Originally posted by Kirivon For 50 dollars and doing video, get a monopod. Any tripod-head combination under 100 dollars isn't going to be worth your time, and you'll only buy it again later. If you will only ever need a tripod for group shots or self portraits at decent shutter speeds, buy a cheap tripod and a decent monopod. If you intend to use the tripod for long exposures, or if you want to take pictures from a tripod while standing instead of kneeling, save up some cash for some manfrotto legs.
I went down this exact road when I first got into dSLRs, buying a slik sprint pro. Just a couple weeks ago I tried using the slik, because my manfrotto 055XPROB/488RC2 didn't fit in my duffel bag I wanted to use. I figured the slik would be okay, since I only needed a little help to stabilize shots at 1/4th to 1/15th of a second. It wasn't. I had to drive home to get the manfrotto. The only thing I would use my slik for now is my canon sd600 p&s (that I never use).
I do agree with Kirivon's view in the first paragraph.
The criteria in selecting a tripod - stability and ease of use.
And please bear in mind, "you pay peanuts, you get monkey", ie you get what you pay for. And for anything less than $50, IMO, I would not recommend any tripod in that price range to anyone as most cheap tripod will not withstand the load / usage/ test of time. Many a times, the people who bought a sub $50 tripod will be in the market again, looking for a new tripod to replace the old one.
My recommendation is to look for a good tripod (either new, if you have the budget or used) with a good head.