hand-held camera shake, and means I'm right next to it anyway and I only let go for the 2 sec counter to activate.....if this is the type of use I always intended to use one for, surely most tripods will suffice wont they?

My one gripe with my cheap n cheerful 'pod, is it's a bit of a fiddle to make small adjustments to get the camera 'level' on uneven surfaces and requires me to slacken off one or sometimes two legs of the pod to get it level for the shot.

For this reason, I'm looking to get a head & stand seperately....

I must be missing something though....please enlighten me

I'm using a cheap tripod too. There is a slight play in the mechanisms if I press the shutter on the body. This is ok for shorter focal lengths, but can introduce a tiny bit of wobble at longer ones. So to work around it I used to have to use the 2 second delay to allow any movement to diminish. More recently I got a cable release which gets around that altogether

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

I have two of these cheaper tripods that are found everywhere. They do the job, but they have a limit. For close-up/macro work, they are fine. For some outdoor shots they are okay. They are fine for the casual, in the house family shots.

But for long-exposures, night photography, and shorter shutters, they don't cut it for me. The mechanism behind some of them is quite weak, and when tilting the head, you can get really frustrated by sudden drops and/or jumpy tilts/movements.

Of course, the up-side for me is that they are extremely light weight. My more "intense" tripod is quite heavy and big. It's primarily an in-studio tripod, but it's very sturdy, very secure, and very smooth to use.

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no, they aren't ALL fairly stable. Some are just plain cheap and crap, and are intended for COMPACT cameras, NOT DSLR's.

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I've upped my Iso, now up yours.
Nikon D700, Nikon D80, Micro Nikkor 105 f2.8 AI-S,Nikon 85mm 1.8D, Nikon 50mm 1.8D, Nikon 35mm F2D, Nikon 16-35 f4 VR, Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 AF-S, Nikon 70-200VRII, Nikon 70-300mm VR, 300mm f2.8 AI IF ED, SB-800, SB-900. Noiseware pro,NIK Dfine, Nik Colour Effex, Nik Sharpener Pro

Check out Thom Hogan's article Tripods and Ball Heads.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Oh, I dare say some are quite crappy, I must've been lucky with my cheapie I guess If I remember right, it was only about 15-20 quid from Argos....

I'm wondering what cheapish legs to go with ballhead I have in mind, bearing in mind my rather undemanding requirements.....any suggestions on make/model?

Thanks

Well my take on it would be from the same book of "Bob Andersson" you get what you pay for. The cheap and cheer-full are fine for standard landscapes and group shots with minimal movement with camera attached horizontally. But when you need a flip head or shots with a prime lens attached weight and lenght of lens would be a big problem for balance and security etc.....

I think we all pay the bit extra for quality of build, sure the lower end tripods will be fine when you but them at first but 12/24 mths done the road the "plastic joints" etc will wear out and snap off thats where the $$$$$$ comes into play....and TBH you can get a really good tripod for good money that are made just aswell as the BIG BRANDS..if you look around

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Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

Bob/Wonda Boy

I appreciate what you're saying and agree that if you're serious about photography (or whatever your hobby/profession is...) always get the best most expensive you can afford!

But for someone like me, just starting out on the hobby (which is all it is for me....) and not knowing if I'm still going to be into it in five-ten years from now, I can't justify to the missus spending hundreds of pounds on a tripods when perfectly functional gear is available for a fraction of the cost, I'm not talking about 10-quid stuff here - more like £50, I'm sure anything at that price range is going to be pretty decent for what I want!

If I really take to it and it becomes my No1 obsession - I would then start saving to get that sort of gear....and put my cheaper stuff on fleabay

Mine's cheap and crappy leaving me less than cheerful. It does the job but it needs to be left a while for the vibrations to settle after I've touched the camera or tripod. There is some play in the locking mechanism and the camera tends to droop downwards after a while. Also, the tripod can't hold the camera steady in the portrait orientation.

So watch out for all of these.

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Graham
Flickr

I think you are missing my point.....I am more or less in the same boat as you, the gear I have I cannot afford to buy in europe. I got my L lens and 580EX II flashgun for 550 euro combined!!!!!! When in this **** country the cheapest I could get the L lens for was €899 and the 580 flash was €499.00.

I dont have money to blow on a tripod, the tripod I got lastweek was a bargain €60 and is manufactuered to the same standard as the monfrotto that was beside it with ALL the same functions...and the SILK tripod I got received top reviews in a number of high end camera mags....and would be even cheaper in the UK I would wager

http://www.sliktripod.co.uk/pages/able300dx.html

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Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

I bought a hamastar tripod on amazon for £16 and I think its great Lol

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Gear: Sony a700! || CZ 16-80mm! || Sony 75-300 || bag: Crumpler PB xxxl / Lowepro slingshot 200

I literally bought a $9 tripod and it holds my DSLr great and, when used with a self timer, doesn't wobble at all.

Just a word of warning:
You can see my tripod in my sig. You can look it up. It is not cheap and it was tested well and it feels stable.
When I did my last lens reviews shooting the dreaded Siemens-star at 200mm with the combined weight of lens+body at around 2kg I had to use mup (=mirror-up) to get critically sharp shots
You might say that comes from my pixel-peeping, or perhaps depends on the tripod-collar (there are well documented cases of weak tripod-collar). All I can say: That system was not stable enough.
((and what is it good for to buy the sharpest lens for hundreds of dollars if you can't keep it still ))

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses