Shopping for Tripod according to One's Stature??

kenlyne · October 6, 2007

Looking to buy a tripod--the one my husband has for his camcorder was thrown in as a freebie and just doesn't cut it when I have my 70-200 on it.

I've read the great info given about tripods here (head, legs, material const., size) and am wondering if there might be someone who can give me a head start when looking.

Not looking to spend tons but enough to get something better than what we have right now.

I was looking into the Slik 700dx

http://www.amazon.com/Slik-AMT-Titanium-Tripod-Maximum-Supports/dp/B00009R6RF/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2122862-0593426?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1191678902&sr=8-1

According to the positive reviews here, it's a great tripod at a great price, however one of the reviewers mentioned that an associate was frustrated with his because she was 5' 4" and the tripod was irritating for her with the height of it??? Now this is telling, but I'm a little under 5-4 w/o any heel so I put purchasing on hold.

Anyway, can anyone please share some advice/suggestions or experience of one that would work with my height and not against? We don't have a local camera shop that I know of as we live in an area that is developing but still not there. Having little ones, it's not always easy to be able to get to an area that would have a decent camera shop where I could try some out. Any help you could give would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. I'm hoping I'm posting this in the correct place??

~kenlyne

wxwax · October 6, 2007

Yup, you're in the right forum!

I'm a bit puzzled by the height issue.

Anyone taller than 29 inches should be able to handle this tripod without a problem. Just adjust the legs to whatever height you want.

I've never laid hands on this model, so take what follows with a grain of salt. I question the sturdiness of a tripod that costs $130 and has a max weight capacity of 15lbs. You didn't say which version of the 70-200 you have. But if it's the 2.8, a heavy lens, I'd say it's too much for that tripod.

Ages ago I read a terrific piece on how to buy a tripod. The upshot is, buy the best you can afford. If you buy anything less, and you actually use the thing, you'll eventually junk the cheap one for a better one. So you might as well spend your money once, not twice.

Unfortunately, you usually get what you pay for with top notch photo gear, and this includes tripods. Good gear costs dosh. :cry

DavidTO · October 6, 2007

Sid's right. You gotta spend some money to get a decent tripod, and if you can, it makes more sense to save up for the right gear. This is the tripod to get, IMO. It's the one that Marc Muench uses, and on all the workshops I've been to with him, I've been looking at everyone's tripods, and I still like his best.

wxwax · October 6, 2007

I've eyed that tripod.

If you buy it, kenlyne, remember you have to buy the head separately. That's another giveaway: tripods which come with a head attached typically aren't as sturdy.

claudermilk · October 6, 2007

First, the obligatory tripod shopping reference: http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

I did happen to narrow my choices in tripod based on my height. I wanted legs that with the camera & head mounted would be tall enough without using a center column to avoid hunching over. At nearly 6' tall, that dropped a lot of legs. I did find what I needed, though & it was worth taking that into consideration.

wxwax · October 6, 2007

claudermilk wrote:

First, the obligatory tripod shopping reference: http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

That's the one.

schmoo · October 6, 2007

DavidTO wrote:

Sid's right. You gotta spend some money to get a decent tripod, and if you can, it makes more sense to save up for the right gear. This is the tripod to get, IMO. It's the one that Marc Muench uses, and on all the workshops I've been to with him, I've been looking at everyone's tripods, and I still like his best.

My $.02: I bought this tripod also on the recommendation of Marc and I love it: it's sturdy and light and easy to carry around. However, I am barely 5'1 myself and I found that with the legs fully extended I can't reach the viewfinder on my camera! And adjusting it to a slightly lower height is a lot of work, particularly to get it level. I have never really heard anyone complain about this angle of the problem, but there ya go.

wxwax · October 6, 2007

schmooo wrote:

My $.02: I bought this tripod also on the recommendation of Marc and I love it: it's sturdy and light and easy to carry around. However, I am barely 5'1 myself and I found that with the legs fully extended I can't reach the viewfinder on my camera! And adjusting it to a slightly lower height is a lot of work, particularly to get it level. I have never really heard anyone complain about this angle of the problem, but there ya go.

Hi Schmoo!

I guess I don't understand. Why would you extend the legs all the way, if that makes the tripod too tall? I wouldn't assume that doing so levels the camera: how often is the ground perfectly level in nature?

A ballhead makes it easy to level the camera. I can see where it's harder with a tilt-shift, even if it does have a bubble onboard. But doesn't everyone, regardless of height, have the same problem to solve?

