what are some key points/features to look for in a tripod?
what is the price range for beginner, amateur and professional tripods?
what kind of tripod do you have and what do you use it for?

I have a crap-pod right now; I think it's a targus. I received it as a gift and it holds my camera still, so I guess it's not that bad. I do have to unscrew several things just to swivel the camera around though so that kind of sucks. Once again it all comes down to budget for me.

what are some key points/features to look for in a tripod?

Things to look for are cylindrical legs, no stamped metals in other shapes like hexagons or squares or god forbid three sided/open designs. Aluminum or carbon fiber are preference and budget issues, wood is also favored by some but ergonomics with some of those is mixed. Look for a tripod with solid locking mechanisms and easy to use adjustments/tightening bolts if necessary. The number of depends on how compact you want it. more sections make it shorter when closed up but less stable when extended. I recommend something that puts the camera as close to your eye level as possible when fully extended without using the center post. It's nice to be able to get close to eye level when you want it without reducing stability by using the center post.

As far as heads go, it really depends on what you like. Pan tilt heads are affordable, effective and solid. Ballheads are better IMO but the inexpensive ones aren't worth it. I prefer ballheads that run you at least $200, they aren't cheap.

what is the price range for beginner, amateur and professional tripods?
You can get beginner aluminum tripod legs for under $100, in fact you can get whole tripod kits including a head for around $100 that aren't half bad (I'd have to look but I recall a Calumet model that looks to be a Bogen ripoff). Amateur or midlevel tripod kits are generally still aluminum and in the $100-250 range with head depending on legs and head type, among other things. Most amateurs I know look to budget between $150 and 200 max, but again those calumet legs aren't a bad way to go (probably made by bogen in fact). If an amateur is looking to go with something like carbon fiber you can pretty much double that $200-250 to cover the legs and a head. Generally speaking I consider beginner pods to be basic and light weight aluminum legs while amateur are decent but not expensive aluminum leg based tripods and amateur IMO doesn't really include the better ball heads.

Pro legs vary a lot, and depend on type, size, features and materials. I'd loosely say they start at around $300 for some of the improved aluminum legs.

what kind of tripod do you have and what do you use it for?
I have the Gitzo G1257 legs which were around $485 and a Markins M10 ballhead which was around $330. I also use Kirk plates which add a few hundred to that total as well. I use it primarily for hiking around and shooting nature/landscapes but also for macro photography support.

Arca Swiss style plates are great because they can come custom fitted for various lenses or camera bodies (most people buy plates from Kirk or Really Right Stuff) and they make mounting and working with things a lot smoother and easier IMO.

For a beginner or an amateur on a budget I would recommend Bogen legs and Bogen pan tilt heads. Gitzo legs are the next step up in quality and price, generally speaking. There are plenty of other brands out there but these are the only ones I've ever really felt the desire to own or use. Bogen and Gitzo also make a handful of "ok" affordable ballheads.

Amusingly, Bogen and Gitzo are both part of the same company these days.

Slik & Velbon both make affordable options for beginners or amateurs.

They've always fallen apart for me, unfortunately. My father has one of those two, and they've been slowly disassembling themselves over the years, sometimes in ways that require glue to put them back together.

I've been in the market for a tripod for some time. I'm using a POS Sunpak I got with some BestBuy money I had. It's basically about the worst tripod you could spend money on.

Here's a good article regarding tripods:
http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

Basically, it states that if you're serious about photography, you'll end up with a high dollar tripod eventually, and you might as well buy a nice one to start with. Sounds good, but who has $1000+ to blow on a tripod when they are starting out? Not me.

I've been looking at the Bogen 190x Pro legs with a ballhead that takes arca-swiss plates. That way I can at least buy some nice Gitzo legs later and not have to switch from the Bogen plates. Haven't decided on a ballhead yet.

Originally Posted by LateApex

Basically, it states that if you're serious about photography, you'll end up with a high dollar tripod eventually, and you might as well buy a nice one to start with. Sounds good, but who has $1000+ to blow on a tripod when they are starting out? Not me.

He's pretty much right. I have a couple of friends who have gone down the same path as I have. Eventually you'll get fed up with something about the cheaper tripods, you'll need a new component or something else will happen and you'll just jump feet first in to the $1000 tripods. It's well worth it, I'm glad I did it and I would 100% do it over again.

