Help me with spending some tripod money...

[Craig E Hood]

I am looking at the Sunpak 7575. I played with it at Circuit City this morning.

The good - it is very beefy, seems rock steady, the controls seem to lock down very solid, no slop. BIG GOOD, it's only 79.99.

The bad - it is BIG and HEAVY. Almost seems like something you would mount a big video camera on. Doesn't collapse down very small either, I think 29". I don't see this as a tripod you want to carry for very long, especially WDW, weighs about 7lbs IIRC.

Is this one of those purchases that you can spend a little now, but wind up spending more later? Are the Bogen/Monfrotto's and other high end units THAT much better to justify the price? Lighter, steadier, smaller collapsed size? I currently have one of those el-cheapo's and it is more aggravating than anyting else. When you get the camera in the exact position you want it, it moves the second you let go of it. So, let me have it!

 

[Master Mason]

With Tripods you have 3 options. Light, sturdy, and cheap. You get to pick 2 of the 3 the other falls where it may.

I have 3 or 4 tripods collecting dust in a closet, as I spent progresively more on them until I bit the bullet and got what I concider to be what I need to be able to take the pictures I am looking for, and still be willing to carry it.

But really, your the only one that can place your needs on the scale.

 

[handicap18]

I'm with Gregg. I have a few of those "inexpensive" tripods sitting around the house somewhere. I do use them to attach lights to when I do portraits of the kids.

I finally got a real good sturdy tripod for x-mas. total cost was $235. I would have liked to have gone for a bigger tripod, but my budget was VERY tight and I did go over it a bit with the setup I bought.

There is a big difference between what I currently have and what I used to have. The build quality is a HUGE difference. Having a ball head is, IMO, much better. I have no problems putting my biggest lens on my camera and then on the tripod. There is NO movement on the tripod what so ever. Even with the tripod FULLY extended. With my older "inexpensive" tripods, when I would crank it up to its full height it didn't have as much stability. It would wobble slightly. I also doesn't extend as far the one I have now.

I'm much happier having spent $235. Especially when I have $1000 or more worth of camera equipment attached to it. When I eventually upgrade to the D300, I'll have well over $2000 worth of equipment attached to it. I certainly wouldn't feel no way near as comfortable with that equipment attahced to an $80 or less tripod.

 

[El Nebuloso]

I had a Quantary tripod that I paid about $100 for that sounds very similar to what you describe. About a month ago I was shooting indoors at night in a candle lit house. I schlepped this thing around from room to room, setting up and moving multiple times. As solid and heavy as it was, with a Nikon DSLR and vertical grip on it as well as a heavy (1.2 pound) wide angle lens mounted on it I still had a hard time getting it to really lock down and had to compensate with independent leg adjustments. I can't imagine how it would have performed if I had my external flash mounted on it. By the end of the night I was tired of hauling this around and also felt that there were just too many controls in order to make it capable of full adjustment.

I ended up spending quite a bit more ($400) for a Feisol with a ball head (CT-3441SB) and couldn't be happier. This thing is just under 17 inches when collapsed and is less than 3 pounds. The ball head holds my gear rock solid and is infinitely easier to adjust (just one locking knob!). I got mine through reallybigcameras.com and their customer service was fantastic. I recently went on a weekend trip to WDW and just threw the tripod in my carry on with plenty of room to spare. It came with a bag and I found that carrying it around with me it was pretty much unnoticeable.

Yes, this is a huge difference from a budgetary standpoint, but I really wish I had just bitten the bullet the first time and gotten something good up front.

 

[Craig E Hood]

Thanks guys. I guess just using it around the house the Sunpak would be OK, definitely not something to sling over your shoulder and walk cross country, though.

 

[Anewman]

While I agree with others that higher end Tripods are one of the best investments in the hobby, I do think you can find a better tripod in that same price range as the Sunpak.

Calumetphoto has some decent house branded tripods under $100

And if you are comfortable with EBAY, even AMVONA tripods would be much better than that sunpak... IMO. Just make sure you factor shipping into the total cost.