Tripod

[zioxide]

So I'm looking to get a tripod (possibly for Christmas). Here at college we have some cheap ass $40 ones and they suck. The legs bend and they aren't good for panning/tilting at all. Back in high school we had some nice Manfrotto tripods so I'm looking to get one of those.

So a quick search on B&H turned up the following:

Bogen/Manfrotto 701RC2 Fluid Video Head

Bogen/Manfrotto 055XDB Tripod Legs

I'm just wondering what some of your thoughts are on these and whether you think they're good choices or not. Thanks.

 

[bigbossbmb]

From what I hear, the 701 is so-so. It is below the 501 (which I've used and didn't really like). I have a 503 head and it has been great. The 503 is the lowest/cheapest Bogen head that is a true fluid head (even though the others say they are).

It really depends on what you want to do with it and how much you're willing to save up/spend to get the better end result. I have this setup and it has been amazing. I was a film major and used it for a handful of projects paired up with my DVX. For my camera, I couldn't see spending more than $460 on a legs/head combo. For larger cameras, I could definitely see the necessity of a better setup, though.

For home videos, it's probably more than adequate. A few hitches in pan and tilts usually don't go too noticed.

 

[AviationFan]

I suggest that you try out different tripods before you buy one. A lot of it depends on personal preference - there is no one perfect tripod for everybody, even with an unlimited budget.

- Martin

 

[zioxide]

I'd love to move up to the 503 or 503HDV but I'm not sure if I can stretch my budget to fit that right now. So I'm not really sure.

As far as trying them out first, I'd love to but I don't really know of any stores near where I live.

 

[lorductape]

manfrotto is the way to go.

 

[sarge]

I'm sure the head is great, but I don't particularly care for Manfrotto stands. I really like Velbon or Haikuba, if we're talking a regular tripod (as opposed to say a heavy duty setup like Cartoni/Sachtler).