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Manfrotto 322RC2
by Huomenna
I don't use a tripod for the vast majority of my work, but there are times when it's essential and for most of my interior property work I do employ the use of one. Very early on in my career I realised the benefits of a decent quality tripod over a cheap plastic one and I purchased a Manfrotto 190 which came with a 390 rc2 (pan and tilt ... type) head. This was fine when I had a Nikon D80 and no hefty 2.8 zoom lenses, but over time my kit has upgraded substantially and the head just couldn't quite cope with the weight of my new equipment - one particular irritant was that it was impossible to keep the head on a horizontal level, it would always dip a couple of degrees to the side. Now this doesn't seem like much of a hard ship, but with everything on a slight tilt, it meant I had to do correction work in retouching later on that I should never have to do.
Money being something I certainly don't have an abundance of, I put up with this for quite some time, until I got the chance to buy a new camera very cheap so I chopped my old head in as part exchange and had no use of a tripod at all for a couple of weeks, until I was lucky enough to grab one coming in second hand at work.
Ideally I'd wanted a strong fluid or joystick head, but both of these types are on the expensive side so I hadn't been holding out much hope of finding one in my budget, however luck was on my side and I ended up with the 322RC2 which is a joystick type. It's important to note that as this is not a fluid head, it wouldn't really be suitable for use when panning with video - the results would be on the jerky side.
The 322 is an older model now, but as a consequence is slightly cheaper than the current ones available, indeed even the 'new' prices for this model tend to be cheaper than those for the current joystick head with a lower maximum weight load. New prices seem to be around the £120 mark (its RRP) and a quick look on ebay shows several auctions and one particularly cheap buy it now of £55. I managed to get hold of mine for the bargain price of £45.
One of the great benefits to a joystick design head is that it can be easily and completely controlled by one hand (the right one ideally), leaving your other free for something else (like keeping a grip on the tripod body or holding a remote shutter release etc.) It's also fairly compact in size when compared to others that support the same sort of weight.
I keep mentioning that this head can securely hold a lot of equipment - well the maximum supported weight comes in at 5kg, which should be more than enough for most people, even bird watchers with extreme telephoto lenses. It weighs in at 650g itself so it isn't a particularly light product and something that you may need to consider (in conjunction with the weight of your tripod), especially if you're going to be walking around a lot with it or going travelling, with limited weight allowances. That said there aren't any massively lighter alternative heads that I know of that can compete in the supported weight stakes so I'd have to say match the head you buy to the weight of equipment you use at any one time, and the weight of future equipment you are likely to purchase.
Finish wise the head has a black matt finish coating all over which is great from a grip perspective - this is unlikely to slip out of even the sweatiest of grips! I have to say though that I personally liken the feeling of this to people scraping fingers down a blackboard and it always makes me cringe when I touch it (which isn't brilliant), it's not just Manfrotto though - Canon have used a similar feeling plastic on many of their new cameras and I hate touching them, but I haven't come across anyone who feels the same way about it as me!
There is a friction adjustment wheel which I pretty much always leave to the minimum friction level as I find it easier to use this way. The plate for attaching to the base of your camera is the standard Manfrotto one, so replacements or spares can be purchased with relative ease, which is always handy to know.
The main potential downside I can think of is that, like many cameras and camera equipment, this isn't the most practical product for anyone who relies on their left hand - you could just about use it, but there are plenty of other tripod heads that would be easier for left handers to adjust.
Overall I'd have to say that I think this is an excellent head - it's strong, practical and can sometimes be picked up for a bargain second hand. I think this is a case of buy good, buy once.
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7DayShop Travellers Midi Trippod
by Biskey
7Dayshop is an online shopping outlet, specializing in photographic, digital and computer goods. I'd never used them before, but came across the site when I was looking for a tripod for my telescope.
I'd bought a spotting scope for bird watching, for those times when I found myself on a really good reserve where I could set ... up for a longish haul and expect to see a wide range of birds at a distance. Those times tend to be few and far between, so although I needed a decent scope, I didn't necessarily want a heavy duty tripod. There are some excellent tripods out there and there's no doubt that if you are a regular, serious birder, you need something that will take the wear.
I didn't want to spend a great deal. I thought that if I could get myself something that was decent but low cost, I could see how things went and always upgrade later. I think I've found what I was after with the 7Dayshop Midi Tripod. It's intended more as a camera tripod and of course can be used for photography as well, or instead.
