Tripod Recommendation for PD170/Sports(Auto Racing)

[Frank Peterson]

Hello,

I recently purchased a PD170 that I will use primarily for filming drag racing. I have some older tripods that I used with my TRV50's, but they are cheap, bought from Best Buy, etc. Now that I've upped the ante with the PD170, I want to invest in a quality tripod.

In covering drag racing, I will do a lot of simultaneous panning and zooming as the cars come to and go away from the camera. I have a 523PRO zoom controller and now looking for the tripod. A lot of times I have to put the tripod on un-level ground, and/or on grass.

I really want to spend less than $1000, hopefully closer to the $600-$800 range. I have looked at the Cartoni Action Pro DV, some of the Bogens, and Miller. I have limited myself to tripods sold in kits, but perhaps I would be better off buying the pieces separately?

Thanks for your help.

Frank

[Robin Davies-Rollinson]

The PD170 would be ideally matched to the Manfrotto 503 head and 525MV legs - well, you've already got the Manfrotto zoom controller anyway... ;-)


Robin

[Mikko Wilson]

Manfrotto also makes a simple "ball" style leveler that will go between most manfrotto heads and the tripod or centerpost. - They allow you to level the head 20* in any direction. Very handy if you are setting up on uneven ground

- Mikko

[Robin Davies-Rollinson]

The leveller is in-built to the above-mentioned gear...

Robin

[Frank Peterson]

Originally Posted by Robin Davies-Rollinson

The PD170 would be ideally matched to the Manfrotto 503 head and 525MV legs - well, you've already got the Manfrotto zoom controller anyway... ;-)


Robin

Thanks for the suggestions. I did a quick serach at B&H and saw that the only kits they sell with those legs and the 503 head has a ground level spreader. That is something that would be a problem when I am on grass or uneven terrain. I am assuming I can simply take this off and get a mid-level spreader if needed....thoughts? This is a kit I see that B&H has:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

I've also looked at this setup:

http://www.evsonline.com/merchant2/m...duct_Code=APDV

It would necessitate me getting the adapter for the zoom controller, but that's pretty cheap. The separate tilt and pan locking with continuous adjustment on the head would be helpful I think, I didn't check to see if the 503 head had the same feature.

Thanks

[Robin Davies-Rollinson]

You can easily and quickly remove the ground-level spreader. There is also a mid-level spreader available as well. As for separate tilt and pan locking with continuous adjustment, this is standard on the head.
I'm using this equipment for all my broadcast work with the FX1 or Z1 with no problems - and so are a number of my colleagues...

Robin

[Frank Peterson]

Originally Posted by Robin Davies-Rollinson

You can easily and quickly remove the ground-level spreader. There is also a mid-level spreader available as well. As for separate tilt and pan locking with continuous adjustment, this is standard on the head.
I'm using this equipment for all my broadcast work with the FX1 or Z1 with no problems - and so are a number of my colleagues...

Robin

Thanks Robin, it's great to get some more advice and recommendations from experienced people. I think I'll end up going with that...thanks again!

[Dan Mumford]

Hi Frank,

It's Dan. I use a Manfrotto 755B MDeVe tripod with a 503 head. The tripod has a quick leveling bowl so even if your legs aren't exactly level, your head can be.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=272828&is=REG

Dan

[Frank Peterson]

Originally Posted by Dan Mumford

Hi Frank,

It's Dan. I use a Manfrotto 755B MDeVe tripod with a 503 head. The tripod has a quick leveling bowl so even if your legs aren't exactly level, your head can be.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=272828&is=REG

Dan

Dan,

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out....