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A good one. I have an old tripod I got early on in my photography days. It's light, and barely worth having really. It blew over on the first trip I took it on while doing a self portrait of me and my mate fishing - admittedly on a pretty windy day.

I had a read of Thom Hogan's take on tripods and I am tempted to follow his advice, and only do this once. That's basically a Gitzo 3530, RRS ballhead BH55 or BH40 and RRS pano head and plates etc. I know this will get me good gear, that will last for years and do all I want - which is my primary goal.

However it is expensive, so I thought I'd seek alternate opinions. In the short term it has to be able to hold up to a 70-200 steady for long exposures, I'm exploring night time pano's so stitching 30s exposures requires serious stability. I could perhaps see a 300 landing on there in the future, possibly for wildlife, but not certain. Don't want the centre post to go out to the side, but being able to reverse it and/or get the tripod down to ground level could be useful as Macro is in my future. I can also see it being used in the same winds as blew over my first SLR, which were strong. While hanging weight from the centre pole will stop it going over, it needs to be vibration free as well. Carrying it is not an issue, as in the bush I tend to go via 4wd these days and if I have to carry it, I just will. Who needs changes of clothes when hiking anyway?

So, is there a quality alternative? I see a few people suggesting the Gitzo aren't really worth the premium, but I'm willing to pay it if it is!

There is no alternative - it you want to pay less you will get less, especially in a tripod.

I'm using an MF 055PROB with a 488 ball head and now I wish I had of spent the extra on the BH55. The 055 tripod legs are heavy so much so that I wouldn't be bothered carrying them around. I'm either within 1000m of the shoot from a trafficable road or I use something else - monopod / small tripod on ground / gorillapod / beanbag / etc.

The 488 ball head as are all my supports, is fitted with a Kirk's ARCA Swiss type plate with L brackets on the cameras - best thing ever.

As for night shooting in the end I use the mirror up function as no matter what I try there is always some vibration up through the system when the 80-400 is attached. I'm considering a Kirk/RRS 80-400 lens bracket which might make a difference with slow shutter speeds.

As for the ballhead, you won't go wrong with the RRS gear. I have the BH55 and it is a great ballhead, period.

For a tripod, I decided to go with Induro. Induro is manufactured by Benro for the Mac group. They are a big photography group in the USA. For example, they also import Mamiya in the USA. Have a look at:
http://www.indurogear.com/

I have their Alloy 6m A313 tripod and it is rock solid. Heavier then then the carbon version but extremely solid. They are sold in Australia by L&P. You should be able to try them out at their showroom:
http://www.lapfoto.com.au/

I bought mine from Adorama in the USA as they weren't in Australia at the time when I was buying mine.

For a review of their carbon fibre tripod, look at:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/revie ... o413.shtml

Michael Reichmann, above, took it to Antarctica with him.

You can't go wrong with the Gitzo but I think the Induro tripods are very good and you also get local support.

HTH and let us know what you get.

Cheers,

André

I am really hasppy with my tripod. It's a Manfrotto 190B with a 141RC head. I have got used to it as it has a few different handles for each of the angles. Great for precision changes, not so good for the fast change stuff. Either way a great tripod and very sturdy, it handles my gear without any issues and none of it's that light.

Try the second hand market if you're not worried about pre loved gear. You'll save a fair bit and may be able to spend the difference on a better head. Just a thought.

I have the same setup, minus the Arca swiss plates, as MarkW. I've been reasonably happy with mine but then I haven't used it in the situations that you are describing. I find it a solid piece that fit my price range at the time. I do agree that the legs are heavy and that has discouraged me from wandering around with it.

As an addendum to my previous -

My 055 came with an RC4 quick release which is fine if you dont want to use an L bracket. The RC4 is their heaviest but nothing in the MF range or anybody else's will fit that connection and give you an L bracket - at least not without adaptors and other bolt on crap.

If you do end up with a MF 488 head (your choice) beware of the way its configured. If you specify an RC4 plate then the 488 comes with a male threaded ball stud for connection to the QR plate. If you specify any other MF plate or dont specify a plate at all, the ball stub will have a female thread on it just like any normal tripod head does. I got caught badly with this which made the change to the Arca plate a PITA.

I am a bit disappointed with my BH55 as I expected it to be smoother. I hesitated with the Markins M20 and I now would go for it.
Cheers,
Gerard

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm still leaning towards my original plan, while I can afford it! I doubt I'll be able to later in the year.

Will investigate the alternatives a little more though!

The one thing I would add is that I have found over the years that you quickly forget an "outrageous" price provided the gizmo does its job well, but you will kick yourself for years buying a "cheaper" product that doesn't do the job properly. i.e. I agree wholeheartedly with Thom's opinion.

As a result I tend to overbuy, rather than underbuy these days. If I can't afford it, I prefer to wait.

That said, be wary of what you are paying for. Many Brand Names have a deliberate markup for the brand. In the days when I worked for IBM, they had a 7% markup on the price of PCs just for the badge. Also there are some shoe brands I will NOT buy because they seem to be simply an exercise in brand engineering rather than shoe engineering.

I am following this with interest as I am still looking for a tripod.

To be honest I am considering a Benro order through the Bargains...... have read some good opinions in the past, and the ballhead I can see me moving that over to a monopod one day. If it isn't all I want and I upgrade it that is.

There were some nice looking monopods by Benro on an ebay site too...... might get one of them if I am to try another Cradle Mountain Assault one day.

I've got a Manfrotto 055PROB, like the 2nd poster, and I've found it to be an excellent tripod. I've carried the thing around Melbourne on 42C days with no trouble, and when I go underground it really doesn't give me that much trouble, even when crab-walking through small pipes. The legs can all be independently moved, and the centre column can be removed and put back in so that it is sideways (or upside down), which is awesome and enables you to get so many shoots you couldn't have. I also use it for surf photography, and it copes fine with a heavy super-tele on it. It is tall enough so that I don't have to crouch down, and the thing is like a rock when you lock the legs.
You'll be looking at about $250, which is pretty good. Heads are a different game all together. I've got a Manfrotto 3437 pan/tilt which I use for everything. It has these recessed knobs for all movements, which I think is the best idea ever. Means I don't have to deal with those silly aiming rods designed for video cameras. But heads are a personal choice. I use a pan/tilt so I can adjust each axis independently which gives me much finer control over the framing.
This tripod is a bit heavier than most other things, which is great IMHO. Means it won't blow over or fall when knocked. Light tripods are pointless as far as I am concerned.

glamy wrote:I am a bit disappointed with my BH55 as I expected it to be smoother. I hesitated with the Markins M20 and I now would go for it.
Cheers,
Gerard

Don't hesitate again Gerard get the M20.
I have it and with the Gitzo GT3540LS makes for a superb combo