[Bubba]

Like the title says - anyone got any good recommendations?

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Uniloc's are cheaper versions of Benbo's. Good if your surface is rarely level. Not very cheap though, but they last for ever. Check them out at Jessops.

Heres one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3325&item=3857083125&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[dave]

i got one of these, probably not great but costs fuck all and weighs less than Kim.

[SA Chris]

The ones with the squeeze trigger on a ball joint are much easier to use than ones with lock up wheels. Just squeeze it and set up using the ball joint exactly how you like it, release and it stays in that position. Not sure who makes it though, Manfrotto?  Will have to google a bit.

[bob]

still not broken my jessops job as mentioned dy dave. its served me well although at full extension it can still be a bit short and its hard to weight for stability. having said that its dirt cheap which means more readies for swish stufff

[SA Chris]

http://db.manfrotto.com/product/templates/templates.php3?sectionid=8&itemid=2013 is the type of thing I was thinking of. Not really cheap though; the head alone is about £80, but really nice to use.

[Johnny Brown]

Fo the camcorder or camera? Or both? Don't get a ball-head for video.

Stability ultimately depends on weight. The lighter the cam, the lighter the tripod can be. Carbon Fibre pods cheat this a bit but start at £200. No light tripod will be particularly stable at full extension.

[SA Chris]

No, I assumed this was for Bubba's new SLR. Lightweight tripods can be made more stable by hanging something from a hook in the middle of the legs. Even a few rocks in a plastic bag helps.

[Bubba]

Cheers lads - I want something I can use for the SLR but I can carry about easily in my pad, etc - those manfrotto carbons look nice but v. expensive. Might wait 'til something comes up on ebay.

[SA Chris]

forgot to mention that if you only want to use one occasionally for landscapes, night pics, etc, these are a handy bit of kit to just keep in your pack;

I have used mine for taking a night photo of campfires at Joshua Tree, long exposures of london at night, etc. The velcro strap is just about long enough to strap it to a streetlamp sized pole, or you can extend it by DIY means.