Which tripod to buy?

[04Stefan07]

Looking for a cheapish tripod for my DSLR. Been looking at Teds, etc.

Want to spend under $50, can anyone recommend me a decent one?

Thanks!

[troypiggo]

Cheap, stable, and light-weight. General rule is with tripods you can have any 2 of those, but not all 3. ie if you want cheap, it'll either be stable but really heavy, or light-weight but not stable. When first starting out I bought my wife a tripod. It was a cheapie, but the head and connectors are plastic and can't take a lot of weight.

What camera do you have and what lenses? The weights you put on it are a factor too. Also what type of photography are you intending to use it for? Landscapes, or holding camera steady for timed self-portraits, or something else? There are different types of head on them - ball heads, pano heads, geared, and so on.

Also need to consider compactness. Some might fold up nice and small for travel, others have longer segments on the legs.

Here's a great, comprehensive thread on considerations that I recommend reading: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=740131

[04Stefan07]

Cool thanks!

I've got a Canon 350D.

2 Lenses, EFS 18-55mm and 75-300mm.

I would defiantly want Stable and Cheap. More used for landscapes.

[04Stefan07]

Willing to up my budget to $100

[Poita]

My advice would be to buy a good one, and only buy it once.
You will keep it for life, it is a good investment, and the difference between a cheapy and a decent thing like a manfrotto or better is actually pretty huge.

[troypiggo]

Totally agree with Peter. Bogen Manfrotto 3021BPro is what I have, with the 488RC2 ballhead. It's probably the most recommended basic tripod on POTN. Very sturdy, reasonable balance of weight/quality/cost. It's over $100, though.

For your budget, might check out eBay and the Benro Angel carbon fibre tripods, and there's Manfrotto knock-off heads pretty cheap. Think they're Yuongno brand or something like that.

[tlgerdes]

I am no landscape photography nut, but have a had a Slik tripod for about 20years that just keeps going, they go for around $50-100.