On Thu, 6 Jun 2002 12:52:32 -0230, "Chris"
>"Chris"
>news:adnque$qbl7$1@ID-99664.news.dfncis.de...
>> An expensive tripod helps, but as the VX-2000 is a nice, light camera, it
>> doesn't need a super expensive tripod to do the job. For amateur home
>> videos, a cheap tripod will do. Of course, be warned that a cheap tripod
>> will take much less abuse then a good expensive one. So use it until it
>> breaks. You can get a decent one to replace it from Bogen. A set of 3021
>> legs is good for the price (Or if you're the sort of person who's lucky
>> enough to buy a VX-2000 for home videos, oh, wait, you are, maybe the
>carbon
>> fibre version would be even nicer, as it's lighter by 30% according the
>> website, and while I can't vouch for the number, I can garuntee it's a
>nicer
>> thing to lug around) and as far as the head goes, a 3160 or a 3130 will
>work
>> for the price, or if you're feeling fancy, the 3063 is a good choice.
The 3063 is about the "bottom" of heads I would consider -
it is fairly smooth (unlike most lighter ones), but somewhat
stiff, stressing light legs somewhat (you can hold
the handle still for a bit after a pan/tilt to let the legs
unwind and "catch up" to the camera movement...). I use the
3021 legs (I prefer the 3221 black legs, though...), but the
doubled video-leg style (with spreader) is intended to
resist "wind-up" better...
>> I don't believe any of these feature a bubble level though, so it might help
>> to toss in a 3502 level attachment, or just buy a small, cheap, masons
>> level to toss it your camera bag.
The Bogen level attachment is very awkward, and moves the
camera even further from the leg intersection, undesirable
for rigidity. Also, I've never found bubble levels very
useful - they must be viewed from directly above, and even
if this were possible, and even if the bubble level
indicated "true level", it would be level only for that
stage and not necessarily for the camera itself. Better,
though tedious: tilt the camera as close to level as
possible and view opposite walls at roughly 90 degree
rotations and adjust until vertical lines on the walls just
line up with the frame edges (though this assumes that the
VF frame is not rotated a bit - check this first...).
>> As you saw, people are going to go and tell me
>> I'm wrong with these choices, and recommend $2000+ tripods, but what I
>> recomend will suit your needs more then adequetely, even if you move up to
>> a higher level of quality demand,
A good $180-$275 tripod (Matthiews-Libec or Bogen 3221+3063)
is adequate for all but the most critical work - and once
you have tried the "$2000 spread", it is hard to go back and
lose that feather-touch smooooooth backlash-free movement,
but that quality level is expensive in both price and size/weight
(unless you pay even more for carbon-fiber,
and lose much of the weight...).
>Also note, I recommended the photo tripods over the video tripods, as for
>"home video" and work with lightweight cameras, or work while on the move,
>they're probably a better option, for several reasons. They're much easier
>to set up on an sevrely uneven surface (Like stairs, or big rocks), you
>don't have to worry about carrying around a spreader, and they're much
>easier to carry.
Many video tripods have an attached mid-spreader and
legs that are easy to adjust for irregular surfaces,
and the $5000 carbon fiber ones can be light, too...;-)
But, "for cheaps", I agree with you that a photo tripod
with a decent video head can serve well enough for
small camcorders for many purposes...