The ballhead I have now is sticking due to rust & wear. While it's perhaps too late for the tripod, I might like something like that on my monopod where the fast, not overly refined, movements you describe would be just fine. Of course, this tripod was more expensive than the Slik U212, but it is stronger with double the load rating while weighing slightly less.īy the way, it appears the extra arm mentioned in my message is no longer available from Slik.įinally, your Brunton grip ballhead looks interesting. I also purchased a universal arm to support longer lenses, which will shift some of the weight of those lenses off the head and onto the legs. Weighing just 5.4 lbs, it has a load rating of 9 lbs for the head and 14 lbs for the legs. This is a fairly heavy duty tripod with carbon fiber legs, magnesium canopy & leg hardware, and aluminium-magnesium head. My ultimate solution, finalized just last night with an online order, was the Davis & Sanford CarbonLiteX10 tripod with FGX10 head. However, unlike you, I gave that up after being overwhelmed by the many choices. I also considered alternative heads for the tripod base. We seem to be thinking along the same lines. While that does work just fine for smaller to mid-weight SLR's, a heavier camera like the K10D with attachments would likely be too much for it. I've done more research on the Slik U212 Deluxe (virtually identical to your U212, apparently just renamed) since writing that first message and the plastic head does still remain on the current version. Also, I don't have the battery grip and a flash, yet, so I can't comment when they are mounted. I must say mine is real old, I bought it in a pawn shop years ago. The ball head may not be the best solution if you're strictly taking macro shots though because the movements seem to coarse, still I love the ball head. I put the trigger/handle thingy on the left side of the camera, then I could squeeze the handle and pan and take my shots. The Brunton worked awesomely when I was taking pictures of the rafters on the Lochsa River a few weeks ago. With the original head I could not take a sharp macro shot with the Sigma and extension tubes, especially since I don't yet have a cable release. This rig works pretty good with my Sigma 70-300 APO DG f/4-5.6 Macro, even with the extension tubes, using the 2 second delay with mirror lockup. So I got the Brunton TH-Grip Ball-head which I really like. Feature-wise they were pretty nice, but we quickly discovered the very problem you had. The head on mine was plastic and not that good. I don't know what the diff is between the Universal and the Deluxe. No good.Ĭan anyone recommend a tripod that seems to meet the criteria I just described? It'll be easier to make a decision if someone out there could narrow down the infinite possibilities to just a few quality choices.Stewart, I have a K10D and a Slik Universal U-212. Does that make sense? This crank I mentioned seems to only lock the height at various pre-determined increments. It's odd and I'd much rather prefer a locking screw-type mechanism that allows me to release the tightness, raise or lower the center column/camera height to where I'd like, and then tighten the screw to secure the new position. Namely, the plastic crank that raises and lowers the center column and adjusts the camera's height. Plus, after checking them out, I outright hate some of their features. I did some random research and discovered that the cheap Dynex and SunPak models sold at my local Best Buy are rather laughable. I want something under $100 that has decent construction and a relative heaviness so that a small breeze won't rock or topple my tripod/camera should I ever take it into the wild. From testing, at this height there is definitely some wobbling if kick the legs but while the slik was able to stabilize itself quickly.the SL-1200 toppled over. Here it is compared with the SL-1200 fully extended. That being said, I'd rather the tripod support more weight in case I ever decide to upgrade to a true DSLR. uses lots of shiny nuts and bolts to fix the tripod legs. Not sure what the technical term for my size camera is, but it doesn't weigh much. Right now I've got the Canon A650 IS which is somewhere between a point and shoot and a DSLR. I don't have a particularly heavy camera. That being said, I'm utterly clueless as to what I'd need or which one to choose. I had a wedding Saturday and tried stacking the 501hdv head on the glidetrack, and the glidetrack on the Slik u212. I held off investing in one for quite a while, but in light of upcoming projects, I can't make do without one any longer. I just put in an order for the Manfrotto 088. I'm itching to do some long exposure and staged studio shots and figured now's the time to pick up a tripod for my digital camera.
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