Good, cheap spot news tripod

SeagateNews

Well-known member
Wow, I haven't posted in a while, but I've got another dilema. I need a new tripod, as the spreaders in the last two I've had managed to break off completely--I saw it coming, as they were left over from my VHS-C years.

Despite how funny the cops think it is to see me dancing around with the tripod placing each leg one-by-one, it's definately distracting me from the task at hand. So, I'm looking for suggestions.

I need something that works well and can take the beating of spot news, but comes cheap...like, real cheap. I figure since my camera weighs so little, it shouldn't be a really tough search...but it is never that easy.

For those of you who don't know, I'm using a Sony VX2100.

At this point, I'm aiming for this...but the name "Sunpak" scares me for some reason...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=331624&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
 

Foxwood

Well-known member
I have one of those that I use when I've got to spend a lot of time walking with a tripod. It's light and easy to use. And the head isn't too bad for a cheap fluid. It works great with my PD-170, but make no mistake, it ain't a real heavy duty tripod. I've taken it to the top of mountains, and was glad to have it instead of my Gitzo.

If you're looking for something affordable you can use everyday until you are able to buy something more solid, it'll work fine for you.
 

ken g

Member
Just noticed your post, probably outdated, but heres my thoughts. I got the sunpak, the one with the 50mm ball head and 2 stage sticks, was fine for a little bit using an XL1, but when I tried my Sony DSR 200 the head started to show a lot of slack, and the legs would collapse, probably because of the added camera weight. I tries to stick my AJD 215 on it and almost lost everything. Its probably ok for a real light cam, but I would be careful. I ended up with a Dynatran from Amvona of Dedam, Mass, around 700 dollars, and a little heavy, but it does a great job of any of the eng cameras I throw on it. you can find them on ebay. By the way, I had a Libec that was just about the same as the Sunpak, I had the same problems with that. I think B&H has the Libec on sale in the front pages of their catalog.
 
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