Tripod. Your opinion

[Hlop]

Hi All,

Meantime I've got Manfrotto 724B ball-head tripod. I know it's far from perfect but seems to be doing the job. So, question is, should I look for something better, more stable and more solid or my present tripod will be OK for casual shooting?

[Glen]

Hlop, is there something your tripod is not doing? If so get a tripod which solves that problem, otherwise I would live with it till I hit the wall with it.
Good luck

[Hlop]

Hlop, is there something your tripod is not doing? If so get a tripod which solves that problem, otherwise I would live with it till I hit the wall with it.
Good luck

Huh! How would I know if it's not doing something till I face such situation but it will be too late then

[Glen]

Mikhail, it sounds like you have tripod lust Go straight to Gitzo 1325 with RRS BH 55 Pro to solve that! If you notice camera shake on long lenses or have trouble setting up or getting into a suitable position, it's time to change. Is there anything you would like a tripod to do which your present one doesn't do (besides make breakfast, etc)?

[gstark]

Mikhail,

Huh! How would I know if it's not doing something till I face such situation but it will be too late then

It's not usually the case the the tripod and head combo won't - absolutely - do something, but more the case that you'll see an area where it doesn't do somethings as nicely or as effortlessly as you believe it should.

For instance, shooting panos will be infinitely better using one of the high end ball-heads. I know that's a deficiency in my current setup, but as I've yet to feel even a remote desire to shoot a pano, I'm not at all bothered by that deficiency.

I also know that - due to pretty much the same basic design deficiency in my current setup - I might expect issues when shooting videos and expecting to pan the camera smoothly while, say, following someone walking across a given area.

Again, this isn't an issue I'm concerned about, because it's not a wall I'm going to bump into all that often.

I understand the theoretical limitations, but for me that's exactly what they are - theorectical.

Consequently, I really don't give a damn!

[Oneputt]

Gary I think that you have summed it up nicely. If your setup does what you ask of it, why change?

[Hlop]

Mikhail, it sounds like you have tripod lust

Not really. I'm just trying to figure out if I need to spend few hundred $$$ to get better tripod or I'll stay with current one. Probably, I have to do more night shooting to find out.

Why I'm asking this question at all? Because most of you guys are talking about split legs and heads tripods and no one seems to be thinking about something simple like my 724B. This is the only source of my doubts

Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone for helping me to make a decision

[Glen]

Mikhail, the reason we were trying to talk you out of changing is a Gitzo 1325 with RRS BH 55 pro will cost something like $1.5k, not a few hundred bucks. I am going down that path at the moment. I am over halfway solutions, so went for the ultimate solution (well till the VR tripods appear ). So I would hold off that big purchase till I felt I needed it. Good luck on your decision

[Hlop]

Mikhail, the reason we were trying to talk you out of changing is a Gitzo 1325 with RRS BH 55 pro will cost something like $1.5k, not a few hundred bucks. I am going down that path at the moment. I am over halfway solutions, so went for the ultimate solution (well till the VR tripods appear ). So I would hold off that big purchase till I felt I needed it. Good luck on your decision

Wow! $1.5K! No way!

OK. Let me put it this way. While I'm an amateur photographer I'm not going to spend such money for tripod because I really need it very casually. In the future I might go ahead and buy something serious like this but meanwhile I feel pretty much happy with current tripod which costs about 200 but I need it once per few months

[birddog114]

Mikhail, the reason we were trying to talk you out of changing is a Gitzo 1325 with RRS BH 55 pro will cost something like $1.5k, not a few hundred bucks. I am going down that path at the moment. I am over halfway solutions, so went for the ultimate solution (well till the VR tripods appear ). So I would hold off that big purchase till I felt I needed it. Good luck on your decision

Wow! $1.5K! No way!

OK. Let me put it this way. While I'm an amateur photographer I'm not going to spend such money for tripod because I really need it very casually. In the future I might go ahead and buy something serious like this but meanwhile I feel pretty much happy with current tripod which costs about 200 but I need it once per few months

Hilop,
It's easy to reach 1.5K or over but depend on what you want to do and use it for, if you see there's no reason to spend such that a sum of money then off to something cheaper and buy another one when time is coming.,
In my way, I rather spend upfront the best gears which I can afford and last in life, not bother to look for something else, second I knew what I'm getting and I want it's ready so can start playing my new lust with it.
I bought my tripods and heads first before I bought lenses.

[phillipb]

I rather spend upfront the best gears which I can afford and last in life, not bother to look for something else

Sorry Birddog, I don't believe you.
I agree that what you have now can last you a lifetime, but I'm sure if Gitzo announces a better one tomorrow, I bet you will be the first in Australia to get one.

[Hlop]

Hilop,
It's easy to reach 1.5K or over but depend on what you want to do and use it for, if you see there's no reason to spend such that a sum of money then off to something cheaper and buy another one when time is coming.,
In my way, I rather spend upfront the best gears which I can afford and last in life, not bother to look for something else, second I knew what I'm getting and I want it's ready so can start playing my new lust with it.
I bought my tripods and heads first before I bought lenses.

Yeah, you're right. No one canceled the rule "You get what you paid for"

Anyway, I've bought my tripod before I found this forum with good people and good suggestions. If I wouldn't have one, I'd go for something like Glen suggests

[Glen]

Mikhail, I saw Birddy's version of those two items at the Blues Point long lens meet, it was so secure I could have done chin ups on it! Really worth the money, but as you say hold off till you need it.