Tripods.

[Nintembo]

My first post on this board so I would firstly like to say hello to everybody!!!

I was just curios about what tripods would be suitable for a Mini DV camera? Do they come in different heights etc?

Thanks in advance, Tony.

[JohnColby]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

A tripod gives a stable platform for the camera - that's all.

Apart from that - it depends. For both video and still (film or digital) photography I use a monopod, handheld, a Jessops tripod, a Manfrotto (at work) or a Benbo for hiking and uneven rough terrain. I also fly cameras from kites for aerial work.

Depends on what you want to use it for.

[busbyvideo]

Any tripod from the pro range from Manfrotto, Velbon etc should be suffice. There are 2 basic types fluid head or friction. Fluid head is the best but most expensive.

[Alan Roberts]

You can get a decent tripod with fluid head from Manfrotto for about £200, and it will be fine for a camera up to about 4kg. If you can be certain that you never want to pan or tilit in shot, then you don't need the fluid head, and can save maybe £50. Don't go for a cheap, lightweight, flimsy tripod, you'll grow out of it very quickly.

A trpod transforms your footage from the obviously amateur into the would-be professional. Stable shots always look better than wobbly, unless you really want wobbly, in which case why would you want a tripod?

[Christian Lett]

Hi,

I recently purchased a Velbon D-600 for about £75 from Jessops.

Jessops don't seem to have it on their site but this one does:

http://www.swoptics.co.uk/view.asp?KEY=1251

It may be a discontinued model but but this one (http://www.jessops.com/search/viewproduct.cfm?PRODUCT=VELDV7000&BRAND=VEL&CONTINUE=false&FEATS=&FIRSTPRICE=0&KEYWORD=&LEVEL=&MODELNUMBER=&NEWQUERY=True&NODE=342&ORD=ASC&ORDERBY=&QUANTITY=10&RECENT=0&REFINE=&SEARCH_FOR=&SEARCHNODE=0&SEARCHURL=dointellisearch.cfm&SECONDPRICE=999999&SHOWCASEID=&STARTROW=11&SUBS=&WORD_SEARCH=N&) looks similar.

It's very sturdy with my TRV900 and has a good fluid head, which gives smooth and predictable pans & tilts.

It's no Manfrotto, but I couldn't afford that at the moment!

Christian.

[Nintembo]

Again please forgive my lack of knowlege but this is all pretty new to me.

It is my understanding that give or take, there are generally 2 sizof tripod. Tripods that are human height - for filming the face of people when hey are standing. And tripods that come down to the wasteline. Is this acurate?

[Alan Roberts]

Not really. Tripods come in all heights. I've got a couple of table-top models that lift the camera only a few inches, handy for tight spots and very portable. The most common tripods raise the camera to just below eye height, when fully extended. The best of those do mit without raising the centre column, and are the most stable, the heaviest and the most expensive.

You can get pretty well anything you like, these days.

[Grazie]

Well the Velbon was my first NEW tripod. I've since got a Manfrotto .. 2nd hand! And this is my point. Try and see if you can get an old expensive tripod . . The Velbon is light and serviceable . .. Having now used the Frotty, I see and feel the difference. The built quality of the two are miles apart. I don't mean the Vellie will fall apart, but where there are "rivet" type hinges/connections on the Vellie the Frotty has proper and sturdy bolts . .. all the stuff on the Frotty is solid . .and that's what you want from a tripod. The Vellie relies heavily on the natural steadiness inherent in a Triangle. This all depends on each and ever "joint", where it is important for this triangularization to be effective, being solid .. This is where you "pay" the difference between the Frotty and the Velly. Will I still use my Velley? - you betcha! Apart from anything else it's a good few kilos lighter than the Frotty .. ahah!

Hope this hasn't confused you . .. try and see if you can pick up 2nd-hand kit .. I did, my Frotty cost £20 quid!

Grazie

[cstv]

Nintembo, what camera are you using?

i've just invested in Libec TH650 (£175) and I LOVE IT! it's a little big for my sony trv20, on the occassions that i hire a PD150 its made for the job, they practically fuse together as one ;)

[Nintembo]

Originally posted by cstv:
Nintembo, what camera are you using?
It is a Samsung VPD101 DV Camcorder.

Are all tripods suitable for DV cams? I ask because I am on a mega budget and I have seen one in Argos for £30.

And also could somebody explain with having a tripod with a 'pan head' is worth having - and what exactly does it do?

Cheers.

[mooblie]

A pan head is designed to allow you to traverse the video camera sideways WHILST SHOOTING, and still get smooth footage.

If you think about it, you would never need this facility with a still camera, and so a "pan head" is a feature only needed for video cameras. It requires a more elaborate (hence expensive) mechanism than, for example, a simple lockable ball-and-socket joint used for a still camera.