My new setup weighs less than half what my first aluminum bogen tripod with pan tilt head did (which itself was around $220).

here's my personal outlook on tripods:
1)don't buy anything with plastic parts
2) buy a halfway decent head and "bare" legs over kick ass legs and a crap head.
3) spend whatever it takes to make you like your tripod so you'll actually use it. ie you need a sexy head to take it with you, spend the extra $$$ to you will do it... Tripods are of ZERO value if you don't use them.

that said I still have my first tripod I ever bought. It's 13 years old and still works perfect. It's an old bogen with no feature. The screw style leg locks and a simple center head that just goes up/down, nothing more. It's a 3211 (not made any more) I think. I also had a 3 way head on it that SUCKED. Get a ball head with a QR (quick release) plate. Inexpensive heads are OK, just make sure they can hold roughly twice your camera weight (otherwise if you're close to the limit they creep).

Now I've owned a reallyrightstuff BH-40 and sold it for an acratech. The acratech is lighter and has more holding power and is easier to setup... For less money too, but it's not as sexy... Also "swiss" style plates are awesome, get them if you can afford them. Also if you can get an L bracket as it's so nice for setting everything up (but $100 just for a bracket...) I also have a new gitzo carbon set of legs. Work bought them for me (I'd never spend that much $$$) and they are pure sex. My current legs+head+plate are easily $1,000+ and there is a difference... But only in speed and easy to carry. Same function as my previous ~$150 setup... So start with that and work up. I still use my old legs for studio work (swapping my head onto it) Just make sure you spend a little extra for something with a QR plate and that will hold you system... If not it's worthless (anything with plastic).

Ben

Originally Posted by emorphien

Amusingly, Bogen and Gitzo are both part of the same company these days.

yeah, the only difference?
warranties!
gitzo is lifetime, but you pay for it...

Aside from the speed/ease of adjusting my ballhead and the convenience of my kirk L brackets, my new tripod does everything the old one did for at least 5x the price.

The difference? I'll carry it anywhere and it isn't a heavy PITA to carry around.

Ben is exactly right, spend whatever you have to spend, but buy a tripod you'll actually carry with you. I've received comments from old friends and some profs that I'm carrying around quite a nice tripod, but the next thing most of them say is that it's only worth it when you carry it with you. A lot of people want to leave their heavy tripods at home or in the car. My old setup was around 9 pounds, my new one is just barely over four. It makes a huge difference.

I quickly went from a $20 WalMart crap-od, to an Amvona, to two carbon Gitzos (1227 for general use, and 1325 for my Sigmonster), and one ballhead, the Acratech UBH V2. Just this weekend I bought a Joby Gorillapod SLR Zoom model for when I want to travel very light, and be inconspicuous; apparently using tripods in DC is a dicey proposition

The good thing about cheap tripods is that even when you do outgrow them, they can still be used for other things, like holding flashes, reflectors, foam boards, etc., so starting cheap isn't really a waste of money.

If it's really cheap, then it's not a waste of money. But if you want something just to hold flashes, a $200 midrangeish pod is overkill.

I need to get a $30 tripod or two for mounting stuff.

are the gorilla pods good? do they lose their ability to hold a shape after time?

I've been interested in those Gorilla pods too. I have the previous "hot item" portable tripod, the Ultrapod II (I think that's the name) but the Gorilla pods look like a nice replacement.

Originally Posted by distorto

are the gorilla pods good? do they lose their ability to hold a shape after time?

I'd like to know too, but having just bought it, I have no idea yet.

Having tried it tonight, it's just strong enough for a 5D and 70-200 f/4 IS L. I'd actually prefer if it were stiffer. I'll see how it does with my ballhead attached, seeing that attaching it directly to the 5D makes it hard to adjust/level out.

Sounds like a no go for my camera.

Originally Posted by emorphien

Sounds like a no go for my camera.

1D series? Yeah, probably not. I don't have mine here, but I doubt it would hold a 1D series with more than some short, light lens, like a 50/1.4, if that.

oh, another thing, make sure you make it easy to carry the tripod too. Strap, bag, whatever it takes to make it easy. Personally I have the Optech tripod trap:
http://optechusa.com/product/detail/...&CATEGORY_ID=7
and it's super easy/fast to use. I end up with it over one shoulder and the camera bag over the other. Bandalero style because that's how I roll...

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

oh, another thing, make sure you make it easy to carry the tripod too. Strap, bag, whatever it takes to make it easy. Personally I have the Optech tripod trap:
http://optechusa.com/product/detail/...&CATEGORY_ID=7
and it's super easy/fast to use. I end up with it over one shoulder and the camera bag over the other. Bandalero style because that's how I roll...

It's funny, I used one of those on my aluminum Bogen (and it still got uncomfortable), but I don't have one for my Gitzo and I've yet to find myself wanting one.

how do you carry it then? Over the shoulder?

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

how do you carry it then? Over the shoulder?

