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i recently got a 400D canon camera with kit 2 (17-85mm) lens.

was thinking of getting a tripod with a budget of about S$150. so i got a deal of benro A057 for S$120
or manfrotto 725B for S$140. never got a tripod before so would appreciate if anyone can give some advice on which would be good for my camera, especially when i add additional flash in future or i use the tripod on highways (planning to shoot some construction site from that height/area).

thanks!

Hi Joe,

Some here would probably recommend a Benro C297N6 or similar with a KB-2 or KB-3 which is about 4x your budget. I would probably suggest a Manfrotto 055MF3 with a good ball head which will blow the budget completely. $150 will not buy you much, but will leave you wanting for more.

Cheers

Joe, a decent tripod will start out at around double your budget. For the $100 mark you will get a tripod that will be ok for what you have now, but as soon as you start buying better lenses, which wil be heavier then your current lens (You WILL buy more lenses, it is inevitable) then you will need that $300+ tripod, so bear that in mind, perhaps just get that $50 version for now if you desperatley need a tripod now & save for the real one, don't just go 1/2 way, you WILL regret it. I currently have a $30 tripod which is all I could afford , I will not even be thinking about buying a real tripod until & i have at least $500 in the kitty.

I couldn't have said it better. All or nothing...

The question, Joe, is how many times do you want to spend this money on a tripod?

If you go for the S$150 item, then the answer will be at least twice, because at some point, you will want to buy a better one.

As others have suggested, expand your budget - wait if need be - and get something decent.

Hi Joe,

In support of Gary's comments above, I started out in photography in 2005. I bought a cheapie tripdod, lightweight, plasticky. 3 years down the track I am looking to get a better one. I am still not looking to go top of the range as my current photography skills doesnt justify it. My lens kit then was 350D+17-85, i am in the process of upgrading to 70-200 f2.8 IS which is really heavy and I want to make sure that the tripod I choose for the future will be able to handle this weight with a bit of buffer should I upgrade in the future. I am looking to get the best tripod legs now and a decent head and then maybe upgrade the head in another couple of years when I know what I need based on my photography journey.

Moral of the story, you can start out with a cheapie, but you will want to upgrade in the future or you can buy a decent one now and not upgrade for a much longer time if not ever.

HTH
Cheers
Mak PS photo equipment choices are NEVER easy.

Agree with the comments on upgrading your sights (and budget!!)

I have a cheaper manfrotto 190 with 486 ball head that lasted me for 12 years, and was fine for even heavier cameras (medium format) you can get this kind of setup for just over $240 (eg here on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Manfrotto-190D-w ... dZViewItem) (no relation to sale).

You really need to check maximum load capacity and go for at least 4 kg's and maybe even more depending on what you think you might get into. Who knows- a good tele zoom, 70-200 f2.8 IS weighs 1.6kg, and a good body with it is almost 1Kg.

I have upgraded and bought so many cameras and lenses since Ive been into photography but only had the above tripod all that time. (as well as a giant one for my Large format camera but that camera weighed almost 10kg!!) Only now am I considering upgrading to sweet carbon model- but i'll still keep the old head.

Robert

I don't think I can say it any better than Thom Hogan: http://www.bythom.com/support.htm