Tripod advice needed

[Dinkydiver]

Hi All

I am wanting to purchase a new tripod but being new to SLR photography i need some advice, my last one was Hama costing £60 and the leg fell off on saturday!!

From what i have read it's worth an investment.

My Kit, Canon 450d, largest lens tameron 70-300mm

Types of photography, mainly outdoor, land/sea scapes, wildlife, Macro.

Would rather purchase something someone has recommeded, including the type of head for the photograpy i'll be doing.

Look forward to your responses,

Thanks for your help.

[Fen]

firstly, What's your budget?

Secondly, what you should do is search the AP Forums for "tripod advice" as there are lots of posts about it.

[Dinkydiver]

Hi,

Have been searching through but confused myself with all the info on different heads!!

Looking to spend up to £150 ish

[danny1985]

the thing with tripods is, its best to get the best you can afford. 150 should get you a pretty decent tripod head combo.
ive got the "Giottos 9361B Tripod with MH5001 Head" round the £120 mark.

[Dinkydiver]

I hear Redsnapper tripods are well thought of, has anyone had any experience of these?

[Kettering_Jeremy]

I'd echo the advice to get the best you can afford.

With the right quailty and a bit of luck you will only ever purchase one or maybe two in your lifetime.

My first tripod was a Bilora Profilo (remember those, when they were still made in Germany?). It cost me £25 in 1976 - which was one weeks wages. It is still going strong, although I've pensioned it off last year for a much lighter carbon fibre Manfrotto - in other words it lasted me 32 years, and if money was tight, didn't need replacing really.

I personally would decide what quality you want - and how long you want it to last, and then save up for it.

There is an old saying that the sharpest lens is a tripod; and I'd agree. An average lens stopped down to the aperture at which it is sharpest, allied to a rock steady tripod can, in situations where a longer exposure is required, yield incredible results. What I am saying is that your tripod can have a huge effect on the quaility of your photographs, and funds apportioned accordingly. The tripod you buy now will still be around long after you've decided to ditch your Canon for a newer model or even a Nikon!

[Kettering_Jeremy]

My first tripod was a Bilora Profilo (remember those, when they were still made in Germany?). It cost me £25 in 1976 - which was one weeks wages. It is still going strong,

Just seen one very similar on E-bay, "Buy it now" for £19.99.

Might be worth a look.

[El_Sid]

Hi,

Have been searching through but confused myself with all the info on different heads!!

Looking to spend up to £150 ish

I use Manfrotto's 055 Pro tripod coupled with the 322RC2 ball head. I've used this combo with a 20D and Tamron 200-400mm zoom and it's very steady. Total price is a bit above your budget (just under 200 quid at Warehouse Express) but you may be able to find a deal on buying the two together. You could save a bit of cash - and carrying weight - by buying a 190XPro rather than the 055X. Check the maximum loads but I think the 190X is almost as good as the 055 with regard to the load it can handle.

[PRW123]

My Bembo is now well over twenty years old, and its been worked hard. Still looks good for another twenty odd years! It has really proven to be the absolute Mutts Nutts.