good tripod?

One Way PhotoVideo

One Way PhotoVideo

Carbonite Member
Well I'm selling my DSLR setup because I don't take as many photos as I thought I would. So I'm gonna use the money to buy some more necessary items for my camera. I'm looking to spend about $100 give or a take a few for a tripod that's good for a DVX. If any of you know of one, please post.
 
Doesn't exist for $100. You can't even buy a semi-decent tripod head for $100. You need to save up at least $300 and look into buying a used Bogen 501/503.
 
ughhh, I mean, I'm not lookin for super high tech here, but something that will do. I guess you're sayin $300 isn't too high tech, haha, well, bummer for me huh?
 
Video tripods are expensive because they need to be very solid, and pan and tilt very smoothly. It's all about eliminating any shakes or jerkiness in the image, especially while it's moving, which of course is irrelevant with a still camera. You could get away with a $100 tripod for an SLR, but not for video.

I spent $1300 on my Cartoni Focus 101, and it's not even all that high end a unit, but it sure is satisfying to use (to me). To some people though, it's a sub-par a cheapie : )
 
Keep your eyes on the marketplace. I bought my 503hdv/525 kit from the marketplace for around $550. Its a decent kit for the dvx, nothing so so fancy.
 
If you want to just set a tripod up on a calm (breeze-free) day with nobody walking around, no trucks driving by and make sure that you do not tilt, pan or touch the tripod or camera while shooting - you can find a great tripod for sub US$100... but that's about all you'll get... seriously.


I've recently made the jump from a cheeeeap Velbon tripod with "fluid head" on my DVX to a Miller SOLO DV (the price jump was in the order of thousands though) and I've got to admit - looking at my old footage shot on the Velbon, It's all looked like crap! Pretty shots from a technical standpoint (scene files, composition etc) but it was all missing a little something... I figured out what it was too:

Even a tiny breeze would introuduce camera shake (plainly noticeable on a TV/PC monitor but not on the camera LCD), touching the pan handle or adjusting the focus ring would do the same.... and then there was the "wind-up" (where on a pan, the legs twist up - making the pan start slow - and at the end they untwist - making the frame drift back a little) The whole setup was flimsy - and that's not what a tripod's meant to do. You need stability. If you don't have a solid, rigid base to put your camera on, you're almost back at handheld.

Now don't get me wrong here, I'd recommend shooting on a cheap tripod until you can afford something better (better to get the practice in :) ) - weigh it down with sandbags, take extra precautions to stop it shaking; do whatever it takes - but make sure that you do aim to get something better.
Take a weekend and rent a good tripod system to see the difference - Once you try the good stuff, you'll understand what I'm talking about (and it'll be such good motivation to get saving too)

:)
 
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well I mean, I have a shitty like $40 tripod right now, but if what you guys say is true, looks like I need to dish out some money huh? i guess I'll have to if I want stuff to look good =)
 
The cheapest decent tripod is a Libec. They really are smooth and great for the rpice.

Matthew
 
I was forced to used auto focus before I got a decent tripod, every time I touched the focus ring it messed with my shot.. happy now to have a decent one.
 
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