Need advice for tripod

K

Khazaad

Member
For my canon 7D (mostly for filming, so smoothness in pans matters) should i get something like this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics-photography/Camera-accessories/Tripods/auction-366702403.htm

Or am I better off buying a small ball head nd legs seperately? Like this: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics-photography/Camera-accessories/Tripods/auction-366954557.htm

Or http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics-photography/Camera-accessories/Tripods/auction-366819726.htm

And if so what kind of legs do i pick for them and how can i know if they would fit?

Thanks!
 
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good god no. none of that will get you what you want.

about the cheapest halfway decent head is going to be a manfrotto 501 or better yet a 503. or look into the libec stuff.

seriously. unless you are just super hard up for money. i would NOT get any of that stuff you posted. even if you are hard up for money. any money spent on any of those will just be wasted.
 
Oh mercy.

A Ball head is for still shooting.

There's a fairly tripod-centric thread on DVX user - it may even have some stickies - but maybe you should look up and to your right at that handy box with the magnifying glass icon - yes, that is a search box.

I'd grab yourself a copy of "From Still to Motion" from Amazon and start there - it covers tripods and much more. Because I can see you may have a long future of posting very basic questions that have been asked & answered a zillion times here, and you're obviously not a search-box kinda guy. Not trying to be a jerk, but if you're thinking of panning with a ball head, there may be other ideas like that in your head as well, and people will flame you to ashes if you don't do some basic searching and then ask questions with a bit more specificity.

And I'll second the Manfrotto advice - the 503 is a great deal if you can find a clean one used. And people do like their Libec stuff. But start with a good (I suggested what's likely the best) DSLR filmmaking book, and your questions will likely become more specific and detailed. Best of luck.
 
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I have one of those - reasonably well built, it's not a true fluid head, but it's huge step up from whatever other "video heads/tripods" are out there.

I use it mostly with my 7D & T3i + 50-500 or 120-300/2.8, that's a pretty hefty setup and with the 3x tele-crop feature of the T3i, that 500mm x 1.6 x 3 or almost 2400mm effective FL, and I'm able to pan reasonably smoothly without tele-crop, but it's very stable when tele-crop is on and I'm not trying to pan.
 
then i say why waste $150 on "reasonably smoothly" when for probably around $500 you can get the real deal?
 
wgzn said:
then i say why waste $150 on "reasonably smoothly" when for probably around $500 you can get the real deal?
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And to that I tell you not everyone has $500 and at the end of the day, something is always better than nothing. If you have the money then go out and buy it, but $500 is 3x as much as $150.
 
well vision_filmz. it would seem we are about to argue once again...

something CAN indeed be better than nothing.
and if it were a mater of $150 vs $1500 id probably agree with you.

but from a wise use of money standpoint. if somebody only has $150 to spend. it might do them well to hold off a few weeks, save a little more money and get a good second hand, higher quality unit that will perform better for them. rather than basically throw away that $150 on something that weve been told only delivers so-so performance, simply to have something NOW.

but here, as you and i frequently find ourselves - thats just my opinion ; )
 
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Honestly it just depends what you are shooting. If your job consists of tripod work with smooth pans, then get something nice and professional. If your maybe doing Music Videos where your going to be cutting around a lot of stuff, then you should be good, Also something is ALWAYS better than nothing. Basic Mathematics of life shows you that.
 
go to:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

and search for:
manfrotto 503

there are new kits there from about $450 and up that would do the job

or try ebay. here's something you might enjoy:
http://cgi.ebay.com/COMPLETE-VIDEO-...00595591074?pt=US_Tripods&hash=item2eb46dcfa2

but hey, if you can afford to gamble, try that $150 one. it may work fine for you for a while.
i used lower end tripods early in my career and i liked them fine - until i used a higher quality one and and saw how much easier it was to achieve nice moves. and for not a ton of extra money.

it's about buying smart and not just jumping on some piece of junk because you can afford it
 
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Honestly it just depends what you are shooting. If your job consists of tripod work with smooth pans, then get something nice and professional. If your maybe doing Music Videos where your going to be cutting around a lot of stuff, then you should be good
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that may well be THE most short-sighted thing ive ever seen posted on this forum. i cant think of any type of work that wont at some point need a smooth pan. or a clean start and stop on a compound move - yeah, even your exalted "music videos"

yeah, IF you have crap gear. you can wind up making the best of it. but why set yourself up for that by choice?

Also something is ALWAYS better than nothing. Basic Mathematics of life shows you that.
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rock on there stephen hawking!
 
wgzn said:
that may well be THE most short-sighted thing ive ever seen posted on this forum. i cant think of any type of work that wont at some point need a smooth pan. or a clean start and stop on a compound move - yeah, even your exalted "music videos"

yeah, IF you have crap gear. you can wind up making the best of it. but why set yourself up for that by choice?

rock on there stephen hawking!
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? Cant let it go can you. For someone who has been in this industry for "20 years" as you seem to say, just seems to me like you forgot about the people who make it happen.

Just the other day someone posted an actual skateboard taped up together with some basic tripod as a dolly and the shots looked beautiful.

Instead of looking at life as the cup half empty it really is half full. Your mind is the only thing that will limit you, but I mean if your not from a 2nd or 3rd world country you just wouldnt know anything about that
 
i apologize to those of you reading this who are actually trying to gain knowledge. rather than just argue -

? Cant let it go can you.
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i cant let it go? DUDE. look back at post #10 YOURE THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS ARGUMENT!

vision_filmz i really dont want to get in another one of these inane round and round arguments with you. but here once again you're reading something into my post that i didnt say.

i never, ever, ever, EVER said that good video cant be shot with a vhs camera propped up on a 50lb bag of freakin dog food. i know it can because ive done it. i also never said you cant get a good dolly-shot with your camera gaffer taped to your car hood. because ive done that too. and coincidentally i also never said that the op wont ever get decent results out of that $150 tripod. in fact i think i said he might. even encouraged it at one point.

this guy posted here looking for advice on buying a tripod. ive used a lot of tripods from $50 to $5000. all im doing is sharing my experience on what i think is a good use of dollars.
you and whomever else can use whatever you like and i truly wish you the best of luck.
 
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And Ive found that generally film gear in NZ cost about $200NZD more than their American equivalent even after currency exchange. :(

Plus a lot of things on Amazon dont allow shipping to NZ or will cost an extra crap load for customs tax etc.
 
I dont really have work at the moment but I have a few no budget music videos and small projects coming up and I figured it would be nice to have a decent tripod handy for any none serious work. Can always rent out an expensive one if necessary. Dont have the full luxury of ebay or amazon since they dont always mail to NZ and customs may cost a lot. Going to China in a few months as well so kinda looking for something not too heavy for some smooth pans and tilts. Am okay with dropping $500-$600NZD if that can get me some really smooth pans.
 
See my post here to understand what the issues are:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?245508-The-Sachtler-CineDSLR-Fluid-Head-An-In-Depth-Review

I know you don't have the budget for this tripod, but I think it would be important to really see what makes a quality tripod and then use that as a gauge if you buy less expensive.

Given the choice between Manfrotto and a Libec, I would definitely go with a Libec. The quality of pans and tilts is actually quite good, if however limited in terms of the weight range of cameras. Much better for damped movements than the Manfrotto. I say that as someone who has owned Manfrottos and SAchtlers. You will however need to find a way to weight down the 7D in order to bring it in the Libec's limited range.

If you go cheaper, then you need to consider the "rubber band trick". Pulling a rubber band attached to the pan handle as opposed to holding it directly. This will damp your movements and give smoother results. You can google that concept to find videos showing this.

Good luck.
 
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