/I\ /I\ FEATURES /I\ /I\
The tripod comes with its own carrying case (with shoulder strap) and not extended it is just 42 cms long. At 612 g it is also very light, which is important as sometimes you have to trek quite long distances before you can set up. The tripod itself has a handle attached for ease of carrying when you don't want to be putting it back in its case all the time as you move from one location to another.
The aluminium legs have quick release fasteners that snap open and shut and the rubber feet articulate to cope with uneven ground to give extra stability. A built in spirit level helps to ensure that you have it well set. The centre column also has a hook on the bottom from which an additional weight can be hung for extra stability if required.
The centre column releases and can then be wound up and down for fine tuning the height required. The fully extended height of the tripod is 136 cms.
The tripod comes with a quick release plate, which carries a standard screw that should fit almost all cameras and scopes. This makes it a lot easier and quicker to put the scope on and take it off the tripod as you are working.
The locking plate also has a video pin, in case you want to use this for a video camera. The docking section itself tilts to vertical, in case you want to use this for a camera to take portrait shots. This has its own spirit level as well.
Tilt and pan are controlled by a twist release / twist tighten handle and the action is quite nice and smooth.
The black and grey colour scheme is restrained and attractive.
/I\ /I\ OVERALL IMPRESSIONS /I\ /I\
Just doing this review has made me realise what a good buy this was.
This cost me £12.99 including p&p and they are currently offering them for £10.89 (not sure if p&p is included with that). I think this is excellent value. If you were looking for a camera tripod but didn't have much to spend, or you just weren't sure how committed you were to using it, then you couldn't go far wrong with this. For me, with a heavier telescope and carting it across some rough terrain, only time will tell if it stands up to the wear and tear. I'm very hopeful. It has certainly done good service so far and, although it is lightweight, it isn't tacky. If I find that I'm using the telescope a lot more and bits start to drop off the tripod, I shan't resent having bought it, because it will have done its job. In the meantime, it's a very handy piece of kit.
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Sony VCT 50AV
by MrPixl8
As an amateur film maker it is necessary for me to have multiple different tripods and I have slowly begun to realise that there are some seriously terrible tripods out there and unfortunately they are generally the ones that I can actually afford. Recently I purchased a Sony Handi cam camcorder to accommodate my main camera ( to capture ... scenes from different angles etc) and because of this I required a new tripod.
Straight away I can say that this tripod is fantastic and it has passed all of the tests I have done with it! A problem I have had with other tripods is that their is a weird creak when you attempt to rotate the the camera while it is attached to the plate on the top. This has literally been the bane of my existence at times as it ruins scenes when there is supposed to be complete silence. This certainly doesn't have this problem, it is blissfully silent. Another irritant with other tripods is that they are annoyingly stiff, which can be a huge problem while filming as it cause the footage to come out shaky which totally defeats the point of a tripod in the first place. Again this tripod does not have this problem and all the footage I have made using this tripod has been silky smooth.
Now onto the most interesting part about this tripod, it's remote controlled, yeah you heard me correctly. This tripod can be controlled remotely with the use of a remote provided, this means you can move the top of the tripod without even touching it. To me this is an amazing feature, sometimes you don't want to go near the tripod at all for fear of nudging the tripod and ruining the footage. This way the head of the tripod can rotate without the aid of physical interaction. So to prevent this from sounding like an advertisement I will say that honestly I don't use this feature a lot and the reason for this is I'm just plain scared to use it. There is something terrifying about putting your £600 camcorder onto a tripod which you aren't in full control of, what if the head gets jammed and the tripod falls over?! (I am literally shuddering at the thought) but perhaps this is just me being weird. Realistically I shouldn't think this way as the tripod is very sturdy and stable so my worry is probably misplaced, I cant really see this tripod falling over unless you push it or position it on a precarious surface. As a final word of advice I would say that it is ESSENTIAL that you check the tripod is compatible with your camcorder otherwise you would've just spent £70 on a paper weight!(although I have said this, there probably is an adaptor for your camera but that just means spending more money and who wants that!)
Like I said before, this tripod is around £60-£70 so it is reasonably expensive and for an amateur film maker who has spent most of their money on their camera like myself this is probably quite a lot of money. But although this is quite a lot of money it isn't nearly as bad as some other insanely priced tripods on the market, do not be fooled by these tripods as this one is probably all you need realistically.
So ultimately, whether you're an amateur like me or a semi pro film maker this tripod is perfect for use with your Sony camcorder. With the remote control feature and the absolute sturdiness of this tripod you'll be purchasing a welcome addition to your arsenal.
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