Tripod Recommendations Under $100

I am looking for Tripod Recommendations. I want something fairly tall since I am about 6' 6". I have always owned Pan Head models and have never used a Ball Head so do not fully understand the differences.

I have a budget of up to $100 but I hope to spend closer to $75.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Proline B100. I love mine.

http://www.dolica.com

I have this one and I love it ! very well made.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/614700-REG/Slik_611_863_Sprint_Pro_II_4_Section.html

TheRealMrEd said:

Proline B100. I love mine.

http://www.dolica.com

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Looks nice - I use my Tripod for Video work also - How well would this work with a Ball Head?

I'll vote for the Dolica Proline. I got mine from Amazon for well under $100 and it has been great so far.

Here are some user reviews: http://www dot pentaxforums.com/accessoryreviews/Dolica-Proline-Aluminum.html

-Rian
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I looked at the reviews and it seems a Ball Head tripod does not pan and would not be very usable for Video.

Any other recommendations for Tripods under $100 that have Pan/Tilt for Video as well as Still photography?

SBHicklin said:

I am looking for Tripod Recommendations. I want something fairly tall since I am about 6' 6". I have always owned Pan Head models and have never used a Ball Head so do not fully understand the differences.

Click to expand...

SBHicklin said:

I have a budget of up to $100 but I hope to spend closer to $75.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

Save your money? Been where you are at, ended up saving and shopping bargains, I spent about $230 and wish I would have had more to spend. Better tripod = sharper pictures. Better tripod = more flexible positioning. simple.

Google Thom Hogan and Tripod.

Lloyd
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WSSA #354

Take a look at keh.com to see if you can find a good used tripod there. If you have a craigslist page for your town or somewhere close, check the photo section often to see if you can find a used bargain there.

If you can't find a good deal, then save some money and buy a right angle finder. I used my cheap tripod I had for my P&S for a long time when I got my DSLR, by using it mostly collapsed with the right angle finder. Before I used the right angle finder, I used the tripod on my knees or I used it sitting on my butt to get sable shots.

Thank you
Russell

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Your reali issue is you'll buy a $75 tripod and wish you spent more.

I went through 3 tripods before getting a manfrotto (or quality brand tripod) like i should have done.

These tripods can also change heads so if you need a pan tilt head then attach one...

The cheaper tripods will do ok, with wide lenses and no wind.
Just like a cheap lens does fine in good light.

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Yes, if you're only going to spend $100, then drop it all the way down to $40 and just get a super light aluminum tripod for biking, backpacking or hiking, or anywhere you travel far on human power. Meanwhile save up for a nice, heavy, stable, vibration-damping one for real.

Horses for courses. Like many things, you can spend a lot more or somewhat less than your proposed $100 budget, and you'll get what you pay for. Moroever, if what you really WANT is a light tripod for travel, backpacking, etc., you can get a pretty decent system for around your budget. Someone else recommended the Slik Sprint Pro. It goes up above 6', is rated at 4 kilos, and mine, with a 4-kilo rated Manfrotto CR2 plate mini ballhead, weighs just over 2 lbs. If that's your budget, you'll get reasonable value if you are willing to accept the compromises. Mostly, its that the ability to do long exposures is compromised if there is wind. I tend to use it more like a 3-legged monopod out in the weather, but I've also taken some pretty good 20 second exposures with it when conditions allow (and with the 4 kilo rating, it holds the Bigma too - barely).

I use a much beefier (and way out of your budget) 055-based system when I can - studio, location, places where I don't need to carry it many miles. But, it weighs a lot more than the Slik, it doesn't fit in a roll aboard, it certainly weighs too much to take backpacking or climbing, and consequently it won't be travelling the world or making it to 18,000' like the Slik has.





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Absolutely none fit your request for video needs.

For such a low price, you can get a workable ball head tripod for STILL photography. It will not be adequate for windy situations, but will be pretty good in the majority of common shoots involving only modest telephoto.

There are no decent, damped pan head tripods - new or used - for the price you wish to pay. Quality heads for video are far more expensive - at least 2x even used.

For still photography, this is an adequate set up:

Sunpak 620-331 (similar to the discontinued 3000-Pro B) - ball head - (not the more-common pan head version which simply is not adequate):
http://www.zalmar.com/detail-Photography-Tripods-620_331.htm - $67
The item is a bit hard to find in stock, though.

