Photography tripods?

I do have a bit of a budget on this one!

I'm very interested in photography. About a year ago I purchased a DSLR. I have the NIkon D40. I love it. I am experimenting with using my camera in manual mode and loving it. What i would like to do is more nighttime and scenery photos of nature. I would like to do weddings in the future when i feel as though i know more about what i'm doing. I am looking to get a better tripod than the one i have now. I used to have a regular point and shoot, so the crappy $20 kmart version was okay. Its not anymore. I had heard that the ball heads are the best. I know that bogen is a big name right now, but it seems like i can't escape in under $200 with a good set up from them. Anyone else have any tips they can give me or personal opinions?

Manfrotto! Ive not worked in a professional studio that doesn't use them.

The top three brands in tripods are Bogen, Manfrotto & Gitzo. Before I got my amazing Gitzo tripod, I had some "cheap" $80 or so tripods by Sunpak & Slik, and they were crappy. Don't hold up well and the levers are hard to work. I've also used a bunch of different Bogen/Manfrotto tripods and they are very durable and function well - a big step up in quality and design.

Check out this new Manfrotto-Bogen line called MODO (~$80, depending on which model). It has a joystick style ball head. My friend who is a pro photographer has the high-end version of this kind of head and she loves it. Very easy and freely maneuvers.

Here is one of them on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bogen-Manfrotto-Ph...

Keh.com has it them for even less ($55-60): http://www.keh.com/OnLineStore/ProductDe...

If you are going to buy a tripod buy a good one, preferably with braced legs and a pan and tilt head.
You can get more stability by hanging your camera bag between the legs....or by not extending the legs fully if you can find a high spot someplace. Go test some at a photo retailer.

I have more than 600 bucks worth of tripods and a monopod. I have about $100 in the load. You can buy very good tripods at garage sales and from Craig's list if you know what you are buying. The basic brands, in my opinion, are Bogen/Manfrotto and Gitzo. Since you are working with digital, you don't have the weight that I have on my tripods and you can get away with less tripod that I have. You should be able to buy a Bogen, complete with head, for about $150, but I bought one of those for $20 at a garage sale.

I can personally vouch for the Bogen/Manfrotto 055.

I paid $150 for it and another $60 for a Bogen ball head and quick release.

I can honestly say it's all the tripod I'll ever need.

If you're going to carry it on your back all day, you might shell out for a carbon fibre model.

Otherwise the 055 is a great choice.

HTH
V2K1

Two hundred dollars seems like a lot to pay for a tripod unless you are a pro. If you are on the move doing wildlife or outdoor photography a unipod (one leg) is good for rough terrain. I have a beanbag (dirt cheap) which I use to set my camera on a rock or branch especially if I want to be in the picture. I also have one with flexible legs (inexpensive) that will wrap around things like posts or fences. My fully adjustable (legs and turret) can also be used to hang the camera upside down for table shots of documents. I think it was about $150. available at most decent camera shops.

i use a manfrotto.. its SO worth it.. i paid $125 on ebay for both tripod and ball head {i will NEVR go back to a pan head}

had a quantaray {i believe its actually sunpak just redistributed wtih quantaray name} it suckes--- legs are the twist type not the lever type... {ha ha, i actually just passed the quantaray onto my husband till he gets back stateside lol }

Gitzo and Manfrotto make the best tri-pods. Get one that is made of carbon fiber... they're very stable and light.