Is having a tripod spreader worth the lack of freedom?

C

clivemcl

Active member
Hi guys, As I'm sure you know from previous posts, I'm looking to upgrade to a bowl tripod. The latest thing to pop into my head is this - I'll be using a slider, and for really low shots I may want the ability to push the legs out super wide to get low enough down. I assume that a spreader will limit the lowest height to the height of one single leg section and no lower. Would I be right? Or can spreaders be detached?

How much added stability do spreaders give to be worth the sacrifice in minimum height? I guess I could take the slider off if I needed to be that low down but time is of the essence when shooting weddings.

Minimum height on spreader tripods I've seen are 60/70/80cm compared with 31cm on the non-spreader one I'm looking at.
 
spreading tripod legs super wide is generally a pretty unstable situation. whether or not the spreader comes off (which most ive seen DO) id just get a dedicated shorter tripod for ultra low use.
 
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Good grief. I'm a long way off being able to spend nearly £400 on something so specialist! It is cute though!
 
The slider will have feet, but its a hassle issue. I can't be unscrewing the slider for low shots and then back on tripod for higher shots. I need the tripod to go low (even if its unstable). I'll be doing wedding video. Documentary style stuff. Very little setup time to catch fleeting moments.

Think I'm going for the Manfrotto 745XB but theres very little info on it online. Apart from in this comparison video I found:
https://vimeo.com/1617877

My budget is £200, and I reckon this might be the best bowl head that meets my requirements!
 
Hopefully your slider is short, & camera package is light, or you'll have a hell of a time supporting it on a single pair of sticks, & moving it around a crowd.
 
I know, Its a concern. I've been struggling to find the best setup to deliver what I need. It may not be ideal but hopefully it will be the best possible solution for my budget.

Slider is 80cm Konova and camera is a T2i (550D) with a 30mm prime lens. I'm hoping it will be stable enough.

I can't carry my slider with me everywhere, and I was thinking if it were permanently on my tripod (using the carriage lock for static shooting), it would allow me to get more creative shots throughout the day and at very sudden notice.
 
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