Tripod help.

[Ballistics]

055XPROB,808RC4 Manfrotto 055XPROB Black Aluminum Tripod with 808RC4 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head, Maximum Height 76", Supports 12 lbshis is what ive come up with.

 

[patatedouce]

I want a tripod for both stills and video but I don't want to really spend over $200. The search continues.
055XPROB,808RC4 Manfrotto 055XPROB Black Aluminum Tripod with 808RC4 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head, Maximum Height 76", Supports 12 lbshis is what ive come up with.

Hi, I'm not an expert for photography nor about tripod but I own a Velbon Luxi L series and i'm very happy with it.
It's light, stable and good for travel or when you move a lot. You can shoot macro too (or maybe your video?) because the tripod can be set to a very low and high height. You can see the max size on the upper link.
I needed a lightweight because of the traveling since I do not own a car and walk a lot, and I a high height too because i'm tall, I was a bit tired to crouch.
You can choose a velbon tripod too here and I think that manfrotto or the others one has a similar or maybe better website to help you choose the tripod you need.
Unfortunately, the ball head I received with the tripod is not satisfying for me, it's a 'ok ok' ball head and I search one at the moment.
Hope it helps.

 

[Ballistics]

Weight isn't really a deciding factor for me. But the fact that the tripod can tilt and extend forward is pretty awesome.

 

[bazooka]

Negative. At least with the 322RC2, you can go a few degrees beyond portrait. If you have the plate mounted at the end of the handle (not the way it comes by default but just requires a screwdriver), it will go portrait in both directions. The default setup, which is what I use, will do portrait on the right side only (I don't know why it would matter, but just throwing this out there just in case). It's the only head I've used, but I like it and have no reason to upgrade to something more expensive.

What constitutes the extra $$$ when buying a tripod? I want to use it for not only shooting photos (sports and studio) but for video as well. How do I know what I want or what I should be looking for?

I'm far from an expert but I've been comparing modern tripods to my ancient tripod. I think one of the biggest changes and something I want is the ball head adjustment... Especially with a pistol grip. You just pull the trigger and it unlocks the head and you can swivel the camera in any direction. Then you just let go of the trigger and it locks in place.

Compared to my tripod where you have to loosen like 15 knobs just to tilt the thing. :lmao:

I am under the impression that pan and tilt has it's benefits as well. You can't tilt the camera to portrait orientation on a ball head I believe.

 

[Ballistics]

Negative. At least with the 322RC2, you can go a few degrees beyond portrait. If you have the plate mounted at the end of the handle (not the way it comes by default but just requires a screwdriver), it will go portrait in both directions. The default setup, which is what I use, will do portrait on the right side only (I don't know why it would matter, but just throwing this out there just in case). It's the only head I've used, but I like it and have no reason to upgrade to something more expensive.

I'm far from an expert but I've been comparing modern tripods to my ancient tripod. I think one of the biggest changes and something I want is the ball head adjustment... Especially with a pistol grip. You just pull the trigger and it unlocks the head and you can swivel the camera in any direction. Then you just let go of the trigger and it locks in place.

Compared to my tripod where you have to loosen like 15 knobs just to tilt the thing. :lmao:

I am under the impression that pan and tilt has it's benefits as well. You can't tilt the camera to portrait orientation on a ball head I believe.

very interesting! But is that a ball head?