Tripod advice...

[hoodmeister]

Update : Or can I?

The difinitive choice looks to be the 141RC. But at an online price of about £60, it's just too steep. They do go on Fleabay for a lot less, but only occasionally.

Looking a little "lower" there's the 460MG. It's magnesium cast, so light (less than half the weight of the 141RC)... But that also means it's rated at half the load. That should be OK though ~ I know this tripod isn't going to be suitable for long zooms. Otherwise it's actually more versatile than the 141RC, although more fiddly to control (141RC has BIG handles). The sweet bit is, though, that it costs more like £45....

Still, though, i'm currently looking at spending about £140 on a damn tripod. (if I go 190 Pro & 460MG). That's a lot...

[shiato storm]

loiter around fleabay after xmas and pick up a bargain...

[hoodmeister]

But but but... I want one now!

You're right, though... If I hang around and keep my eyes peeled, I should be able to snatch a bargain on both a tripod & head...

hmmm. Money vs. Time :/

[Flibb]

if you see a head cheap that doesent have quick release manfrotto do a low profile quick release adapter its called a 323. Was thinking of getting one for my monopod.

[hoodmeister]

Oooh, didn't know that. Worth knowing, cheers

[noah]

i hated the idea of ball head until i tried one, i was converted straight away, so much easier to make little adjustments, you dont have to use 3 knobs to make one little move. yeah i kinda ruins panning, but then if i need panning with a tele lens i use a monopod.

[hoodmeister]

But you can't reliably do panoramics with a monopod :/

I appreciate that for general (and fast!) use a ball head seems a lot more versatile, but i'm more comfortable with being able to change individual axis reliably...

[noah]

yeah, i agree. if you're that serious about panos then you should use a 3 way head or even a geared one, but im just trying to say its really not much of a problem on a ball head, ive done a few and they've turned out just dandy, you just have to use your eye a little more. i'm not against 3 way heads, id like one in the bag too, its just the speed that appealed to me

[hoodmeister]

Maybe i'll get a ball head at a later date

For me, control > speed... But that's just because what I shoot tends to be fairly static

[Flibb]

Looking for some odds and sods and found misfuds sell 2nd hand tripods and heads

http://www.mifsuds.com/usedpriceindexpz.htm

[hoodmeister]

Cheers for that Flibb...

None of the pods they have available grab me, but a couple of their heads look interesting, and are good prices...

Have you bought 2nd hand stuff from them before?

[Flibb]

Not myself, but have read good things about them in various newsgroups and forums. Might be worth checking after xmas as many shops get rid of 2nd hand gear in the new year.

[noah]

they've got a good reputation, i wouldnt hesitate if they had something i wanted

they do have a 190 but if you want the pro with the horizontal mounting then fair enough.

[hoodmeister]

I'm having trouble finding specs on the 190 anywhere... Is it the same as the Pro except for the horizontal mounting column? As i've read that, although it can be nifty, people rarely use the horizontal column...

[Flibb]

Just found this
http://db.manfrotto.com/product/item...id=2&manufid=1
might be worth a gander

[hoodmeister]

Aye, is a good site for getting an overview of their 'pods that ~ But I can't find any normal 190 'pods there :<