Recommended tripod for Canon T2i

[Slavomir Valko]

What works best for T2i. Please be reasonable pricewise.

[Perrone Ford]

Would you mind indicating what "reasonable" is? Means many things to many people. Probably would be helpful to indicate what you need that tripod to do. If you plan to put the camera on it for static shots, that won't cost much.

However, if you expect it to stay still outdoors, or give smooth motion on pans and tilts, and/or hold a tilt without you having to touch the handle, then you've just raised the price by a factor of 5.

[Slavomir Valko]

target area is events (weddings,...), music videos and possible use with "glidetrack".

"reasonable" - I like to stay around 150-200 and I don't mind getting a used tripod as long it is the right tripod.

[Aaron Dunlap]

I've got my eye on this one. Comes with a fluid head, but you could buy a decent ball head for photography for $80 or so.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/506627-REG/Manfrotto__055XDB_Tripod_Legs_Black_.html

[Terry Gray]

I'm interested in this topic as well. I need to mount a indiSystem UltraCompact (lets hope if it gets here soon), T2i, DR-100, etc to it. It needs to be able to accommodate all of that.

tg

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Aaron Dunlap

I've got my eye on this one. Comes with a fluid head, but you could buy a decent ball head for photography for $80 or so.

Manfrotto - 055XDB Tripod Legs (Black) with 700RC2 Mini Video -

You see how the legs are single tubes? That means they are going to flex. And you see how the legs aren't cross-braced? That means they are going to torque when you pan. Any wind or ground vibration is going to travel straight through those single tube legs right to the camera. This is why I asked the specific questions I did.

Yes, you can get that tripod, or one like it for $200 or $300. But it will NOT stay still when you have to pan, or you are outdoors, or you are on a surface that will flex. Been there, done that. Twice. If I had taken the money I wasted on two cheap tripods (and I say cheap as in $300 for one and $375 for the other) and spent it on a decent tripod, I would have wasted less film, less tape, and had lots less headaches and ruined footage.

That's just my view from a guys who's stood where you guys are standing.

[Sam Kanter]

Originally Posted by Aaron Dunlap

I've got my eye on this one. Comes with a fluid head, but you could buy a decent ball head for photography for $80 or so.

Manfrotto - 055XDB Tripod Legs (Black) with 700RC2 Mini Video -

That's fine for a *lightweight* package. One should use a heavier tripod and head for more stability and smoothness, but there are several from Manfrotto that should do the trick for less than $400. I see no reason to spend more, and I shot industrial video for decades.

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Sam Kanter

That's fine for a *lightweight* package. One should use a heavier tripod and head for more stability and smoothness, but there are several from Manfrotto that should do the trick for less than $400. I see no reason to spend more, and I shot industrial video for decades.

Did you shoot them in HD? Or 35mm? Because that is the resolution we're talking about. The cheapo tripods I had were fine for VHS, not so great with DV, and absolutely unusable for HD.

I have two Manfrotto tripods (one with 3221 legs and a 3130 head, and the other with 3205 legs and the same head) and I wouldn't recommend either one. If that's the best someone can do, fine. But I wouldn't feel comfortable telling them that they would get good results with them. Not shooting in HD or beyond.

[Sam Kanter]

How could I have shot HD for decades when it did not exist decades ago?

In any case, what does resolution have to do with quality of tripod? I shoot HD now with a very lightweight tripod and head often when traveling, and get excellent results.
Like hand-holding, much depends on the skills of the person shooting. Obviously, the heavier the camera, the more solid the tripod needs to be, and the smoothest fluid head is always best.

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Sam Kanter

How could I have shot HD for decades when it did not exist decades ago?

In any case, what does resolution have to do with quality of tripod? I shoot HD now with a very lightweight tripod and head often when traveling, and get excellent results.
Like hand-holding, much depends on the skills of the person shooting. Obviously, the heavier the camera, the more solid the tripod needs to be, and the smoothest fluid head is always best.

Sam, what I meant by that, and to a large extent why I mention resolution now, is that HD and 35mm film tend to show a lot of detail. You can make out a single eyelash depending on the quality of the glass. Back in the days of VHS/8mm, you could get away with a lot more vibration and shake before it was really too noticeable. I notice the same now when I shoot multicam with my DV camera and my HD camera. The same tripod does not produce the same result.

Regarding the larger issue, I would say that you don't need to spend a fortune on a tripod to get great results, but I've seen little in the $150-$200 range I'd feel comfortable recommending. And if at all possible, get something with cross-braced legs.

When I first got into tripods I was just shooting stills. I wasn't moving the head during shutter release, so "smooth" had a very different definition. As I got into video work I began to understand that those early heads weren't smooth enough for desirable results. It wasn't until I was able to try out the $1k+ units that I understood how it SHOULD and could feel. I couldn't afford that at the time, but it gave me some perspective on what I should be looking for in a unit nearer my price range.

What I am trying to convey here, is exactly that. Some of that hard won experience that says look for certain features if you can afford them, but once you get past a certain price point, you're just not going to find those features in anything.

[Sam Kanter]

I don't disagree with anything you say, and certainly the sturdiest tripod and smoothest fluid head one can afford is desirable.

That said, I recently bought a Slik 340 DX and a Manfrotto 700 RC2 head for about $170 total. I wanted something extremely light for travel, as I have other, heavier tripods and heads. I found that I could shoot steady, smooth video with this light, cheap combination with my T2i.

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Sam Kanter

I don't disagree with anything you say, and certainly the sturdiest tripod and smoothest fluid head one can afford is desirable.

That said, I recently bought a Slik 340 DX and a Manfrotto 700 RC2 head for about $170 total. I wanted something extremely light for travel, as I have other, heavier tripods and heads. I found that I could shoot steady, smooth video with this light, cheap combination with my T2i.

Then THIS is very valuable information. And I hope folks heed this. I am not against small and light, I am against cheap and bad! :)

[Ulf Laursen]

Originally Posted by Aaron Dunlap

I've got my eye on this one. Comes with a fluid head, but you could buy a decent ball head for photography for $80 or so.

Manfrotto - 055XDB Tripod Legs (Black) with 700RC2 Mini Video -

I got this one too, just with the 701 head (the plates fir my 501 head, monopod and figrig too)

/Ulf

[Aaron Dunlap]

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

You see how the legs are single tubes? That means they are going to flex. And you see how the legs aren't cross-braced? That means they are going to torque when you pan. Any wind or ground vibration is going to travel straight through those single tube legs right to the camera.

Oh yes, I completely understand the physics of the whole video tripod situation. That being said, when us low/no budget folks are trying to put together thing to earn the money to buy the right stuff, sometimes concession need to be made. And as was also said above, a tripod like this most certainly can do the job well enough.

I also understand and believe in the buy cheap, buy twice principle, but again, it all depends on application. This tripod certainly isn't a $30 velbon, but its also not a $2000+ sachtler.

[Sam Kanter]

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

Then THIS is very valuable information. And I hope folks heed this. I am not against small and light, I am against cheap and bad! :)

Certainly cheap and bad is not desirable!

Weight is relevant, DSLRs (T2i in particular), unless using a very heavy lens, is very light. It's small weight can be well supported by a light tripod, unlike a heavy camcorder. Also, it seems to me heavy duty fluid heads really require a bit more weight to function properly. So, consider weight when buying a tripod/head combination.