"budget" tripod or spend 100$ on one?

[Brotage]

How much do you guys think I should spend on a tripod?

 

[Josh66]

If it were me, I'd be looking at about $200 - $100 for the legs, $100 for the head, to get started.

 

[usayit]

How much do you guys think I should spend on a tripod?

Depends.. how much is your equipment worth to yah? What is the max weight you intend to put on this tripod?

For lighter cameras... check out Bogen/Manfrotto digi-tripods. A listing on BH showed "systems" starting from $87 on up.

A listing on ebay showed a lot of choices between $100-$200.

 

[Brotage]

Well I only have a XTi and a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 blah blah blah something II. if things go well I would like to buy a nice telephoto lens (looking at the 70-200m f/4L) and a flash... I'm not sure how much all that would weigh.. maybe a couple pounds?

Heres the ones I've been looking at.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131427-REG/Slik_615_315_700DX_Pro_Tripod.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/439931-REG/Slik_613_338_Pro_340DX_Tripod_Black_.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/303600-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_718B_718B_Digi_Tripod_with.html

any favorites?

I like the 700DX because it looks normal compared to the ones I've used and It's getting a ton of perfect reviews.. but its pretty heavy. this could be a bit of a pain since it might throw me off while im skating somewhere.. but maybe not.

The 340DX says its support 8.8 lbs but in the review it says around 5 lbs.. and on the slik website it says 11 lbs. if it is less than I expect I don't wanna stick something on here and have it explode in to a million pieces.

The bogen ones... well.. you guys seem to swear by them

 

[Ls3D]

I just went from a $39 no name POS to a Slik 300DX ($120) and I'm very happy with it. My shop threw in a nice bag for 8 bucks! Of course I did drop over two grand the week before...

-Shea

 

[Josh66]

Heres the ones I've been looking at.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131427-REG/Slik_615_315_700DX_Pro_Tripod.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/439931-REG/Slik_613_338_Pro_340DX_Tripod_Black_.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/303600-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_718B_718B_Digi_Tripod_with.html

any favorites?

It appears that the Bogen is the only one that has a reversible center column (that might not matter to you, but it lets you get a lot closer to the ground), but I don't like the head it comes with. That gigantic handle sticking out looks like it would get in the way.

Either of the Sliks look like they'd be fine. The 340DX is shorter (by 10 inches) than the 700DX when folded. If you're going to be carrying it around a lot that might be a factor to consider.
The 700DX has the tallest max height (might not matter to you). I generally try not to raise the center column (it's less stable with it up), the 700DX doesn't give a spec for max height without center column extended...

So, out of those three - my favorite is the 340DX. It wins because it has a lower minimum height than the 700DX (my personal preference, I shoot low more than high), and it's more compact when folded.
I would not even consider the Bogen, only because I don't like the head it comes with. With a different head it would win.
Just because I would pick the 340DX doesn't mean it would be the best for you... I think you'll be fine with any of them. (But that is a pretty ugly head on the Bogen...)


-edit-
I just noticed that one of your original questions hasn't been answered yet...
The difference between a ball head and a pan/tilt head is this: A ball head can move in every direction all at once, a pan/tilt head only moves one direction at a time. Lots of people love the ball heads, but I prefer the pan/tilt heads. My take on it is that ball heads would be great for stuff that moves around a lot, pan/tilt is more precise in it's adjustments (you're only moving on one axis at a time), but slower.

 

[Ls3D]

FYI my Slik 300DX is reversible, so maybe the 340DX is as well.

-S

 

[Josh66]

FYI my Slik 300DX is reversible, so maybe the 340DX is as well.

-S

Only reason I mentioned that is because the spec sheet on the Sliks didn't say that they were reversible, so I wasn't sure. If the 300DX is, my money would say that all of them are.

 

[THORHAMMER]

my 115$ tripod is already falling apart after like only 15 months
the screws are coming loose and stuff like that, other then that its still good.
But then again Im using that thing a lot.. throwing it around and stuff too.

I bought one of those 30$ ones once, the plastic gears tore apart within 2 months of heavy use.

I also broke 2 plastic "video" tripods too within a month of each other.

The only thing I haven't been able to mess up is a 20 year old tiltall thats like a tank

seriously you can get them on ebay , get an old tiltall and you will never have issues, just its a little heavy and the legs can get stuck... on second thought just pony up the 200 and get something better

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Spend between $200-$300 if you never want to buy another one again. The head is just as important as the legs, if the head's not tight, than it doesn't matter what the legs are doing and vise-versa.

 

[Joves]

Well I have an older Slik U2000 and, it has been good for me. I hike alot so it has to be small and, light so I can tie it to my Camelback pack. The thing has actually taken a good amout of abuse and, is still living. I like the 700dx looks like it would work well for you.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Ive slain many men with my 3021 BPRO and 488RC4...

 

[JIP]

Now now you people let him alone. All of us found out buying our cheap tripods that you get what you pay for. Why should he save the $200+ we all spent on multiple cheap tripods before we realised what was good.

 

[Brotage]

I think im gonna get the 700DX, I don't see myself bring the tripod everywhere, so I don't think I need to spend so much on one.

I have to share this with you guys though. My mum and I went to best buy to look at tripods and some other stuff. So I thought I was past the stage where I got embarrassed when I was seen with my mum. However she managed to completely abolish this thought tonight. I really don't like stores when too many people are in them... It's Christmas, and we're in a big electronics store.. so it was packed. Anyway we found the tripods. they were all between 20-40$ and then a 175$ bogen (Which is also the 87$ one on B&H)
So mum proceeded to set up every single tripod they had on display (which was around 7) in a cramped isle. People didn't even come close to the isle. The guy that works in the camera section needed something from there for someone else and told them to wait until it was clear. This is when I peeked over the isles to see 2 of my friends. Disaster. I quickly scurried over to the guitar hero demo and started jamming. This didn't stop mum though, she proceeded yelling at me "Do you like this one? Or how bout his one!?" over a good section of the store. I did a fake look-around to give off a nice "I'm not related to her" look. She started walking towards me, much to my chagrin. I ran to her and tryed to disassemble the tripods as fast as I could. and leave the store. Fortunately the local camera store keeps theirs behind the counter.

 

[Ls3D]

:lmao: OMG, what a funny story! Malcom in the middle..

-Shea