Frequently I do that, otherwise I just carry it normally. It seriously isn't enough weight for me to pay it much mind. If I'm going a long ways I have been known to tangle a tripod up in my bag straps so I don't have to hand carry it.

yeah, I'm using shoulder bags or the chest mount mostly now, so the tripod NEEDs it's own strap. I'm not a big fan of hand holding anything though so that's why I have the strap. Honestly I got it back when I broke my pelvis as I was on crutches and NEEDED something... I got so used to it then that I make sure I have one on any legs I plan on carrying...

this was me on crutches with camera gear (look close, I'm only using the chest bag, the one that looks like it's in my right hand is someone behind me. Ignore my goofy ass facial expression... ):

For my 1227 (or is it the 1257? don't remember) I use the Think Tank Bazooka: http://www.thinktankphoto.com/ttp_product_Bzka.php

The Tamrac Expedition 6 I have also has a clean way to strap a tripod to it.

One day I got the bug to go to the beach to shoot birds, surfers, and jet skiers. Had the Sigmonster in the Lowepro Lens Trekker 600AW (it's not much smaller than my torso), 1DMKIIN attached, with the Gitzo 1325 and Bogen 3421 strapped to the side... all of this, on my back, riding down the interstate on my bike. Yeah, it would've been a bad scene had I crashed. Anyways, got there, got some good shots, made it home. wish I had a pic of me on the bike. Probably scared some people with my rocket launcher :P

I'd like something like that thinktank that's hard cased and doesn't extend. Good for travel.

I just bought my first tripod combo a few weeks ago, for a trip that was going to be a lot of hiking, so I wanted something fairly lightweight, but I had almost no budget left at that point I went to a local camera store to fondle the wares (and choke at the prices) and I ended up being very impressed with the feel and build of Induro brand tripods and heads. What I ended up doing was splurging a bit on the head and got the Induro INDM01 DM-01 Ballhead for like $176


And then I couldn't afford the legs I wanted, which would have been the Induro c-series probably C014 which weighs 2.3 lbs and can support 8.8. Instead I cheaped out and got the aluminum A014 for $90 that weighs 2.6 lbs and can support 5.5. That's sort of borderline what I was at with a 20D, lens and the ballhead, but the legs performed fine. I'll replace them if I notice any creeping, but I guess if they work fine I won't bother

As a bonus, the Induro legs come with their own carrying case, or you can just clip the strap onto them, which I found nice for hiking; I don't like to hold on to anything.

Weight handling is usually less a matter of slipping/creeping if they are designed well, but being able to handle vibrations.

let us know how that enduro holds up. I've heard a lot of good things about the cheap knock offs that they are actually a decent value. Not as nice as the $$$ stuff, but for what you pay they are better than most of us would think.

Originally Posted by mkfotos

For my 1227 (or is it the 1257? don't remember) I use the Think Tank Bazooka: http://www.thinktankphoto.com/ttp_product_Bzka.php

rrrfggrrgg nobody has these in the area, or in Cincinnati

Yeah, I think thinktank has had some supply issues lately. I ordered a belt and lens case 2 months ago and finally got the call 2 days ago that it was in... Not sure if they're getting them made overseas or what, but their stuff can be hard to track down which can be annoying.

Have you tried calling all their online retailers? I ordered my recent lens case at Penn Camera. My original was from thinktank direct.

I intend to call their retailers later today. I'm at the airport now, but if I can get a thinktank before I leave Cincinnati next thursday I might, otherwise I'll have a retailer ship it to me in Rochester.

It's getting tiresome taking the head off my tripod each time and putting both back in their original boxes so I can travel with them (although the Gitzo box may provide more protection than the ThinkTank Bazooka does!)

Wait, how are you traveling with it?
Airplanes as checked baggage?

I just sling mine over my shoulder on it's strap. Never had a problem.
I put it in the overhead bin once I get to my seat.

Well the problem for me is that I carry my camera & computer in two bags because I mostly fly on small planes where a combo camera-computer bag won't fit as carry on (camera in overhead, computer under the seat in front of me). My camera bag alone needs to be firmly shoved in to the overheads to fit. I don't think they'll take kindly to me taking the bazooka on as a third.

How stiff/firm is this case?

What are you bringing that's so big? My Stealth reporter 650 fits under the seat in front of me with 4 lenses (12~24mm, 24~70mm, 70~200mm, and a TS-E) 2 bodies, 2 TCs and it could still have a laptop (I load it with magazines that are the same size). Then I just have the tripod with that...

Is this for work or for fun?

I take that bag with me on vacations even and load with with all my camera gear and any vacation/flying type crap I need/want (gameboys, GPS, PSP, flashlight, leatherwussy, etc) and it still fits under the seat as one bag.

