Light Weight Tripod Recommendations

[johnboy]

Hi,

I used to get quite heavily involved with photography at one point but lost interest to a degree about 6 years ago and sold off most of my SLR kit and my Manforroto tripod...

Anyhow.... I'm looking for a lightweight tripod to complement my Canon G11 for photographic forays into the bush here in NZ. I specifically want a tripod not an adaptor for a walking pole etc...

What do you folk recommend...

 

[AJB]

Go back to a Manfrotto (http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto), you can buy them in a modular fashion, light legs with a good head, heavy legs when you don’t need to carry them. I have a mid weight set of legs, a monopod and a lighting bracket and all will take either my camera head or video head.

 

[maddave]

Gorilla Pod
Attaches to just about anything and can be used as a tripod on its own

 

[DavidJT]

It's a very light camera, so you don't need anything too serious. Are you planning night shots, long exposures or?...
Manfrotto and Gitzo are the names to go for, but there are also some trekking poles available that covert into a tripod. Wouldn't put a heavy slr or medium format on them though. I have a small lightweight carbon fibre Manfrotto, which is very sturdy. I have a hook at the bottom which allows me to hang a water bottle or even small day pack underneath for extra stability.

 

[johnboy]

It's a very light camera, so you don't need anything too serious. Are you planning night shots, long exposures or?...
Manfrotto and Gitzo are the names to go for, but there are also some trekking poles available that covert into a tripod. Wouldn't put a heavy slr or medium format on them though. I have a small lightweight carbon fibre Manfrotto, which is very sturdy. I have a hook at the bottom which allows me to hang a water bottle or even small day pack underneath for extra stability.

Yep I agree the camera is very light compared to an SLR (but with most of the features) so I don't need over kill on the tripod..

Yep I'm planning on long exposures mainly smaller apatures working with the available light in the bush. With that you'll end up with longer exposure / shutter speeds to long to hand hold. Plus with a tripod you can get the camera all squared up nicely..

Thanks to all for the suggestions so far...

 

[MrEd]

i have a manfrotto 785b

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-manfrotto-785b-modo-maxi-tripod/p1014517

as my lightweight tripod, its just about ok holding my Nikon D90 and lens, so it will be fine with your G11, it packs up small to either fit in a bag or strap to the outside, its aluminium and plastic construction and pretty good

only thing i would say is that it is a bit unstable when fully extended, but i rarely use it at that height and am using heavier equipment than you. it goes down very very low aswell. i have had mine 3+ years and have taken it caving etc etc and only now is it starting to show some slack in the ball head, i took it apart and cleaned it up and its fine again.

i also use a monfrotto 190 but thats a bit overkill for what you want.

i would go with the 785, or modo as its other name, i would give it 8.5 out of 10

EDIT: oh yeah it has 2 settings for the head, a free moving one for photography, or by flicking a switch it becomes a smooth panning video head which is a nice feature

 

[MrEd]

although browsing the manfrotto website i cant find what i have, but this looks similar

http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/pid/3935?livid=68&lsf=68&child=2

 

[DavidJT]

Yes it's a great little camera, I carry my G10 with ms pretty much all the time and love it, G11 is even better I gather.
You'll be able to do some nice milky, moving water pics on a pod too as well as bracketing for hdr etc. Gary (Wayland) on here would probably have a good pod recomendation.

Edit: although the above sounds good

 

[johnboy]

Yes it's a great little camera, I carry my G10 with ms pretty much all the time and love it, G11 is even better I gather.

I think the main difference is the G11 has reverted to 10mp resolution but the ISO range has increased and I think it has the twisty LCD screen.. TBH I'm not one for reading all of the review guff in the mags and on line...

Canon make some top kit they're not likely to make a real lemon...

I want to invest in the lens tube attachment thingy also so I can mount some filters a Polarizer being one...

Thanks to all for tripod advice thus far...

 

[sensi5446]

I went for this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0000WXD16/ref=oss_productdoes does the job for me

 

[Rich^uk]

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/76393/show.html

works for me. I also have a tiny tripod (10 cm tall) fixed legs and folds into any pocket. was only £3 as well

 

[relfy]

I can vouch for Dave's Gorillapod, I've got the biggest one because the small one's seemed a bit feeble for not getting blown about in the wind - and it is fantastic! I don't think it would hold my sister's hugemungous long lens that I can barely lift, but it sounds like it would ideal for your purposes. You can wrap them around or balance them on pretty much anything and solidly too - which is actually more versatile than an ordinary tripod as you can get more precarious angles, height etc.

