***DSLR Thread***

**Unfiltered** · April 21st, 2008, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by rinkrat

Gitzo

Read this
Tripods and Ball Heads by Thom Hogan

Originally Posted by ValleyFan

I very much agree with what RinkRat posted. When I was looking for a tripod a while ago I read that very same article and thought to myself "naww, I won't need anything that sturdy / expensive, the $300 range for legs and head will work fine" and now a few years later guess what, I am regretting my decision and am thinking that I need both new legs and a new head.

In addition to the Gitzo recommendation (with no center column), I would recommend Really Right Stuff ball heads as well as their L brackets. If you are thinking about renting the 400mm or anything bigger, having a gimbal head is going to be a huge advantage. The gold standard for those types of heads is the Wimberley Head II, which are very expensive, but a more reasonable alternative that was recommended to me was the #3421 gimbal head by Bogen. One of the reasons I'm not renting big glass this year for Red Bull is that I am questioning my tripods abilities to handle it.

Thanks to both of you! I'll read the article later today. I figure, by the time the money is there, I can fit in a few trips to the shop and check out what I've been reading.

Thanks!

**Unfiltered** · April 22nd, 2008, 05:30 PM

Okay. It looks like I'm going to have to mow a few more lawns this week to get the the sticks and head I want.

I've got it down to a few that I will check out this week. Once the cash is in my account, I'll be picking them up. So, that give me a good 4-6 days to romance the wife.

**rinkrat** · April 22nd, 2008, 06:14 PM

Someday I will get a good tripod. Till then I'll improvise.

**FBJ** · April 22nd, 2008, 07:51 PM

Since we're talking tripods, I'm going to throw in the fact that I am EXTREMELY impressed with my Manfrotto 190X Pro. Great set of legs.

The ball-head, though it's great quality, isn't as user-friendly as I'd like it to be. I'm thinking I'll eventually replace it with a pistol-grip type ball-head that is more-quickly adjustable.