Tripod ?

ShebaJo

I am ready to buy a new tripod. Info & advice is much needed.

Equipment... Canon 20d, lenses run from 17-85IS to 70-200 2.8 is

Tripod use... I live in Colorado, not a lot of flat land. I shoot landscapes & mountains, macros of things like snakes, flowers & bees. Also shoot the sky, day & night, want to get better lightning shots.

My top picks...
BogenManfrotto 458b NeoTec, mostly for the rapid leg release.
Giottos G2220, mostly for the many ways the legs and head can be set.
Giottos MT3 7371, looks like a good setup, great price.

Thanks

greenpea

ShebaJo wrote:

I am ready to buy a new tripod. Info & advice is much needed.

Equipment... Canon 20d, lenses run from 17-85IS to 70-200 2.8 is

Tripod use... I live in Colorado, not a lot of flat land. I shoot landscapes & mountains, macros of things like snakes, flowers & bees. Also shoot the sky, day & night, want to get better lightning shots.

My top picks...
BogenManfrotto 458b NeoTec, mostly for the rapid leg release.
Giottos G2220, mostly for the many ways the legs and head can be set.
Giottos MT3 7371, looks like a good setup, great price.

Thanks

There has been a lot written on dgrin about tripods. Here's one good thread.

The bare bones recommendation that was given to me for a tripod is the Bogen 3021 legs or 3001 (depending on your height), and the 486RC ball head, and although heavy its rock solid and has supported everything I needed it to.

If I had more money, I might have followed the advice on Thom Hogan's site.

claudermilk

ShebaJo wrote:

I am ready to buy a new tripod. Info & advice is much needed.

Equipment... Canon 20d, lenses run from 17-85IS to 70-200 2.8 is

Tripod use... I live in Colorado, not a lot of flat land. I shoot landscapes & mountains, macros of things like snakes, flowers & bees. Also shoot the sky, day & night, want to get better lightning shots.

My top picks...
BogenManfrotto 458b NeoTec, mostly for the rapid leg release.
Giottos G2220, mostly for the many ways the legs and head can be set.
Giottos MT3 7371, looks like a good setup, great price.

Thanks

I think you meant Gitzo G2220. That's one of the gold standard tripods & you pay for it. I have a MT7261 on order, same as your 7371, but without the fancy rotating center column mount; I'll report on it when I get it. I was able to play with the 8180 in the store and liked what I saw.

Greenpea's recommendations are good. The 3001 and 3021 are popular instead-of-a-Gitzo options & the ones I've played with in the store are nice (just too short IIRC). The ball head mentioned is a popular budget choice; I scored a BH-40 off Andy-bay so skipped straight to the top of hte heap there--just like Thom suggests in his article.

DaveK

I will add to the bandwagon for Bogen 3021Pro. I just purchased this myself with the 322RC2 Grip Action ballhead and could not be happier. Be sure to get the Pro version for conversion of the center post to horizontal position only $10 bucks more than the BN version. Here is the B&H link

Art Scott

Giottos makes some really nice pods....I moved away from the bogens to Giottos so that I could ahve a center column that not only would go horizontal but could be moved into other postions as well for macros......Be sure and also get a shorty center column for when you are usning the pod at almost ground level........ebay is usually a good source for Giottos if your local camera dealer does not carry them.

B&H also carries them I do believe...........................

leaforte

I use a Giottos 8170 carbon fiber, and I love it. When I did my online research for a tripod, alot of folks steered me toward the Giottos, claiming big bang for little bucks, and I have to agree. I am definitely a novice, but have not been disappointed with my Giottos.

Shizam

I'll throw it out there to just buy the best tripod you'll ever think you'll want now. Instead of the G2220 think about the G2228 which is the carbon fiber version, and look at the ultimate ballhead. I'm using the G2228 and ultimate ballhead now and its perfect. I know its expensive but its my 4th tripod/head combo starting with Alu. tripods and working up to this one, I wish I had just started with this in the first place which would have saved me several hundred dollars in long run.

DavidTO

There is only one brand of ballhead to buy, and that's Really Right Stuff. End of story.

As for tripods, I've been keeping an eye on all the pods that come through the workshops, and I've never seen one that I like more than the one that Marc Muench uses, the SLIK 83 CF-D Carbon Fiber. Rumor has it that there will be a discount available to FOM shortly. I will have information on that next week, whether it is available and if so, how much.

In any case, it's a nice tripod, even if it's from a brand that also makes junk.