 

[Tony]

Yeah, gorilla pod is good, it will wear after a few years so the joints will loosen up (i've heard of this from a few people) but they're very good and not that costly for what they do.

 

[brancho]

When buying a gorilla pod check which model you buy against the wieght of your camera/lens

They are rated from 325 grammes to 5Kg depending on model.

 

[Wayland]

Buy a light pod and throw it in the bin because it's useless, then buy a slightly heavier pod and chuck that cos it's next to useless.

After you've wasted a couple of hundred quid on junk, buy a decent heavy tripod that is just about as much as you are able to carry for a few miles and you'll have the compromise you are after.

Alternatively, cut out the first steps and save yourself a lot of money.

 

[johnboy]

Buy a light pod and throw it in the bin because it's useless, then buy a slightly heavier pod and chuck that cos it's next to useless.

After you've wasted a couple of hundred quid on junk, buy a decent heavy tripod that is just about as much as you are able to carry for a few miles and you'll have the compromise you are after.

Alternatively, cut out the first steps and save yourself a lot of money.

Would I need a heavy weight tripod for a Canon G11??

 

[daveO]

Check where the mounting point on the camera is. I use a gorilla pod for my LX3 and because the mount is on the one end of the cam it seems to create a fair bit of bounce when you push the shutter button. If it's central it might be better. I have to use the self timer to allow it to settle.

 

[teflon]

Would I need a heavy weight tripod for a Canon G11??

No. It's just that people love to spend money - especially other peoples.

Something cheap, light, preferably with spikes. Just hold on if it's windy.

 

[Kilrymont]

I've got a lightweight Manfrotto, and an elderly dockside crane made by Kennet Engineering (now called a Benbo #1) with a Manfrotto head.

The Kennet is just wonderful when your car can get close to the shoot site. Trust me, you would not want to carry this thing around. (A boat could use it as a standby anchor) But it will shrug off any camera/lens combo you bolt onto it,

Real world shooting means you would leave such a thing in the car after one or two attempts to lug it to less convenient locations.

The light Manfrotto pod can suffer from the things others have said. But with a light camera these are not significant, and it's possible to make it work better if you take one or two precautions.

If you're after supersharp landscape shots, use the self timer or a cable release if the camera can take one. And on breezy days, don't take the tripod up to full height. Also, keep a supermarket bag handy. You can stick a convenient rock/brick in this and hang it off the bottom of the pod's column. This will make the plot much more stable. Some pods have hooks for this. My light Manfrotto (175b?) doesn't - so I use a simple coathanger-wire hook for the bag. It works just fine, even with a light dslr+telezoom aboard (Canon 350d, Sigma 70-300) It doesn't have to be pretty to work.

Good luck.

 

[Wayland]

Would I need a heavy weight tripod for a Canon G11??

One of the cameras I use is a G10 and if I need a tripod, the lightest thing I mount it on is a Manfrotto MN190

Of course the question should be how often do you really need a tripod for a G11?

My G10 is the only camera I regularly use hand held. The stabiliser is pretty effective and sometimes I steady it with a walking stick or a fence post. Occasionally I stuff a handkerchief into the pouch I carry it in and use it like a bean bag or I just rest it on my rucksack.

My point is, that if you are travelling light, then a tripod is not your best option. However, if you really need a tripod, wasting your money on flimsy lightweight pods is not a real solution either.

As suggested above, you can try to add weight to a light pod but that is at best a compromise as you can rarely find a rock when you need one. If I really thought that my MN190 was up to the job for proper landscape work, you can be damn sure I wouldn't be stripping my camping gear back to the minimum to compensate for the weight of my MN055 and its head when I'm out.

This was a 30 second exposure, which admittedly is twice as long as your G11 can give you, but even at 15 seconds a light pod would have been about as useful as a chocolate teapot in a situation like this.

If you want stability, don't compromise. If you need to compromise, don't expect real stability.