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I have come to the conclusion that I need a tripod to take some of the photo's I'm interested in taking.(nighttime and longer exposure) What exactly should I be looking for in a new tripod. Thanks in advance for any advice. I am using a Nikon D3100 mainly, now with the 18-55mm kit lens and am probably getting the Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 ED VR AF-S DX Nikor next month.
I used a cheap $30 tripod from Walmart for years. It worked, but certainly wasn't ideal or even decent. I eventually got a Manfrotto with a simple ball-pivot head. It's just one of their more entry-level combos and it was worth every cent of the $200 it cost me. I don't even use a tripod very often, but when I do it's a joy to use. I should have gotten it years ago, even if my old one was sufficient (barely).
People I talk with all mention Manfrotto as being one of the best reasonably priced tripods, so that's probably the way I will go. I need to research them somewhat to decide which model to get and which head with it. I'm fairly tall, so I need at least a 72'' one as I don't feel much like bending over much to utilize it. I guess the head is the most important part as it actually holds the camera. And with the ability of my camera to take video that may play a role in which head is right for my needs. Thanks Lamplight for your input, it's greatly appreciated.
I did the same as Lamplight, used a cheap tripod for years. It just never did the trick, not stable enough. Just as of last week I got a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with the Manfrotto 808RC4 3-way pan/tilt head. I went with a pan/tilt because it seemed to work best for the shots I take.
I have two, my first and fave is a very very old vivitar, heavy to tote around but has great adjustments, my second is a lightweight freebee Kodak I got when I purchased a camera. I also have a Manfrotto monopod that I never leave home without! At my age I have some hand and head tremmors and now always need something to shoot a decent shot.
My old vivitar isn't even made anymore, but its a real delight if I'm shooting a pano, landscape, birds or something else where I'll be setting up for a while but due to it's heft it's not fun to tote around.
There are so many choices out there today it's scary.
I had considered a monopod but was concerned with the stability issue especially as its hand supported and after my mini-stroke last year my balance and stability is less than optimum at times.
Thank you everyone for your input.
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Thanks!
