Photography Thailand Forum

[ThailandJohn]

I know I need a good tripod and I also want a good monopod

With all the choices, I am confused.

I also know there are many brands and a big difference in price

The monopod would be use for sports and the tripod for landscapes, portraits etc.

I travel frequently and want to keep that in mind when purchasing these items, size, weight etc.

Would appreciate any suggestions.

[David Procter]

Please buy my monopod - I have never used it.
It's a manfrotto (679B) one and it's yours for 1000B
Black anodized three section monopod featuring sure rubber grip, wrist carrying strap, quick action lever leg lock system with 45°
email me!

[Marc Schultz]

For monopod I have a Manfrotto 685B - Great stuff.

For tripod I have a Manfrotto 458B - Also great stuff.

These are both probably at the top end in terms of cost, but are also the best products out there in my opinion.

Both the 4685B and the 458B collapse and extend so quickly and effortlessly and the main reason I bought them.

Hope this helps.

[bjorn slis]

I have the 679B,  it's a great buy, only negative I can say about it that it's pretty heavy

[gregoire]

1.) Carbon, carbon, carbon.

Oh and carbon.

A tripod that stays at home because it's hurting your back is a bad tripod.

2.) The brand.

I have had Gitzo and Manfrotto tripods. They're great. I have a Gitzo from my dad that must be 30 years old. I have a huge heavy Manfrotto, too. But I'm afraid making tripods is not exactly rocket science anymore and that the Chinese have caught up.

I now have a carbon Benro C-127 (a Chinese copy of a Gitzo, B7000 or so at Fotofile, MBK, 3/F). I'm pro, I shoot all the time, I carry the tripod around all the time (in its original included bag), I travel, and I've been doing all this for over a year. So far, my interventions on the Benro tripod have been tightening a few bolts with the included tool. It's been in water, mud and sand. The extension tube mechanism doesn't grip. I took it apart and hosed it down after one particularly messy shoot where it got gritty inside. That's it. Of course, Manfrotto does carbon too but it's twice the price.

3.) The head.

Also, remember the head you put on the tripod is as important as the tripod. For this, I do not recommend a Chinese product. Manfrotto's system is still superior. My Benro head is now sitting on a shelf. There was nothing wrong with it but the design was a little less practical and when you use something A LOT, a little less practicality soon means a great big pain in the CENSORED WORD. I've had a Manfrotto grip (too big, too heavy) and now I have a ballhead (486RC2). I'm actually not thrilled with that though. With a Canon 5D+grip+24-105, there's sometimes a slight movement once you've tightened the head and let go of the camera. That pisses me off. I might have to get a three-way head but my gear kit is already so heavy Good luck choosing yours and I hope you don't start a collection like I'm doing.

4.) The gadgets.

A bubble level in the camera's hot shoe can help in tricky situations where you can't clearly see a horizon line.

Self-timer gets boring real fast. Use a cable remote for perfect stability.

5.) I love tripods.

Tripods are the one great affordable way to take better pictures. Buy one and carry it around. But this is all written from the perspective of somebody who takes his tripod on location. For studio work, get a heavier tripod, a three-way head, etc. Marc will know about that better than I do.

[bjorn slis]

when you can afford the carbon....

[Marc Schultz]

Good recommendations Gregoire. I myself stay away from carbon completely though. Too light. A bit of wind and your camera is on the ground. A bit of vibration from cars moving when taking a picture from a bridge like the Thaksin bridge in Bangkok and shooting the river at dusk and your pictures are blurry. Unfortunately, a tripod is not much practical use unless it is heavy and stable is what I found. If it is not heavy you can hang your camera bag from it to add a bit of weight to the center of gravity, but sometimes the bag then gets in the way. You can also hang a sand bag from it to make it sturdier, but that means you have to carry a sand bag around. That is the unfortunate reality for me.

Also, don't worry about a level on the tripod. I found sometimes the tripod is level, but the camera is not. Manfrotto makes an expensive (1,000 Baht) spirit level, but a useful level that slips into your camera's hot shoe. This way you are sure the camera is level and not just the tripod.

Hope this helps...

[CW Lawrence]

I use the Benro A058 tripod and the Benro BH0 Ballhead. Its not carbon, I'd say it would fall in to the midweight category. I shoot with wide to normal lenses on a D70 so the tripod does not have to heavy duty. So far I like the system, but like Gregoire said, there is a slight movement when set. [actually the movement comes from the quick lock attachment on the camera, it doesn't seem to tighten enough to be secure for when the camera is vertical] Otherwise though, Benro is great for the price, a good value - just make sure the ball head is rated for the weight category of your camera lens combination.

Marc, other than a sandbag you can always hang your camera bag from the tripod - the tripod should have a hook built in to the center post.

As for the levels; Benro puts a circular bubble level in its tripod AND ballhead - not the most accurate but pretty close.

[Gary Dublanko]

If you plan on doing any panormaic stiching for very large, high resolution prints, a spirit level on both the camera and the tripod makes things much easier.

[gregoire]

I was talking about the same spirit level. Maybe there are cheaper ones online but Manfrotto is all I found here. I believe it had even climbed to B1200 at Fotofile when I got mine. The fun part is people asking, "Is that your flash?"

I get your point, Marc and it's good to have both sides of the story. In my life, there are currently more steps to be taken with the tripod hanging from my shoulder than shots off bridges and windy clifftops. If I was given a 0kg tripod, I'd take it. But, yes, it's a tradeoff with stability at times.

So what head do you recommend?

[Marc Schultz]

Yes, photography is filled with compromises. Normally you give a lot and sometimes don't get back that much in return :-\

I bought the Manfrotto 322RC2 quick release pistol grip ball head and loved it. Except it can only hold 5 pounds, which is not really enough for me most of the time, and hard to get the camera precisely into position and level for interiors. So it sits around collecting dust most of the time now. It was a good idea though.

I then switched to the Manfrotto Junior Geared Head - 410 and it is the great piece of machinery. Gear control down to clicks and all 3 gears can also be released for free form movement. At first it took some getting used to. Now it is like second nature and I am fairly quick with it. Bear in mind though, I am using it mostly for interiors, which are not moving very much unless there is an earthquake :), not so uncommon these days I guess, but normally I can take my time to get setup for a shot.

[gregoire]

Thanks a lot, Marc.

I do a lot of interiors too and I had the same problem with the pistol grip. It's pickin up dust as well. I've been eyeing the geared head so your advice is much appreciated.

[Renato]

Thank you guys for the suggestions and opinion, now I know which one to buy for myself.

[ThailandJohn]

Great information

Marc, is this the system you recommended? 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/340426-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_458B_NeoTec_Pro_Photo.html


Does the price look good?

[Marc Schultz]

Your welcome Gregoire and Renato.

The Geared Head in my opinion is not a lot of money at all compared to the price of a lot of other tripod heads with inferior build and design qualities. So I believe it is a really good value compared to a lot of the other things in photography that cost a bit of money and don't add much to the workflow. The Hoodman LCD Loupe is a good example of something that I bought and was also a good idea and turned out to be a fairly useless item in my bag. Anyway, well save that for another thread. The Geared Head is a bit heavy (but I like the weight as I mentioned) and bulky though, and normally it travels in a separate bag separate from the tripod itself. It runs about 6,500 Baht in Thailand. If you get one, always use a 5 or 10 Baht coin to attach the plate to your camera. A screwdriver doesn't work very well and ends up tearing away at the screw head after a while.

Yes, John, that is the one and they happen to be showing the legs together with the head, although I happened to discover them and buy them separately at different times. The fatest legs this side of Pluto!