If you sincerely believe that having each leg extended an equal length is an aid to leveling, perhaps you could put marks on each leg, so you know how far to extend them?

I do apologize if I'm missing something, here.

schmoo · October 6, 2007

wxwax wrote:

Hi Schmoo!

I guess I don't understand. Why would you extend the legs all the way, if that makes the tripod too tall? I wouldn't assume that doing so levels the camera: how often is the ground perfectly level in nature?

A ballhead makes it easy to level the camera. I can see where it's harder with a tilt-shift, even if it does have a bubble onboard. But doesn't everyone, regardless of height, have the same problem to solve?

If you sincerely believe that having each leg extended an equal length is an aid to leveling, perhaps you could put marks on each leg, so you know how far to extend them?

I do apologize if I'm missing something, here.

Hey sid,

I could put marks on the legs - didn't think of that before the shootout and I haven't been out much before that with this tripod!

I am just so used to being able to fully speed-extend all legs and plunk the thing down. Then make final adjustments on the head. You're right in that every tripod is, in fact, sharing the same problem. Fortunately I do have a ballhead so that makes me complain a lot less. I just need to change the way I operate in the field, which is going to take some getting used to.

Getting a shoe-mount bubble level wouldn't hurt, either.

wxwax · October 6, 2007

schmooo wrote:

Getting a shoe-mount bubble level wouldn't hurt, either.

I have one of those, it's great!

When I remember to pull it out, that is. :uhoh

DavidTO · October 6, 2007

schmooo wrote:

Getting a shoe-mount bubble level wouldn't hurt, either.

Here you go!

wxwax · October 6, 2007

DavidTO wrote:

Here you go!

I've looked at those, David, and they puzzle me. It would appear that the level is obscured once the camera body is mounted, no?

DavidTO · October 6, 2007

wxwax wrote:

I've looked at those, David, and they puzzle me. It would appear that the level is obscured once the camera body is mounted, no?

Not on mine...the L bracket makes it visible. i.e. the camera clears the bubble.

I'll double check mine in a few, as I've usually got the pano gear on, and use those levels instead....

kenlyne · October 6, 2007

David, Sid, Claudermilk & Schmooo,

THANK YOU all for the responses!! I'm just taking it all in and have been checking out the helpful links. I'm sooo grateful that you would take the time to post!

Schmooo--let's just say I love what I've seen of your work and am glad to also get feedback from someone closer to my height for reassurance (no offense intended for those taller, it's just that the height issue can pose challenges sometimes so it was just something I thought I'd check out after reading the one review)!

Thanks again--am hoping to become a part of the dgrin community :ivar

wxwax · October 6, 2007

DavidTO wrote:

Not on mine...the L bracket makes it visible. i.e. the camera clears the bubble.

I'll double check mine in a few, as I've usually got the pano gear on, and use those levels instead....

wxwax · October 6, 2007

kenlyne wrote:

Thanks again--am hoping to become a part of the dgrin community :ivar

Too late. You already are!

schmoo · October 6, 2007

kenlyne wrote:

David, Sid, Claudermilk & Schmooo,

THANK YOU all for the responses!! I'm just taking it all in and have been checking out the helpful links. I'm sooo grateful that you would take the time to post!

Schmooo--let's just say I love what I've seen of your work and am glad to also get feedback from someone closer to my height for reassurance (no offense intended for those taller, it's just that the height issue can pose challenges sometimes so it was just something I thought I'd check out after reading the one review)!

Thanks again--am hoping to become a part of the dgrin community :ivar

Hey I'm glad my non-sensical "review" helped! I forgot to mention before that while Sid is correct in that the outdoors are rarely level, most of my shooting is indoors in buildings which DO have level ground, so that was where I developed my fully-unlock-the-legs routine.

He's also right in that you're already part of the community.

schmoo · October 6, 2007

DavidTO wrote:

Here you go!

Tempting, altough I'm not ready to upgrade yet. I might get the shoe-mount level that I saw devbobo had, as a stopgap measure.

The pano rails haunt me in my sleep....

wxwax · October 6, 2007

schmooo wrote:

Tempting, altough I'm not ready to upgrade yet. I might get the shoe-mount level that I saw devbobo had, as a stopgap measure.

Yeah, that's the one.

I also have one that's solid metal with "portholes" for the bubble. I'm not smart enough to figure out how to make that one work.

Dogdots · October 7, 2007

kenlyne...