I'm just wondering what you're doing that you need more gear than that? Lights or something like that?

You could also just pack your tripod in with you clothes in whatever bag you check. They'll pad it sufficiently. I then wire tie any checked bags shut. That way I know if they've opened it so I need to verify everything is there or not. With the normal TSA approved. locks you don't know if they've opened it until it's too late usually (excited to be there I leave the airport to get home/to the hotel, open the bag, see the note, then see that something is missing).

$.02
YMMV
Ben

It's all for fun/family vacation.

Like I said, small planes. My Stealth Reporter 650 would never fit in these planes with a laptop. The bag I use is just wide/deep enough to hold my 1D with L plate (which makes it 1/4" wider) and it barely fits in the overheads. The under seat spacing under the Canadair jets is a little bigger but not enough for my 650.

When travelling with my 650 I'd usually carry my 1D Mk II, 17-40 4L, 70-200 2.8, 50 1.5, 100 2.8 USM macro, 2x tc, 550EX, and assorted stuff including batteries, MP3 player, point & shoot and finally my laptop. But that would be travelling by car, because I rarely find myself on planes big enough for such a bag.

I do pack my tripod with my clothes right now because I can't bring it on board. If my 650 would fit I'd take that and the tripod as my carry ons. I know someone who got screwed out of taking his 650 on one of these jets so I haven't even wanted to try it.

yeah, sorry, I missed the whole part about small planes.
That does make it a lot harder.
Do they allow more (smaller) carry ons then?

Could you do something where the 2 bags go into on larger bag (that's still carry on legal but doesn't fit) to get to the gate, then once on the plane the parts go where they fit? Also do they allow you to stash the tripod in the forward lockers? I've seen fly rods get stashed up front before and the person had 2 other bags... Just trying to think outside the box and throwing ideas out. Also before you rush out and grab a 5D, make sure you see Idjiit's review on NASIOC.

Ben

If I could take the tripod on as a third, or strap it on to my shoulder bag and act like it's all part of one deal that might work. Right now I disassemble my head from my tripod, box them, and put them in my duffel bag surrounded by clothes. My tripod won't fit in my rolling suitcase so I have to use my duffel bag. My duffel bag isn't stiff so I use the original boxes to protect the gear. The problems cascade!

I'd be carrying 4 things with the tripod in the Bazooka rather than 3, but in the end it would be an easier setup to travel with. Most of the time it doesn't seem like the tripod would be a problem to cram in to the overheads with everything else.

Idjiit sounds like he's never used a full frame 35mm camera before. Or even a larger format! eek

The difference between 1.3 and 1x isn't that big IMO. When I switched from 35mm to the 1.3x 1D Mark II it was not much of an adjustment. Personally, I'd like to keep my 1D and own a 5d. Graduate school doesn't pay that well though.

so how stiff is the bazooka?

So for say ~$200 what should I look for? The biggest things I like are the levels (makes setting up SO much easier) and the ball heads, which are new to me. Weight is not my biggest concern at this point. I am looking to pick one up over the next few days

Edit: AH! I just found you can buy a leveling plate to mount between the tripod and the head. Is that the best route to go if you can't afford th euber oontzy ball head with level?

I have the Bogen 055XPROB/488RC2 combo and love it; BH sells it as a package for ~$250 IIRC

This looks cool too: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...rit_Level.html

The level is really important to me so...

either the legs or the head on what I have has the level.. it's in my trunk and I can't remember which.. I think the legs

but a shoe mount level is probably an even better idea because it will be very difficult to level the ballhead without one.

Originally Posted by user errors

but a shoe mount level is probably an even better idea because it will be very difficult to level the ballhead without one.

Yeah, sounds like the way to go for me

Originally Posted by MK19

The level is really important to me so...

Originally Posted by user errors

but a shoe mount level is probably an even better idea.

yep:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...rit_Level.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ar_Bubble.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Flash_Hot.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...rit_Level.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...xis_Flash.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Hot_Shoe.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...lash_Shoe.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Flash_Hot.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Flash_Hot.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Hot_Shoe.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...sory_Shoe.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Flash_Hot.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Flash_Hot.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ble_Level.html

A very easy way to level the camera if you're too cheap for a hotshoe level is to use the focus points as a guide on the horizon, like 'rest' two points that are across from eachother on the waterline or whatever.

*cough* rule of thirds *cough*

*cough* I move it a little after that and use the lower points or hte higher ones *cough* 40d's live view had grid lines *cough*

yeah *cough* I've got gridded screens in both my bodies.

*cough*mythroathurts*cough*