Looking for Tripod Advice

That Davis and Sanford tripod took about 6 months to completely fall apart on me. I got decent pans out of it but man is the construction on it cheap.
 
I'm in the same boat. I thought I was sold on the libec ls38, but it not have any pan/tilt drag controls scares me. I called Spec-Comm and they told me that they recommend the 503HDV. I'm so confused because everyone here on the board said that manfrotto's were kind of cheap.
 
unless you do a lot of crucial complex moves, even the 501 level bogen head will be fine.

i shoot a lot of retail and back when i used a 501 i noticed my camera path and stops werent what i wanted them to be. specifically, on a combo pan and tilt you could often see subtle path variances. and the stops at the end were frequently shaky. so i moved up to the 510 and 526 level heads and everything got WAY better and WAY EASIER. ive also used vairous miller, sachtler, vinten, cartoni etc. they were great. some way better than the 510 but for me, not great enough to justify the price jump as far as a purchase goes.

i typically just rent higher end tripods when the need arises

you can pick up a good used 510 on 3193 legs for about $800 pretty regularly on ebay. i use it for a fully rigged out hpx170+35mm setup as well as an 8' kessler crane and it never gives me an ounce of worry...
 
Last edited:
Interesting discussion since I'm orientating on a tripod as well and was leaning a bit towards the Manfrotto 519 head since i think that a bowl is quite a must to easily adjust the level of the head. What do you think about that head? I could also go for the Vinten Vision 3 head but it as only a 3-step drag level control.
 
Listen to Specc, I have the 503HDV, purchased it on their advice (and my 200a) and happy as can be! I also have a beautiful Vinten and nice head that weighs well over 25 pounds in the case and is awkward as hell to lug around with my gear.

I use my 503 all the time! If you need a better head, network a bit with the other production guys in your 'hood:) They may have a nice tripod and a couple of wireless lavs but no shotgun and only one cam.. Work out a trade with him/her or a deal where you can swap gear or rent it if you need it. Worked great for me. The guy I worked with helped me from the beginning and we were able to scratch eachother's backs when needed (I was also able to make a lot of business contacts through him).

Tripods are a necessary tool, especially in High Def. Definitely buy a quality rig and rent until you can afford.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top