Hello Everyone, I have been taking photos for several months now and it is now time to upgrade the very inexpensive tripod that I purchased when I started. I have been looking at Manfrotto but they do not seem to have what I am looking for at a reasonable price. I am looking for a good tripod that can support a minimum of 10 lb.s and a minimum Maximum height of 64 to 70 " more is ok and a ball head. I also want a folded length of less than 24". During my search I started looking at some Benro tripods. Their prices seem pretty reasonable. Does anyone have any experience with Benro or any suggestion as to manufacturers and models I should be looking at. I would like to keep the price under $300. Thanks in advance. Steve
Your on the right track, upgrading to carbon fiber will increase the strength to weight ratio and provide better vibration absorption. There are several reasonable priced options for that,Benro being one. ( I don't have experience with Benro) I really like the Induro 214 i purchased back on 2007, now it appears the new 200 series are models CLT203 & CLT 204 priced around 375-400; comparable to the Benro Mach 3 and other similar priced/spec models. Maybe you'll catch a sale if you are patient but a nice compact carbon fiber tripod will run about $400 and is worth every penny if you want to upgrade.
Thanks Johnsey, I was looking at the Induro's. It's just the price. I don't know why $400 is an issue for a tripod. I have spent considerably more on glass. Maybe some therapy and I can convince myself to bite the bullet. Thanks for the response. Steve
Thank You Ray and Johnsey for your reply's. I ended up buying a Manfrotto MT190XPRO4 Aluminum with ball head $150. I just lost a bid on a Sigma 50-500 HSM on ebay. Almost immediately after the bidding I received my daily notification emails and wouldn't you know they had the tripod and a sigma 50-500 screw drive half of what the hsm model went for. It was sort of like the Godfather making me a deal i couldn't refuse. . Needless to say I now own both and am very happy with aluminum and screw drive.
I have an earlier version of that tripod, along with a smaller manfrotto, and find the quality of the brand to be very high.