A tripod legs question

J

jkauffman22

Active member
Right now I am in desperate need of a good tripod...a good fluid head and some legs that will last me awhile. I'm not looking into spending tooooo much but I know ill have to spend a decent amount to get quality.

The two heads I am looking at are either the manfrotto 701 or 501. I've basically decided that I already want the 501 because you can adjust the pan and it will last me awhile so I am ok spending the little bit more.

My main problem comes with the legs. I have a tripod right now that I got for a present from like target and you can tell its a cheapo. The head is terrible but I figure that i can attach a bolt or whatever at the top and it can be my traveling tripod legs. The type of legs I am wanting are something along these lines...
http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Heavy-Video-Camcorder-Tripod/dp/B003UOMWOK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_p_1
http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-AVTP-Professional-Camera-Tripod/dp/B00139W0XM/ref=pd_cp_p_1

I have a friend who has this and i have tried it and it works great:http://www.ebay.com/itm/WF717-Heavy...10875556556?pt=US_Tripods&hash=item19d0b2bacc

The problem with buying the tripod of all those links is that my manfrotto quick release plate will not be able to work and I need this luxury because I have a glidecam as well. I am thinking that maybe I can buy one of them, take the head off, and replace it with the manfrotto. The dilemma with that is that those other tripod heads are connect through the bowl connection and the manfrotto has a flat base. Is there a converter out there to turn a bowl into a flat base?

Thanks for your help NS. I will reward answers with Karma

P.S. I need a flat base tripod head also for a slider I am making...so i cant just buy another manfrotto quick release adapter and attach that to the other tripods....

Sorry if this is all confusing.
 
Are you familiar with the legs? I need a second head and i might just sell my 055XB sticks. Is it worth upgrading?
 
theyre not 055 or 190s so theyre better. they look decent and 11lbs of support is a good weight too
 
Gotcha. Thanks. Not trying to thread jack here, but im getting a 70-200 pretty soon (with tripod collar). On a 701/055 setup, will it be super hard to keep a smooth image?
 
I mean, on the collar it will be decent for sure, everyone talks down on manfrotto heads theyre not THAT bad
 
The 707 cheap tripods are amazing. I have a 707 fluid head and i love it. to put your manfrotto quick release onto the 707 fluid head or tripod (like this one you linked in the first posthttp://www.amazon.com/Professional-Heavy-Video-Camcorder-Tripod/dp/B003UOMWOK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_p_1) all you need to do is buy an adapter.

For a flat base 3/8 inch standard tripod head look at the 707 fluid heads since they are only ~$75 and 50 bucks less than the overpriced manfrottos.

btw about the slider look at the igus diy sliders. around 100 bucks and totally worth it. I made my own out of wood and it was okay, but then i bought the igus and its much better. I'll give you a link.

flat base 707 fluid head 70 bucks - http://www.amazon.com/ePhoto-Professional-Video-Camera-Tripod/dp/B003HNS6S0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346883244&sr=8-1&keywords=ephoto+fluid+head

amazing diy slider - http://www.amazon.com/DryLin-W1040-B-Linear-Motion-Sliders/dp/B0056IE4CQ/ref=pd_sbs_e_1
 
Going cheap definitely isn't always the best route, but if you're on a tight budget cheaper tripods wont hurt.
 
I would argue that the tripod is the only piece of equipment that you shouldn't cheap out on. You can get amazing bodies and glass for cheap. A bunk tripod will ruin your footage. Not long ago I had to choose between an fs100 or a GH2 + Sachtler/Miller tripod. I chose the latter and I don't regret it one bit. Otherwise would've ended up like eheath with an fs100 and nothing to put it on, that stupid idiot.
 
Sachtler ACE.

I wasn't disagreeing with your recommendation, just the notion that money is better spent toward the camera and lenses, which is not the case at all. Regarding gear, lighting and support dictate image quality over all else, followed by glass, and the body is somewhere at the bottom of the list.
 
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