Tripod question

darkpbstar · May 28, 2008

ok so I have no tripod, and am looking to buy one. I saw one at walmart, (I know, it's walmart and I'm looking for camera equipment) but I'm just curious if it would be fine. It is 30 bucks, 61 inches, down to 23 I believe. i don't want to spend alot on a tripod, so that is why I thought about that one. What is your imput?

JimmyO · May 28, 2008

A tripod is a good place to invest. A bad one will get you no where, especially with a big camera on top. I suggest you save up and get a nice one.

Mystwalker · May 28, 2008

darkpbstar said:
ok so I have no tripod, and am looking to buy one. I saw one at walmart, (I know, it's walmart and I'm looking for camera equipment) but I'm just curious if it would be fine. It is 30 bucks, 61 inches, down to 23 I believe. i don't want to spend alot on a tripod, so that is why I thought about that one. What is your imput?

That looks like the one I started with

It "works" for 30D + 50mm or 28-135.
Scared me once I mounted 30D + 70-200 so I upgraded 055XPROB+488RC2.

The $30 Walmart one will have a little give.
I saw a Velbon @ Frys that felt solid when I tried to yank it up and down - think it was around $110 - I do not have model # though

dEARlEADER · May 28, 2008

JimmyO said:
A tripod is a good place to invest. A bad one will get you no where, especially with a big camera on top. I suggest you save up and get a nice one.

He has a D40...

I use a walmart tripod for basic landscape on my D60.... I'm not saying it's great... but it's better than handholding a 4 second exposure...

For finite macro work it sucks....

Nothing wrong with a $30 pod for light rig...

Go for it

Overread · May 28, 2008

A cheap tripod does have advantages - they tend to be lighter, quicker to open and close - you can easily deploy in seconds. That makes them great for being out and about and certainly a tripod is better than no tripod (just don't trust it to hold your camera and lens freestanding - ever - keep you hand on it).

As you develope you will start to notice where you would be wanting a better tripod better than just us telling you - so use the cheap one for now, but don;t think it ends there

darkpbstar · May 28, 2008

all right thanks so much. that was exacly what I needed to know. I will get it, for my starter one at least, since I've never used one at all.

caspertodd · May 28, 2008

Keep in mind that it will more than likely sway a little bit if you walk by the tripod or the wind blows. Try not to extend the neck of the tripod unless you have to. I would recommend getting a remote shutter release so that you don't have to physically put pressure on the camera while taking a shot (or use the self timer feature).

asfixiate · May 28, 2008

how much does your camera with your heaviest lens weigh? I have a QSX 9002 because it can hold 8 lbs.

cost me around 70 I believe. Came with monopod

wallyir · May 28, 2008

JimmyO said:
A tripod is a good place to invest. A bad one will get you no where, especially with a big camera on top. I suggest you save up and get a nice one.

Jimmyo is right, spend a little more if you can, I bought a less expensive one and even with a light camera on top,it wore out very quickly,pieces broke etc I have an EOS40D now and bought a manfrotto tripod at the same time and has been really good to date.

DadeCountyAnthony · May 28, 2008

My first tripod was a Walmart $40 brand which did get the simple jobs done. It sure is better than having no tripod at all. I would also recommend getting a remote shutter release to avoid any movement/shake for better results. Just keep in mind that you get what you pay for and that means stay whitin the weight limit and you'll be on the safe side.

frXnz kafka · May 28, 2008

I have a cheapo tripod I bought from Best Buy for ~$30. It gets the job done for now. Eventually I would like something more sturdy, but it will get you by for now.

manaheim · May 28, 2008

I have broken THREE $30-50 tripods. <chuckle>

Don't get me wrong, they're fine as long as you're not overly picky, but one way or another you're going to eventually buy a better one... might better bite the bullet if you can and get a more reasonable model (manfrotto or whatever)

BTW, my favorite "break the tripod" experience was when I was walking through a river (about 1' up my leg) and I slipped on a slimy rock. I went down hard, D100 and all, but I managed to use the tripod to absorb most of my momentum AND to push myself back up REALLY quickly. The tripod took the brunt of the force and gave it's $45 life to save my D100... which was admittedly slightly damp, but otherwise seemed perfectly ok.

MAN that was scary. LOL

uplander · May 28, 2008

A $30 tripod is a cheap way to find out why you really need to invest in a better tripod. What I really mean is for 30 bucks you get a primer on tripods by trial and error, you learn why and what you need in a tripod and and it is so much easier to rationalise the expense.
I did the $59 0 buck route at first then spent about $300 on a good Manfrotto tripod and head. My final T/H combo is a WimberleyII and a Gitzo Mountaineer to support my EF 400 it really a learning curve.

But if you can swing it spend a bit and get a decent T/H combo that compliments your camera and a remote release while your at it.

PS if you do get a tripod realose you either need to use the timer function or a release to avoid any motion.

christopher walrath · May 28, 2008

DO NOT buy a tripod that doesn't have the words 'Manfrotto' or 'Bogen' printed on it.

Alfred D. · May 29, 2008

A good, sturdy tripod may stay with you all your life. It is a fabulous, trustworthy photographic tool. And the best Image Quality enhancer around, bar none. I still use one I got 40 years ago.
So if you might be going to be using it for such a long time it's important to get a really good one. It's worth it to pay close attention to what you're getting and even to spend a little more than maybe you had anticipated. But what's a hundred bucks over 40 years, right? Worth it 3 times over, imo.