Recommend me a tripod

What do you need out of a tripod? Does it need to be lightweight? Does it need to be tall? Does it need to pack small? Do you already have a head and thus can go legs only, or do you need a combo?

EDIT: Was going to recommend Redsnapper too, got a set of legs and their ballhead, and they're so good my Uncle went and got a set when mine arrived too!
 
For that money, I'd go second hand Manfrotto if you look around.
When I was about to make a purchase of a Redsnapper, a Manfrotto 190XDB + 486RC2 ball head popped up for £70, and I'm dead happy with it.

You could get a Manfrotto 055XPROB + decent ball head within budget, and that would set you up 'for life', as long as you're not going down the massive telephoto lenses route.
 
Razor-BladE said:
You could get a Manfrotto 055XPROB + decent ball head within budget, and that would set you up 'for life', as long as you're not going down the massive telephoto lenses route.
Click to expand...

That's what I have and I'm very happy with it's functionality, weight can be a drag but until I have nothing better to spend £500 on than a carbon fibre gitzo it'll do the job.
 
I'd go for something Aluminium rather than carbon fibre, its cheaper, generally more stable (because its heavier), and no so heavy carrying it is uncomfortable... I'd go for:

Giottos MTL 9351B Tripod (Legs, about £80 new)
Giottos MH1300-621 Series 2 Ball Head (about £79 new)

With a little shopping around for £9 off this falls in the high end of your budget. You could always go one model lower on the legs to knock about £12 off, but you don't get the crazy awesome center column!:

Those tripod legs are outstanding, the center column can be adjusted to stick out horizontally and the legs go really wide to get low for macro! Nice and solid all metal the build quality is nice!
The head is the best bit, really solid and a really nice quick release. Again the build quality is glorious!
 
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I made the investment in a Gitzo 3531s, a decent wad of cash but it is great.
I know it is a long way out of your budget, but have a good read of this before you waste any money on middle of the road solutions:

http://bythom.com/support.htm


For my current setup I could have gone model down for both tripod and head (using a RRS BH-50), but my support setup is now sorted for when I can invest in a decent telephoto (looking at the likes of the 300mm 2.8 VR).


A trick with any tripod is to check that when your largest telephot lens is mounted and you prod the front of the lens, there should be no movement or vibration thought the system.

Some things to help ensure stability is to get a 3 section tripod (4 section tripods will use thinner tubing), don-t get a tripod with an extending centre column as it reduces stability, to save cost give up lightweight and get a heavy tripod - dont give up stability.
 
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