[Recovered Thread: 90261]

[tclune]

genece wrote:

And if your inferring that the FZ30 can not take a great photo , you would be wrong again, in my opinion.

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No, that is not what I am saying. As I belabored in my original post, the question is one of camera weight and/or torque from a long and heavylens hanging off the front of the camera.

[genece]

I have a 80 to 400 OS lens it is quite heavy (3.6 lbs) but it balances(with its tripod mount)at least as well ona tripod as the Fz 30 does. ANd much better if a Teleconverter is used on the FZ30.

[Rudo]

Thanks for the answers,

I think I'm gonna look at a Velbon, if not, I now know that not every tripod will do.

Thanks again!



Rudo

[Puddock]

I have no interest in looking like a pro, I just want to make my next tripod purchase my last. Yes I have an FZ30, but I doubt if it will be my last camera.
If and when I go down the DSLR path, I dont want to have to buy another tripod.
In case anyone is interested here are links to a couple of articles which I thought were worth a read.
I am not suggesting that anyone spends the kind of money these guys have done.
But I want to improve my photography. I have one camera and see it as a challenge to extract the best possible from it. In my opinion, a cheap tripod is not going to get me there.

www.vividlight.com/articles/3103.htm
www.bythom.com/support.htm

[genece]

I agree that a good tripod is a nice thing to have ...but that part alone does not make the choice easy......For me(I can not hike) the choice in legs was not difficult ...I got the 3021 pro and have no reason to question that decision ....its about as sturdy as legs can be and it is very versitile...but heavy.

Then I wanted a good ball head and got a 175 dollar head(the 490)and while its very good I can see where it is not the best.

It is very smooth and locks securely and it has a Panning base...I am sure it will do me but if I were to do it again it would not be my choice.

[r0nn13]

I bought a Velbon cx-560 for my fz20 and am very happy with it. I was tempted with a more expensive Manfrotto, but went for the Velbon, as the quick release head had a catch that could be released accidentally when I was in a rush. The Velbon had a more secure release that was harder to trigger.

I would base your choice on type of photography, if you need to move fast (i.e. motor Rallies) then buy a cheaper tripod as it won't last as long, but don't buy any cheap brands though as I found out with my first tripod.

It was a major high street brand, and only lasted less than a month due to rough life it had, and it is not guarenteed for excessive use (thr grass and major chips out of it gave that away...).

I have had my Velbon over 6months and it is just unbreakable, so far anyway…

[Hiroshi]

I use a Valbon VideomateIV which is quite large and a Albinar 9900 which is much more manageable. Both have fluid heads and are very smooth. But recently I've purchased an ultracompact tripod from Sunpak, it's the DigiPro B with pan and tilt head. It has a twist and pull leg lock with max height of 5'2" and folds down to 13 1/2 inches. It also supports 4.4lb of camera gear. It can't be compared to a heavier tripod, but for travel it hits the spot at 2.2 lb.

Here's a pic of it

Hiroshi