 Stephanie Meyer |
Need a Tripod for a Nikon D70s I need a Sturdy tripod for my Nikon D70s.. I am utterly confused about all my options. I need something good and sturdy but I don't want to spend too much on it... I want to use it for low light, stills and nature.. Any suggestions... I don't have a lot of tripod expierence so I am asking all of you that do. I had one once but it was a wal mart special very unsturdy and my camera slanted down on it.. That is what I don't want... Thanks for all the help
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Mark Feldstein |
Well Steph, you can get good or you can get cheap, but you can't get a good AND cheap tripod. Why don't you tell us your budget;whether you want a ball head and quick release set-up on it; how heavy and help us narrow the field. You can buy one now, good, solid, sturdy and one you can grow into never having to replace it or you can just buy one every couple of years until you've got a closet full of tripods you that you outgrew or that broke down for one reason or another.
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Stephanie Meyer |
ok thats what I am confused about the ball head and quick release... I would rather it not be extremely heavy and I really was looking at around $70 to $120. but I don't know what is expensive for a tripod. I'll prob buy from bhphoto I don't want to have to end up replacing it but I can spend like 2 or 300 dollars either
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Pete H |
Hello Steph, A question you might ask yourself is "what will be the primary use of the tripod?" If it is to shoot self portraits etc with shutter speeds over about 1/60th, just about anything will work. From 1 sec up to a 60th, you'll need something better. For long exposures, 1 sec to several minutes, you'll want something still better. You mentioned you don't want something heavy. Hmm? I see this mistake made over and over by many people. One can not argue with physics. If it's heavy, it's probably a stable platform. You will be amazed at the end effects of a poorly made tripod..(i.e) blurry pics. Causes: The longer the shutter is open, the better the chance for vibrations to enter into the equation. The old saying "you are only as strong as the weakest link" holds true. A great tripod head is useless with wobbly legs...Reverse is equally true. Another truism: The more you extend the height of a tripod, the less stable it will be. I learned much when I was building telescopes and mountings concerning dampening. My best advice is to get a tripod that you can at least hang weights from, usually below the center column. The head should be "dampened" from vibration. This is generally accomplished via some form of shock absorbing material between the head and tripod support structure. Again, if you are keeping the shutter speeds up, it really doesn't matter. Final thought: I've seen and used the newer carbon fiber legs..yep, lightweight indeed and expensive, but not a good vibration damper. Obviously trekking in the wilderness with a 12 lb tripod isn't too practical, so some tradeoffs and sacrifices need to be made. All the best, Pete
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Stephanie Meyer |
Ok I want it for long exp.... So I can deal with heavy because I don't want blurry. But What is the best kind of head?
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- Dennis Flanagan Contact Dennis Flanagan Dennis Flanagan's Gallery |
I recommend going to a specialty camera shop and looking at what they have and asking questions. Like Mark told you, buy cheap, you get cheap. I am guilty of a closet full of unused tripods. I like the ball head simply for ease of use since I don't have to turn three seperate knobs to move my camera. One disadvantage to a ball head to shooting panorams since you can't simply pan the camera side to side and keep the exact level plane. Slik makes a very good tripod with the quick release for $80 something that would probably fit all your needs.
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Scott H. |
I bought one of the tripods sold by Amvona on Ebay for about $80. It has a ball head with a pistol-type grip, is very sturdy, a bit heavy, but is a very, very nice, well-made tripod. I can put my 3 lb. D50 and Tokina 100-300 lens combo with no movement or droop at all.
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