I have not had a lot of luck finding a monopod or tripod solution for my Sony A700. I have found many that are made to fit the Sony camcorders, but none for the Alpha series dSLR.
All cameras have a standard tripod mount on the bottom, that tripods and monopods can screw into. You don't have to shop for one compatible with your A700; they're all compatible.
You will probably want to add a tripod head to add versatility. The head allows you to set up the tripod with camera attached, and then move the camera. Using a quick release system makes it much easier to mount and remove the camera , and makes it much more likely you will actually use the 'pod. Many mount their camera directly to a monopod because it's easy to move the whole setup. Again, a quick release system would help.
Ron
What types of photography and in what conditions do you want to use the tripod for?
What lenses do you envision using?
These are important questions. There are tripod/head solutions ranging from $50 to $1000+ The answers to the above questions will help determine what equipment is right for your needs.
I am obviously an extremenovice compared to many on this forum, but I am learning more each day.
In the threemonths I've owned my dSLR I have focused almost exclusively on flowers, butterflys, and birds. I'd like to try some different subject matter including landscapes,night shots, and eventually some HDR techniques.
At this point I have an A700 andTamron 300 mm lens with macro capability. At some point I will most likely purchase the Tamron 500 mm lens, some wide angle lens, and probably a true macro lens.
At this point, I'd like to get by with less than a $200 budget, but as with everything else in photography I realize that might or might not be possible.
If you don't care about weight, you can get a very nice tripod with a budget of $200. That's the price point where you start seeingthe carbon fiber legs.
You can either buy a tripod/head combination, which is the most convenient, or you can buy a tripod and a seperate head, and put them together.
The main choice is the type of head. There is the Ball Head that allows you to adjust all three axes at once, or the Pan/Tilt Head that lets you adjust each axis seperately. The Ball Head is the easiest and fastest to set up, but the Pan/Tilt head is the easiest to make fine adjustments with. If you want to make quick adjustments, the ball head is a better choice, but if you want to shoot panoramas, the Pan/Tilt Head is better.
