[shaolin95]

Hi!
I am about to get the K20D and somehow my Radio Shack tripod does not fit.
In fact, using the Tamron 70-300mm is almost impossible since the tripod is always shacking.
Any recommendations for a good one on a budget?
It seems I cannot get anything decent under $200 but if you know of one the cheaper the better for my injured pocket.

Choose carefully and get the best you can afford. You have a lot of money invested in the camera and lens. Do you want to risk all that on a cheapo tripod?
There are plenty of Tripod threads in this forum for you to read through.

[Edvinas]

Hi!
I am about to get the K20D and somehow my Radio Shack tripod does not fit.
In fact, using the Tamron 70-300mm is almost impossible since the tripod is always shacking.
Any recommendations for a good one on a budget?
It seems I cannot get anything decent under $200 but if you know of one the cheaper the better for my injured pocket.

Try Slik tripods. They offer extremely good price/performance ratio.
For example this one just fits your budget: Slik | Pro 580DX Tripod with 3-Way Head | 615-580 | B&H Photo

[shaolin95]

That looks nice. I am going to try to find more info on it. It seems at least $200 is what I am looking at for something decent right?

[pxpaulx]

I think I have posted this link in several tripod threads - it is worth a read!

Tripods and Ball Heads by Thom Hogan

As damn brit said, get the best you can afford. After having a cheap amvona (manfrotto knockoff) for close to two years which cost under $50 for legs/head back when the company was a regular on fleabay, I spent about $450 on legs, head and a couple of plates - for what I think works well enough for me (I do fear I have taken a detour as referenced in the article above, but so far so good!).

[interested_observer]

I would suggest, starting with what you have now, and figuring out what you like about it and what you don't. For instance, I bought a cheap tripod off of evilbay about 4 years ago for 11 cents and $7 shipping. Overall it was OK - I learned a lot with it. I liked the size (a travel one), liked the leg clips, did not like the 3 way panning head with the handle, and the camera plate was clunky. By using it - and it worked fairly well until it fell apart, I found out what I liked and what would work for me.

So awhile back, I picked up a Benro (a Chinese knockoff at $160 from Amazon). It was the right size folded up for my luggage, not too heavy - about 3 pounds, but heavy enough to perform the job. Sturdy and stiff for its weight, well constructed, the price fit my budget, and I am pretty happy with it. I did compromise on the leg locks, since it has the twist rather than the clips, which I have now a slight preference for. It also came with a relatively cheap ball head (rated for 8 pounds of weight - which was fine since my heaviest load would be 2.75 pounds, so there was margin). The ballhead did not add any cost, since going in I considered it to be replaceable, however it did make the tripod instantly usable.

On the first couple of uses in the local area, it all worked out fine, the ball head was a bit of a pain with the levers to lock in the position. However, when I went to take a multiple frame panorama, I could not pan on a level horizontal plane. So I found I needed a new ballhead, which I was NOT surprised. This did show me that I needed not only a standard ballhead, but a panning ballhead, of which there are not all that many available.

A panning ballhead has the ability to pan above the ballhead rather than below it as most all of the ballheads are designed to do. This allows you to level the entire setup, and then pan on a level horizontal plane. So, I wound up picking up the Acratech GP Ballhead (note the last picture on the link and also the little video on its use - the ballhead can be used upside down making it a panning ballhead).

Acratech GP Ballhead*::*Ballheads*::*Acratech

To complete the entire setup, you will probably also need a way to release the shutter without touching the camera (even with a 2 second delay) - either a wireless (IR) or wired remote. These are relatively inexpensive at about $10 to $30.

Now you really do not need to go the expensive ballhead route. I did, because I wanted to do panoramas in low light situations (at night), essentially my reason for the tripod in the first place. The ballhead that may come with the tripod may be sufficient, or there are several threads on ballheads here (for somewhat heavy loads) in the $50 range.

that was my odyssey - hope it helps....

[shaolin95]

Thanks a lot for sharing this, it does make a lot of sense and I guess since I have been using my K100D with the current gear I got, I am kind of wanting to upgrade somethings based on that.
For example, my Radio Shack tripod shakes a lot with the Tamron lens and I just prefer to have a perfectly stable surface and not use the Shake Reduction when possible..then again it could be that the SR is that much better on the K20D that this might be a mute point.
Then I am also thinking on a Flash because the built in flash is just not enough to get what I want to see in my pictures.
Also, I am used to having spare AA batteries so the grip for the K20D sounds like a good investment.
I do have a cheap chinese remote that works though.
Also, I live in Utah so Panoramas are something I do like and the current tripod simply sucks for that.
So, all in all I think I am upgrading based on my limited experience with the K100D and it does seem like the lens is not my priority right now since based on comments and research I should not expect a leaps and bounds improvement over the Tamron so maybe I should expend the money on other upgrades that could have a bigger impact at this time at least.
Does that make sense? lol

[stanleyk]

I have been very pleased with this:

Induro | AB0 Adventure Tripod with Ballhead & Case | 470-000

[shaolin95]

I wouldn't mind that one at all, looks nice and good price too.
Have you been using it on the field with 300mm or so lenses?
Thanks

[reeftool]

If it is possible, I would recommend going to a camera store and checking out the tripods on display. Not all of us live near a store that sells them but it is nice to see what you are buying. I was in Best Buy a couple of weeks ago and noticed some tripods in the camera section. I don't remember exactly what the brand was but it was a well known (Manfroto possibly) brand I recognized for around $150.

[shaolin95]

I do have a few stores around that I can check and hopefully support if not too pricey.
Heck, I just found a local selling an almost new (she has the receipt) AF360fgz flash for $100.
Sounds like a good deal there.

[shaolin95]

Ok I am moving and the expenses are piling so of the two offers I have for this week I need to pick one.
So please help me choose.
I can either get the BG2 Grip, extra battery and Remote Control F for $120 or a Pentax AF 360 FGZ and the Pentax Sling Bag for $120.
I do have a cheap ebay remote that I used with the K100D and another Pentax Bag but it does not hold all the stuff I am getting now so you could say I can use either.

It would seem to me that the Flash is the better deal right here but I want to read your opinions please.

[pxpaulx]

Ok I am moving and the expenses are piling so of the two offers I have for this week I need to pick one.
So please help me choose.
I can either get the BG2 Grip, extra battery and Remote Control F for $120 or a Pentax AF 360 FGZ and the Pentax Sling Bag for $120.
I do have a cheap ebay remote that I used with the K100D and another Pentax Bag but it does not hold all the stuff I am getting now so you could say I can use either.

It would seem to me that the Flash is the better deal right here but I want to read your opinions please.

As much as I love having the grip, since you dont have one yet you dont know what you are missing (point being, leave it that way for the moment!). Not only is the flash a better deal, a grip may make the camera weight feel better in your hands but a flash will expand your photographic horizons. That is probably on the high end for a used grip even, if you wait there is no doubt one will come around for that or cheaper.

although there is no swivel on the 360, 90% of the time I use it wireless off camera - you can achieve the same swivel results by holding it next to the onboard flash in whatever direction you want (buy a $15 gorilla pod, or $4 knockoff on ebay to have an offcamera stand for the flash as well). The bag is just icing on the cake if you can use it. Flash all the way.

[shaolin95]

Even thought the pentax remote is expensive and the added battery, $120 for all is not as good a deal as the flash and the bag for $120 (flash $100 if I want it).
I am going with the flash then.
Thanks!