I bought the Slik AMT you linked to and were thinking about. I love it. It works great for me. Stands up well in the prairie winds. Set up is so easy. I'm a short person--4'11" and I just have to extend the one set of legs and it is perfect for my height. Totally extended then I have problems. I haven't moved the center column yet, but will have to for tall shots in order to level the camera.

It is somewhat heavy, but I have my husband carry it. When I do carry it -- it is well balanced. It came with a somewhat padded bag which we never use. My camera backpack has a tripod holder on it, but haven't used it yet. Probably would on long hikes.

What ever version tripod you pick I think you will really like the Slik brand.

~~~Mary

pathfinder · October 9, 2007

schmooo wrote:

Tempting, altough I'm not ready to upgrade yet. I might get the shoe-mount level that I saw devbobo had, as a stopgap measure.

The pano rails haunt me in my sleep....

The RRS pano head with the nodal point rail has two bubble levels, and will really tell you if your head is truly level. You know that this is what you really want:D

schmoo · October 9, 2007

pathfinder wrote:

The RRS pano head with the nodal point rail has two bubble levels, and will really tell you if your head is truly level. You know that this is what you really want:D

It's a CONSPIRACY!!!! :patch

You guys are terrible for my bank account... :help

kenlyne · October 9, 2007

Dogdots wrote:

kenlyne...

I bought the Slik AMT you linked to and were thinking about. I love it. It works great for me. Stands up well in the prairie winds. Set up is so easy. I'm a short person--4'11" and I just have to extend the one set of legs and it is perfect for my height. Totally extended then I have problems. I haven't moved the center column yet, but will have to for tall shots in order to level the camera.

It is somewhat heavy, but I have my husband carry it. When I do carry it -- it is well balanced. It came with a somewhat padded bag which we never use. My camera backpack has a tripod holder on it, but haven't used it yet. Probably would on long hikes.

What ever version tripod you pick I think you will really like the Slik brand.

~~~Mary

Thank you for posting Mary--it was neat to hear you have the tripod I linked to! I noticed you're in ND--my husband's father grew up in Fordville (if you blink, you've missed it : ) ) so I've been there a couple of times to visit extended family.

Andy · October 9, 2007

schmooo wrote:

It's a CONSPIRACY!!!! :patch

You guys are terrible for my bank account... :help

It is okay. Just tell Trav you had a bad day at the dog track.

schmoo · October 9, 2007

Andy wrote:

It is okay. Just tell Trav you had a bad day at the dog track.

Andy · October 9, 2007

claudermilk wrote:

First, the obligatory tripod shopping reference: http://www.bythom.com/support.htm
\

Awesome link. And so, so, so very true. Every word of it!

davev · October 9, 2007

Andy wrote:

Awesome link. And so, so, so very true. Every word of it!

He forgot monopods.

wxwax · October 9, 2007

davev wrote:

He forgot monopods.

A monopod isn't a substitute for a tripod, it's only a support for a long lens.

Andy · October 9, 2007

davev wrote:

He forgot monopods.

Nope - loook in the sidebar

Dogdots · October 10, 2007

I've had the tripod for a couple months now and I really am happy with it. You can pay a lot of one and maybe someday I will, but for now it serves the purpose very well. If anything I would probably change out the head sometime for a ball head.

As far as getting a lighter weight one I just couldn't see a light weight one in the winds we can get sometimes. I tried out a few and really didn't like them.

Fordville....I've never been there, but did look it up on the map. I know what you mean about blinking and you've driven thru. There are a lot of towns like that here, but they are just so much fun to visit. A lot of different pictures in those smaller towns. In fact I'm heading up that way today with camera in hand. Probably won't make it to Fordville tho.

Havelock · October 12, 2007

For a start, I can count in metres only, sorry:)

I have a tripod for a couple of months now. At the beginning I was after really expensive Manfrotto one, but then, first: I decided I don't want a tripod that is more posh than my camera, second: all of them I tried, touched, carried around, and they were way too heavy for a small girl I am (1.63).

I eventually decided to buy Velbon Sherpa 600R, and the rest I spent on remote (no use to have a tripod without one), and, well, shoes:D.
I'm really happy with my Sherpa. It's not Manfrotto, but it's sturdy enough, can manage very old and heavy Carl Zeiss lens without problems, I can put it up very fast, and it can be high enough if I want to (1.70, or something), or very low - floor level actually, because you can mount the camera upside down.
I spent 118 euro on it here in the Netherlands, which is more or less 170$.

Shopping for Tripod according to One's Stature??

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