# Can you recommend a decent tripod?



## Kippa (Jul 6, 2012)

I got a basic cheap tripod which is alright for taking landscape photographs, but when I want to do portrait photographs the head mechanism that swivels 90% is shite.  I really need a more professional tripod but don't want to shell out uber ammounts of money.  Could you recommend me one to get?  Preferably I am looking for £100 or below.


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## weltweit (Jul 6, 2012)

I have a steel Manfrotto tripod. It was £100 - 150 iirc ... I think it is an 055 and it came with a tilt swivel head. It isn't perfect but I am reasonably pleased with it.


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## weltweit (Jul 6, 2012)

So my tripod is something like this:
http://www.manfrotto.co.uk/055-basic-tripod-black
and the head is like:
.. oh, they don't seem to list my head there ...


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## Citizen66 (Jul 6, 2012)

weltweit said:


> I have a steel Manfrotto tripod. It was £100 - 150 iirc ... I think it is an 055 and it came with a tilt swivel head. It isn't perfect but I am reasonably pleased with it.



I was gonna recommend the 055xprob - it's the one I intend on buying anyway.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-0...HPCO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341576503&sr=8-1


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## gamma globulins (Jul 6, 2012)

Do you mind me asking - why use a tripod for portraits? Surely it makes changing composition a slight ordeal?


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## weltweit (Jul 6, 2012)

gamma globulins said:


> Do you mind me asking - why use a tripod for portraits? Surely it makes changing composition a slight ordeal?


Good point gamma... I only use a tripod where shutterspeeds are low enough to demand it.


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## Kippa (Jul 6, 2012)

I take quite a few photographs from inside cathedrals.  When I shoot them landscape I have no problem, but when I come to shoot portrait and rotate the camera 90 degrees on its side I have problems with the current camrea hold keeping it in place perfectly at 90 degrees.  As for low shutter speeds I really do need very low shutter speeds as most cathedrals are dimly lit and I want to shoot at an iso of 100, for example in this photograph I was shooting for a long exposure of 10 seconds with an iso of 100 and an aperture of f18 as I wanted a deep depth of field with everything in focus:
http://fav.me/d50ufdd


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## weltweit (Jul 6, 2012)

Kippa said:


> http://fav.me/d50ufdd


Nice pic I can well imagine you need a good tripod for that.


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## cybertect (Jul 7, 2012)

My personal solution to that problem is 

Manfrotto 055B tripod

Markins Q20 ball head  http://www.markins.com/2.0/eng/products/ballheads/q20l.html

RRS Arca Swiss compatible L-plate http://reallyrightstuff.com/Product...BGE4-L:-L-Plate-for-5D-with-BG-E4-grip&key=it


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## George & Bill (Jul 7, 2012)

gamma globulins said:


> Do you mind me asking - why use a tripod for portraits? Surely it makes changing composition a slight ordeal?



I wondered that but I think he means portrait format rather than portraits of humans.

Any of the Manfrotto 055 series should work fine (the latest 'PRO-B' ones have the ability to mount the centre column horizontally), you could get one used on ebay with a decent 3-way head for well under £100.

I used to have one of these which are great for the money:

http://www.parkcameras.com/4434/Sli...oogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=pid4434


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## George & Bill (Jul 7, 2012)

cybertect said:


> My personal solution to that problem is
> 
> Manfrotto 055B tripod
> 
> ...



I'm sure you have your reasons, but I suspect that there are a select few photographers who could tell much practical difference between the Markins head and a Manfrotto at half the price...


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## cybertect (Jul 7, 2012)

You may well be right and there certainly are alternatives, especially if you have lighter kit than my 5D + grip + 70-200 f2.8L, which weighs in at nearly 3 Kg. The Q20 is rated to 50Kg (ideally you want your support to be rated two to three times the weight of the gear) and I figured I was going to buy a head that would last me lifetime and take anything I would ever want to throw at it - I shoot medium format film too and should I ever get a 6x7 camera like an RB67 or even graduate to 5x4 or 10x8, it will cope.

I paid a fair bit less than the price on the page for the head - the pound was stronger and I found a good deal at under £200. I picked up the L plate cheaply second hand. IIRC it cost me about £50.