The Dolica has a built-in quick release (at any time you can add a much-sturdier Manfrotto quick release to the Sunpak), the Dolica is not quite as stable, not quite as tall, and not as versatile, but is much cheaper and a very good deal if you absolutely cannot spend more than $50.

Of course, you can spend more than $100 and get better, but that wasn't the OP's request. Good, cheap ball head tripods like the Sunpak are still at least three stops better than hand holding (even with SR) - so they do provide value for improving your photography.

JNR

Sorry for hijacking this thread but since many reccomendations are to spend more than 100. What does the gallery suggest for under 200?

Good place to start: http://www.adorama.com/VGT323AB250.html

I got a Induro leg set for $120 on closeout (AX 213 6M http://www.indurogear.com/products_details_AX213.html ) and a Vanguard SBH 300 ball head ( http://www.adorama.com/VGVA31SBH300.html ) and this combo does pretty much everything I need except go hiking with me, it is a bit too heavy for that. Though I do plan to take it into some slot canyons this summer... the dry ones....

Lloyd
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WSSA #354

I hate to say it, but I would avoid buying a tripod that was under $100. You might as well save your pennies and get something at least a little better. It will be VERY hard to find anything stable that will go to anywhere near your height. I bought a cheap (maybe $40?) travel tripod that I regret having done because not only is it wobbly when the head isn't cranked all the way up, it's downright UNSTABLE when it IS cranked all the way up. It's hard to use, shoddy manufacture (and what can one expect of a $40 tripod, really? I guess I got what I paid for!) and literally impossible to level. Those are all things you're going to bump into with an under $100 tripod, if my past research has told me correctly. . . Sorry not to have a great answer for you. The next step up might be a Slik Pro, because you CAN level it out, not as easily say as maybe a Manfrotto or Bogen (or many others) but it is just a bit over $100 ($139) http://www.amazon.com/700DX-Professional-Tripod-Panhead-615-315/dp/B0002EXF38/ref=pd_cp_p_2

In reading through just the first review, I see that that user said he is 6'5" tall and it works perfectly for him. Good luck to you! Cindy
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SBHicklin said:

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Uh, forget about it?

Slik Sprint series is your best bet if you insist. A ball head is a better option in this price class, so Sprint Pro II.

http://www.thkphoto.com/products/slik/index.html

In good conditions, with a small camera, a light lens, and not extending the tripod all the way, it will do the job.

I bought a Gitzo 2932 tripod and Foba Superball M1 ballhead, with Kirk photo camera plates. Unlike the Slik, this set up does the job - under any and all conditions I can throw at it, fully extended, in the rain and snow, with the D200 and up to a 135mm lens. (I don't do any telephoto photography, if I did I'd have to look into something more substantial still.)

My epiphany came when I was doing some macro work with the K10D and DA35, and found I couldn't get a sharp picture because the shutter release was making the neck of the Slik ball head flex and the whole tripod wobble slightly. My tripod had caused me to waste an hour of my time taking a bunch of useless photos.

If you are going to bother with a tripod at all, get the best. Half measures are a waste of time, a waste of your photos, a waste of effort, and a waste of money.

I wouldn't, which is probably not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. Putting an SLR with a decent lens on a cheap tripod is an exercise in frustration and risk, you may make things worse with wind vibration, etc. and have your camera fall over in a stiff breeze. So, if you only have a $100, dig hard in the used market for a good one, don't buy a cheap new one. The only thing I'd put on a $100 tripod is a flash for off camera strobe and, even then, only indoors where there is no wind.

I bought a Manfrotto 3021 used for $68 and bought a used Manfrotto 498RC2 ball head for a total of $130. This set up will last you..........until you break it or sell it. Also the Slik's are reasonable and have good height to them also. Good luck with your search.
Kathy

I second(third/many) this.

DON'T buy a cheap tripod.

I spent $350 on my last one and its the first tripod I've been really happy with. And I have two others, and have sold a third. I should have done that at first but I was being a student and then I was being cheap.

Though a little out of your range, look at the Flashpoint tripods and heads on Adorama's website. I think they are Chinese copies of other brands, but they are nice.
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