Tripod recommendations for the Canon XL2

[Rob Lohman]

Please take your time to look and search this forum. Tripods,
heads and sticks have been discussed at great lengths already
here.

Thank you.

[Owen Hughes]

I am on the verge of getting a Canon XL2 and I am on the hunt for a decent tripod. I will have a budget of about £200 and from what I can gather I think this Libec TH-950 is the best I'll get for my money. I looked into getting a Manfrotto (as I used one for the first time Thursday and fell in love) but for something capable of the XL2 it's way over my budget.

From what I can gather too I don't need to get the Tripod adapter (which I have been told costs £120) for the XL2 with this Libec tripod or have I been misinformed?

Here's a link to the Libec: http://www.b-hague.co.uk/Libec_Tripods.htm#950

Do you guys think this tripod is any good? If not, could you suggest another to me within my £200 budget.

cheers Owen

[Robin Davies-Rollinson]

Owen,
If you've spent that much money on the XL2, my advice would be to save some more and get a better tripod/head than the Libec. It won't be long before you discover its shortcomings.
The Manfrotto 503 head and 525MVB legs will be much better, but everything is relative - you could go on to spend thousands on just the head alone...
You've already tried the Manfrotto, so you know what it can do - need I say more?

Hwyl,

Robin

[Jon Turner]

i have the manfrotto 503/525 kit and i bought it from b-hague for £380 which is as good a price as you can get it for.

it's a very good kit, and i find it perfect for my xl2. i can't say i have much experience with other kits, but i am not disappointed or frustrated with this one as it holds the cam steady, pans smoothly, and there are plenty of variables to adjust to get it to perform as you require.

p.s. hague are really nice folks. they took the time to show me around their stuff and allowed me to compare the 501 and 503 heads. if you can get down to their little showroom you can see all their kit, so take the opportunity. i will be going back there when i need (i.e. can afford) more gear.

[Owen Hughes]

Ok. Thanks. I will try and scrape some cash together somehow and upgrade to a manfrotto.

Robin, that's the exact reason why I can't afford a decent tripod, because I've just spend all that money on an xl2. But maybe if I ask nicely the bank will give me a few hundred £ more, doubt it though. They're not my best friends as it is.

Diolch

Owen

[Pete Bauer]

Hi Owen,

Just some peanut gallery thoughts. Although the Libecs are a good value for dollar (or Pound Sterling), I agree that if you are going to shoot serious video with a relatively expensive camera, try to scrape together a few more quid to get at least the next step up.

But if you absolutely can't spend more and your intended use isn't too demanding, Libec may be reasonable. Being only a hobbyist, I originally bought a Libec M20 (which does not have counterweights) to go along with my GL2, based on a "bang-for-buck" recommendation. When I got my XL2, I found that it is a bit front heavy for this tripod, but I've been getting by reasonably well with it anyway. Reasonably smooth pans and tilts. Presumably the 950 would be of at least equal quality and has counterweights according to that advert you linked. Then again, some people have posted that they were distinctly unhappy with Libec due to stickiness on panning, which I have not noticed on mine.

Regardless, when my hobby budget allows, I'll be looking for a head that's better than "reasonably smooth." Maybe something in the Miller DS10 range...at least based on their reputation -- some folks have complained about poor quality parts in them. I don't know whether or not that one is worth the money (over $1000US for head and sticks) against, for example, the Bogen 503 (US)/Manfrotto 3460 (civilized world) head that I've played with in the camera store (note that the 501/3433 does not have counterbalancing capability). It does seem distinctly smoother than the Libec M20. And they have a new head on the market, the 505/3465 so might be good to investigate that. I also liked the feel and ergonomincs of the Gitzo G2380 when the time comes, I'm going to look closer at that one again. I REALLY liked the ergonomics of that head...but again, I'm a hobbyist in window-shop mode.

Hope all this rambling has been of some minor help.

[Owen Hughes]

I think I'm going to go for the Manfrotto 503 head with 525 sticks.

I've used one of those before and it was 'oh so smooth'. This all of course is if mr. bank manager decides he wants to give me that little bit more. I need to save some cash for a hard case for the xl2 and a hand full of filters.

Thanks for the lengthy advice given though.

Also want one of these at some point: http://pec.co.uk/oscommerce-2.2ms2/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=140_177_158&products_id=1196&osCsid=dfe7d861db1b10b18c54f29ff55c3a7f

Owen

[K. Forman]

I'm not sure how well the 503 will work with an XL, but it was almost too much for the 501. It would start to slowly crawl down, due to the front heavy cam.

[Owen Hughes]

the 503 has a spring counterbalance system so it should be ok.

[Jon Turner]

i have the 503 and the xl2 does like to lean forward, however the design allows you to adjust the mounting plate to counterbalance also.

[Mike Hardcastle]

Hello Owen I have the Libec 950 bought from B.Hague I find its more than enough support for my XL2 the counter balance feature really does help the nose heavy weight of the XL2. Used it for a few weddings last year and its quite light and portable.

[Gary Barr]

As it says really, a couple of times recently during filming my XL2 has seemed to get wedged onto my tripod head. It shifts ok up until you have to depress the tripod head button and then only a couple of inches before getting stuck. If it helps it's almost like the plate is too big for the head(obv it's not but that's what it feels like).

Is it because I've got the camera too loaded? - dual batt charger with 2x945s on board, wireless receiver, paglight.

Has anyone else had this problem, and is the answer going for the TA100 tripod adaptor?

Thanks guys, great forum.

[Alexander Berezovsky]

Alright, down and dirty :)
I need a tripod for my XL2
I've researched and researched but can't decide or figure out what to get.
I like and I'm set on Manfrotto. I was thinking of the 501 head, but when you hear xl2 also 503 comes up often. I dont really get the difference between the 501 head and 503. Which should I choose. Even bigger proglem is the legs. I was told and I agree the heavier the better. What good pair of legs will go with the 503 or 501. Budgeting is always a problem but I'm willing to spend upto $200 on the legs and 501 is around $130.

Explanations and suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,
Alex

[Jay Gladwell]

If you want sturdy, steady, and smooth you'd better plan on spending a lot more than $330! I can't for the life of me understand why people buy expensive cameras and cheap tripods.

The "explanation" is you get what you pay for. Why are you willing to pay thousands of dollars for the XL2 and only a few hundred dollars for your tripod and head? When the XL2's 20x lens is zoomed all the way in on the subject, the image will be very shakey unless you have a solid and sturdy tripod system.

Look back through some recent posts here to find many, many discussions on this issue of tripods and heads.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=46961

Jay

[Ido Levy]

Hi All

I need to decide between the Miller DS 10 fluid head or the Vinten Vision 3 fluid head for my XL2. I need the best support i can get as i am going to use some long lenses on my XL2 mainly for birds shots.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Ido