The key element for Kippa's question of shooting portrait is the L plate, which necessitates an Arca compatible mount. It just makes it so easy to flip the camera body through 90 degrees while keeping the weight directly over the tripod's centrre column and gets over one of the limitations of a ball head.

That said, for architectural work, I've been considering getting a geared head, which is slower to operate, but allows much greater accuracy than a ball head.


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## Kippa (Jul 7, 2012)

I am tempted to get one that is ball head based.  My camrea has a built in digital gyroscope so I can tell if it is off by a little bit in case it needs altering.  Thanks for all the input, and yes I meant portrait as in format, not type of picture.


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## gamma globulins (Jul 8, 2012)

Kippa said:


> I am tempted to get one that is ball head based. My camrea has a built in digital gyroscope so I can tell if it is off by a little bit in case it needs altering. Thanks for all the input, and yes I meant portrait as in format, not type of picture.


 
Ah, all is clear. Good cathedral pic.


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## weltweit (Jul 8, 2012)

I have a buddy with a big plate camera. His tripod is very superior, first it has carbon legs and second it has built in spirit levels.


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## George & Bill (Jul 8, 2012)

cybertect said:


> You may well be right and there certainly are alternatives, especially if you have lighter kit than my 5D + grip + 70-200 f2.8L, which weighs in at nearly 3 Kg. The Q20 is rated to 50Kg (ideally you want your support to be rated two to three times the weight of the gear) and I figured I was going to buy a head that would last me lifetime and take anything I would ever want to throw at it - I shoot medium format film too and should I ever get a 6x7 camera like an RB67 or even graduate to 5x4 or 10x8, it will cope.
> 
> I paid a fair bit less than the price on the page for the head - the pound was stronger and I found a good deal at under £200. I picked up the L plate cheaply second hand. IIRC it cost me about £50.
> 
> ...



Fair play, I was going on the basis of the head being more or less the same in pounds as dollars, as things often annoyingly are - for £200 that looks like a mighty head and fairly competetive with other things you could get for the money.


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## RoyReed (Jul 9, 2012)

All the above are good tripods, but this one at about £110 (including 3-way head, quick release plate and carrying bag) is a very good buy: Camlink TPPRO28B Tripod


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## fractionMan (Jul 9, 2012)

I've got this tiny tripod that came free with a laser. Seems to work fine for night shots if you don't mind it being only six inches above the surface of whatever it's on.  Totally useless for portraits though.


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## neonwilderness (Jul 9, 2012)

I have a Benbo Trekker Mk2 which is ok.  The legs are very flexible which is useful for the type of shots that I do.  The basic ball head that I got with it isn't so good, it doesn't feel to secure with the weight of my camera (20D + 24-105) so I might look at replacing that at some point.

The Manfrotto one that has already been suggested was the alternative I was looking at before I bought this one.


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## weltweit (Jul 9, 2012)

Actually I just checked mine, it is a Manfrotto 055CLB tripod and a 141RC head.

The head is like this:


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## Kippa (Jul 9, 2012)

I went to Jessops and had a look at their tripod range. I took my camera with me and tried a few, in the end I went for the Jessops Major Carbon Fibre Tripod. :
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/76932/show.html
I tried my camrea vertically and looked at the in camrea gyroscope and it holds it rock steady perfectly, which I was really happy with (I use an EOS 7D which is quite heavy).
It was £129 but is now £84.99 and that is for the tripod body+head+carrying case, very happy with it. Thanks for all your input and help.


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## neonwilderness (Apr 24, 2014)

neonwilderness said:


> I might look at replacing that at some point.


Bit of a bump, but I've just taken delivery of a Manfrotto 055PROB with a 456MG head today.  Quite impressed with it so far, seems a lot more sturdy than my previous Benbo one.  

Hopefully I'll get a chance to try it out properly in the next few weeks, I don't think my kitchen really counts as a proper field test


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## weltweit (Apr 25, 2014)

I do find for the type of photography I do that I don't use my tripod that often. My favourite subjects are people and abstracts and for both of those hand holding is quite feasible.


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