I know there’s a number of budding photographers on the site, hopefully someone can help out here. The wife wants a tripod, and I could use one for work as well. I was actually thinking about a unipod for it’s ease of transport and setup… just faster and easier.
What should I be looking for? or what are you guys using? My main thoughts are, it’s got to be easy to fold and carry since my wife will be carrying it and will most likely be chasing our toddlers at the same time.
anyways, any recomendations, or good places to look would be appreciated
Tripods have different heights…stop past a best buy and you’ll more than likely find 4 different size variations…all depends on what type of photoshooting she will be doing…although a 59" will do fine since they have adjustable heights. The one i have is a 59" and its pretty small once collapsed…i have no trouble transporting my 2 digitals…my oldschool film…and my camcorder all at once.
Whatever you get, make sure it is easily collapsable…some are much simpler (ie one handed) than others. Most are pretty lightweight, self-leveling, etc. You shouldn’t have to pay more than 40 or so for a nice one.
That all depends on what you plan on putting on it. the amount of weight it can hold is very important. One of those ones for under $40 you find at Ritz are garbage and probably barely hold up some larger P&S and are not very sturdy.
If you want a decent one but not over priced look at Amvona.com
I got my tripod from there for $90 and it has a max load capacity on teh head of about 12lbs. The tripod itself is extremely strong and doesnt wobble at all with my 1DMKII and 500mm lens on it.
This is the one I got
these are the Legs I got http://www.amvona.com/?page=shop/flypage&view=1&product_id=2474
They dont have the head on there anymore I use. Got it a few years back.
manfrotto tripods are awesome. I spent a little bit more on mine because tripods last forever.
Silk tripods are also a good bang for their buck.
www.bhphotovideo.com is a good site to buy from online. I bought my tripod legs from ritz, saved like $20. But I bought my tripod head from a local photography store and paid $20 more than b&h. I just wanted the piece of mind knowing what I was getting is exactly what I wanted.
Head over to the photography store on the northside. Sorry I don’t remember the name. They are really friendly and offer a student discount, didn’t ask for any ID when I went.