What's wrong with a forty dollar tripod?

[480sparky43 42]

 

[Derrel]

If all a person needs is three legs and a platform to hold a small camera up for the occasional selfie, then they're okay.

Or perhaps the once a year Christmas card photo? Lol. Sorry, I wasn't trying to make it sound like I want to go the cheap route, I just don't get how something can be so cheap, yet have great reviews on it....

We used to have a local hamburger restaurant chain, a very small local one, called "Bob's 19 Cent Hamburgers". That was back in the early 70's. THEN it became "Bob's 29 Cent Hamburgers". By the 1990's it was Bob's 99 Cent Hamburgers. It was cheap. Think McDonald's plain hamburger, but with a sort of French fry sauce mayo/ketchup dressing on a thin patty, white bread bun, very basic...it got great reviews.

As you mentioned marie, for the once-a-year-Christrmas-card type of use, a small $40 tripod is probably gonna be adequate, yes. The low-cost tripods can be thought of mostly as camera "holders"...a way to hold and position the camera for a snap or two or three. "Serious" tripods are camera "support systems", and they not only "hold" the camera--they hold it rock-steady, in real-world situations, indoors and outdoors.

 

[Overread19 7]

If your tripod is similar to the one in Sparky's video (which is the generic design of most of the cheap tripods) then they've a few flaws that I experienced;

1) Legs only spread out so far and are locked with the middle securing section; this means that the tripod can only go down so far before it locks into position. If you want to go any lower you simply can't, this is a big limitation if you want to work lower down for a shot.
As mentioned earlier the fixed leg position also means that you're limited on how stable the setup can be, working on a hillside or even just uneven ground the fixed leg positions again limit you as to what positions you can get the tripod into

2) The same problem Sparky shows happens with most, the panning arm screw very easily comes out and if it does the nut falls inside the sealed plastic section. As a result you can't screw it back in to lock and you can't open the plastic to fix it - net result is it becomes junk (had that happen to several my family have owned).

3) Lightweight - now don't get me wrong lightweight is fantastic to walk around with and when I had my cheap tripod I could walk around with it fitted to the camera all day with no worries. Thing is it also means that when you put something like a DSLR with good lens on top it becomes very topheavy and very unstable. For a light point and shoot camera, bridge camera or likely even one of the modest micro 4/3rds mirrorless cameras - even up to an entry level DSLR with short kit lens its not too bad. But with a full dslr setup its just far too much weight for the lens to properly provide support for.

4) Tripod heads are like lenses, they are different heads for different situations and as you get more into photography you might find a need for different tripods heads of your own. Good quality tripods are sold either legs only or with a tripod head in a bundle - net result is you can change the head for your situation. You can slip that ballhead on for general use - the 3way head for some landscapes - the geared head for some macro etc.... Heads are also weighted like the lens for different weights of setup so sometimes you can cut the load of your tripod if you're going out for a light day by using the smaller, lighter tripod head since you won't have the big lens with you.


In the end most of us owned a cheap tripod and many who have stuck with DSLRs have quickly dropped the cheap tripod in favour of something superior. Manfrotto has a good range and the 190 and 055 series tripods are a good entry level price and set of legs to consider. If you want check ebay and other such sites as tripods often devalue quickly when sold on second hand. Older tripods might be heavier, but a solid set of tripod lets is a solid set of tripod legs no matter when they were made.

 

[JacaRanda]

Haaaaa! I still have one like that. I purchased it for a Sony Handycam and maybe used it twice. The squeaking while panning was unbearable.

I get really bold sometimes and use it for a lightstand - but only if the cats are not around.

 

[astroNikon]

I spent alot of time looking at tripods. nearly bought a few from the "general" stores like walmart, meijers, etc. Even a carbon fiber Sunpak which was $150. It was light but I open one up and it was wiggly. I ended up with a Slik 500DX used on ebay for $90 plus I got my Slik Professional for $90 too, paint worn off here and there but a wonderful studio tripod. So if you don't mind used, eBay is a great place to get a great deal.

 

[limr32 1]

The crack that is now on the top plate of my Pentax. That's what's wrong with cheap tripods.

Good thing it is a K1000. Built like a tank. The tripod tumbled off a stone wall and the camera fell probably about 3-4 feet onto concrete. It continued to work as if nothing ever happened.

 

[astroNikon]

and a more serious one

 

[table1349]

If all a person needs is three legs and a platform to hold a small camera up for the occasional selfie, then they're okay.

Or perhaps the once a year Christmas card photo? Lol. Sorry, I wasn't trying to make it sound like I want to go the cheap route, I just don't get how something can be so cheap, yet have great reviews on it....

Did the reviews mention what gear was being used. My father in law has one of those $40.00 cheap, small, light tripods and loves it. But he is using it to hold a Canon PowerShot Elph that weighs a whopping 5 ounces. It doesn't put a lot of stress on his $40.00 tripod.

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

$50 tripod holding up your $2,000+ gear. Most cheap tripods will only allow the legs to go apart a limited distance which makes the base really weak in comparison. Also the legs are usually flimsy and weak. The expensive ones will typically will move each leg independently and have thicker more stable legs.

 

[limr32 1]

$50 tripod holding up your $2,000+ gear. Most cheap tripods will only allow the legs to go apart a limited distance which makes the base really weak in comparison. Also the legs are usually flimsy and weak. The expensive ones will typically will move each leg independently and have thicker more stable legs.

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