Best affordable tripod for 7d

C

cagu

Member
HEY MATES
i need to get a tripod for my 7D, i already have a glidecam wich i use on the most of my work, but i need to get a cheap / stable tripod to get other kind of shots...can anybody help?
 
Davis and Sanford make pretty decent tripods in that price range. Also, you can probably find an old manfrotto, bogen, or others on this very forum or on ebay pretty cheap. I was lucky enough to pick up a sweet bogen tripod from somebody here for just $100 that will kick the pants off "consumer" tripods 20 years newer than it is.
 
Check eBay and CL and the boards here and see if there's ANY way you can get something with a 75mm bowl; I really like being able to use a hi-hat or a Manfrotto bowl-to-flat adapter to move my head from tripod to down low to slider to even things like mounting it on a ceiling for straight-dwon shots. The Manfrotto 325n adapter works with 75 or 100mm bowls and gives you a lot of mounting options.

I have a nice Miller here, but I still use my trusty manfrotto 503 (non "DV" series) - it's a really good value as far as smoothness and strength goes (I've stuck an 8' crane and fully kitted out DVX and HDSLR on it).

There's a lot of areas where cheaper gear can give you a lot of service until you can afford something better, but your choice of tripod will have a giant effect on every shot you create short of handheld, especially where movement is concerned. Everyone here will advise you to "buy the best right now" vs. re-buying cheap gear over & over, but I have enough chinese biax flo's and Alzo HIDs to really light a set (and really light it well)- vs. ONE Kino for the same cost, so I'm a proponent of some types of cheap gear allowing you to attain more of the shots you want to get; but a tripod? Really think about that one.
 
cagu said:
HEY MATES
i need to get a tripod for my 7D, i already have a glidecam wich i use on the most of my work, but i need to get a cheap / stable tripod to get other kind of shots...can anybody help?
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$800 for a tripod..... lol
How about less than $100
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00139XOCI

With these cameras there's no need to spend such crazy amounts of money..... No way in hell I will ever pay more than $200-$300 for a tripod.
 
paa79594 said:
The Ravelli doesn't have good reviews.. check out cheesycam.com as well he may order one and write up a review. Currently sitting in my Amazon cart is this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O0DQXI/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
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4 out of 5 stars seems pretty good to me, especially for a tripod that cost less than a $100 :huh: No doubt though the tripod you have in your cart looks nice as well.

The point I was saying is, if you are just beginning there is no point in spending $800 or more for a tripod when you can use that for better things. Now I would imagine that certain heavy lenses with huge rigs will require a better tripod, but for these small photography cameras I think a tripod that is rated for 10-20lbs is more than enough.

The industry is changing and spending so much on gear is something we no longer have to do. For $800 I would buy me another camera instead of a tripod, but hey that's just me and my opinion......
 
Being able to move the camera in a fluid way is a big part of story telling in film. Simple tilts and pans just aren't achievable without spending a minimum on a half decent fluid head. You don't need to buy a sachtler when you're starting out - I'd recomment the 504 head from manfrotto as a good start point.
 
I bought a DV-7000 from Velbon which is around $150.00. It provides quality for the price. 504 looks like medium quality for what you pay and I recommend to upgrade to a real bowl-tripod later instead of this.
 
mr bill said:
Being able to move the camera in a fluid way is a big part of story telling in film. Simple tilts and pans just aren't achievable without spending a minimum on a half decent fluid head. You don't need to buy a sachtler when you're starting out - I'd recomment the 504 head from manfrotto as a good start point.
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Can you please provide me with some footage on exactly you are talking about? Why would I need a $1500+ tripod with these DSLR cameras? If anyone has examples of low budget, medium, high and then high end tripod tilts/pans I think we would all greatly understand a lot more.
 
read my post - I said you would need to spend a minimum amount to execute a decent looking pan or tilt, and gave you a suggestion what to buy.
 
Rent or borrow a high-end tripod for a day and you may see the difference; especially if your rig ends up with a long lens, rod supports, matte box, monitor & FF, or you start using a crane.

Going from a mid-level Manfrotto (75mm bowl) to a Miller was a noticeable difference, but my experience with fluid heads is like electric guitars - the difference between a $75 and a $500 unit is pretty remarkable... from $500 to $1000 is more subtle.
 
Michael Carter said:
Rent or borrow a high-end tripod for a day and you may see the difference; especially if your rig ends up with a long lens, rod supports, matte box, monitor & FF, or you start using a crane.

Going from a mid-level Manfrotto (75mm bowl) to a Miller was a noticeable difference, but my experience with fluid heads is like electric guitars - the difference between a $75 and a $500 unit is pretty remarkable... from $500 to $1000 is more subtle.
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Thanks for more information , but if I were just using the camera and a small 30mm lens would I notice the difference? I understand with a longer lens and heavy rig it would be needed but for a camera and just one lens?

Regardless I will see if I get a hold of a nice tripod and see what I can do with it. It would be very helpful to really be able to use them all and then make my final opinion.
 
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