Advice for a newbie - decent tripods under £50?

[evelynlen]

Hi all,

I'm very new to photography and have just started the SPI Foundation in Digital Photography. I want to buy a tripod and I'm on a budget so I appreciate that I'll be limited somewhat in what I can get.

I suppose I'm looking an all rounder. I have a Nikon D5000 with kit lens and Tamrom 70mm - 300mm lens so it needs to be able to support those.

Any tips or advice you pros could offer would be great. Thanks.

Eve x

[Fen]

Hi There

The best advice I can give is to save up and buy the most expensive tripod you can afford.

The reason being, that if you buy a cheap tripod it will not be as stable/sturdy as a more expensive one. You'll also find that the cheaper ones break easier.

Rather than buying a series of cheap tripods, it's cheaper to splash out and buy a more expensive one in the long run.

[Roger_Provins]

Keep an eye on the eBay tripod listings ... often a bargain to be had there.

[AlexMonro]

My experience of cheap tripods is that a 25 quid job from Jessops went all wobbly and droopy after about a month. The 75 quid Velbon Sherpa 600R I replaced it with is still going strong after 3 years.

Mifsuds and Ffordes are both reputable second hand dealers that have a range of used equipment in fair to excellent condition.

[beejaybee]

My experience of cheap tripods is that a 25 quid job from Jessops went all wobbly and droopy after about a month.

You're probably lucky it lasted that long. Remember, tripods can be relatively cheap, solid enough to be usable or light, never all three; in fact a tripod with more than one of these attributes is rare.

[evelynlen]

Hi all,

Thank you for your kind guidance. I'll start saving now and keep an eye out on eBay and in the various mags I've been reading.

Hopefully it won't be too long.

Eve x

[Gordon_McGeachie]

Hi There

The best advice I can give is to save up and buy the most expensive tripod you can afford.

The reason being, that if you buy a cheap tripod it will not be as stable/sturdy as a more expensive one. You'll also find that the cheaper ones break easier.



Rather than buying a series of cheap tripods, it's cheaper to splash out and buy a more expensive one in the long run.

IMHO expensive is not always the best choice.

I bought a Stitz 3 section closed channel tripod way back in 1985`ish for £40, it has and still does served/serve me very well.



Yes it may be a little bit heavy compared to todays modern materials, but it does the job, there is no way I can justify spending possibly hundreds of pound on one that only gets used once in a while.

And mine has never broken, it is still in original condition too.

[Guitarist]

Keep an eye on the eBay tripod listings ... often a bargain to be had there.

That's good advice. I bought a Slik 88 Black Diamond for £30 a while back - just because a very small section of the centre-column gearing had stripped. The tripod is really heavy and solid.

[edwinb]

I've used a Foba with a view camera and its absolutly rock solid, unbreakable and will still be in use when I'm dust!
you could expect a second hand one would probably be still as perfect
Edwin

[PRW123]

Maybe a good monopod offers a better option than a cheap tripod. A forty quid monopod or a forty quid tripod, no contest in my humble opinion.

[beejaybee]

A forty quid monopod or a forty quid tripod, no contest in my humble opinion.

Nor in mine; leave the money in the bank, save until you have enough for something decent.

Sorry but there are NO good cheap tripods (or monopods), the base line is somewhere around £100 for anything that is going to be (a) effective at supporting a typical SLR rig, (b) controllable enough to be comfortable to use (you'll know what I mean if you've ever tried a tripod that doesn't suit you) and (b) likely to last more than one outing.

[dileas]

Sorry but there are NO good cheap tripods (or monopods), the base line is somewhere around £100

You can be fortunate if buying second hand. All the caveats about cheap tripods being expensive (a caveat that has a far more general application) are true. From my local dealer, I bought a second hand Husky IV tripod, which a swear could hold up a car for tyre changing. It cost me £43. It is markedly more stable than my Manfrotto 190CXPRO4, (as well as being markedly heavier).

[slrdude]

I agree with dileas,There are good quality second hand bargains to be had. I also bought a Husky IV Elevator tripod. I came across it at a car boot sale, Costing £5 it Needed some small repairs (basic engineering skills), A good clean and grease. The original grease had dried out long ago, Making the head axis joints stiff. After a few hours work on it I now have a really good solid tripod.It is more stable but less agile than my Manfrotto 055 ART. The heavy rigid alloy castings make it immune to vibration from the shutter and mirror of your camera. The centre column has rack and pinion gearing along it's entire 2 foot length. This means you have 2 feet (Approx 600mm) of precision height control. As an added bonus the tripod extends up to 7 feet high. I don't recommend hauling it up a hill side or trekking around the country with it, Unless you are built like Arnold Schwarzenegger, But it is ideal for studio or macro work. It just goes to show that old and cheap isn't always bad.

[dangie]

Maybe a good monopod offers a better option than a cheap tripod. A forty quid monopod or a forty quid tripod, no contest in my humble opinion.

Sorry but don't agree. The simple fact that a monopod has one leg and relies on the user to keep it steady means to me that even the cheapest tripod will out perform it for steadyness. Monopods themselves can be bought from peanuts to stupid amounts, when in reality they are still little more than an expandable broomstave with a thread on top.

[P_Stoddart]

I went for a short length tripod myself which I picked up on Ebay for around £20. It only opens to about 4ft but I find it much more useful that the 7ft heavy duty one I have or the monopod both gathering dust.

I also use a G clamp/micro tripod for night shots from railings in city. Or when I use a wide wall.

[dileas]

There are, however, times when a monopod is going to fit where a tripod isn't. When I take pictures at my fencing club, a monopod works where the tripod wouldn't, because I can move quickly, keep the camera steady enough for a grab shot, and occupy no more space whatsoever. Instead of adjusting the attitude of the camera on the head, I just move the upper end of the monopod to one side or the other to get a better orientation, with no time lost at all ; fencing is very fast and there's little time, never mind space, for messing with a tripod, yet getting one or two stops advantage over hand-held is all that's needed in those situations. It's also useful to have the monopod hanging off the bottom of the camera simply for the stabilising ballast effect and lowered centre of gravity in some situations. Dismissing a good monopod over a cheap tripod is a mistake.