Hey all, just found this board while looking for a place to ask for some advice on tripods and the like. Sorry if this isn't the best place, but figured I'd give it a shot.

I recently heard about this: http://www.zipshottripod.com/product.cfm and was thinking it might be useful for UE, not as a heavy duty tripod of course, but for one you can use when you don't wanna lug around some heavy bulky piece of equipment. My main concern is durability... Just wondering if anyone on here has used/had experience with this? Thanks in advance for any feed back!

I've never used one of these but I can't say they look very tough. It reminds me of tent poles used in small dome tents. I guess the main thing would be what camera do you shoot with and how much does it weigh?

Also it doesn't look like there is much of a way to adjust the angle of the legs. Would that be an issue for you?

Right now I'm shooting with a t3, so that plus my lens weighs 1.5, within range, but that could change. The durability is the real issue, as you said... doesn't look that durable, and the inability to adjust height would be obnoxious. Do you have any recommendations on compact and lightweight tripods? I'm having trouble finding something that looks reliable...

But anyways, thanks for the feedback! I was undecided up until this point.

Posted by meanwhileinfoco Do you have any recommendations on compact and lightweight tripods? I'm having trouble finding something that looks reliable...

How much do you want to spend and how light are you needing?

The tough part about buying a very good tripod is you can have 2 of the 3 things listed below

Cheap
Low weight
Durable

Hmmm... I'm trying to debate how much money to sink into this... What I really want is compact and durable... the money issue can be overcome, eventually haha... I was looking at this: http://www.bhphoto...act_Tripod_II.html I'm not sure how it stands up on durability, but it seems fairly compact. I would much rather get this: http://www.manfrot...-with-ball-head-qr though...

Posted by meanwhileinfoco Hmmm... I'm trying to debate how much money to sink into this... What I really want is compact and durable... the money issue can be overcome, eventually haha... I was looking at this: http://www.bhphoto...act_Tripod_II.html I'm not sure how it stands up on durability, but it seems fairly compact. I would much rather get this: http://www.manfrot...-with-ball-head-qr though...

I have heard good things about this one:

http://www.amazon....pod/dp/B001D60LG8/
~$50

But I use this one:

http://www.amazon....ase/dp/B002821ESU/
~$90

Posted by meanwhileinfoco Hmmm... I'm trying to debate how much money to sink into this... What I really want is compact and durable... the money issue can be overcome.

Just remember that a tripod stays with you forever (photographically speaking) regardless of what lenses you buy, what body you upgrade to, or what brand you switch to. Buy the very best one that you can afford, take care of it, don't lose it and it'll pay for itself many times over.

Also that manfrotto looks like a much better option for a compact, they make quality gear with a good warranty. One of my tripods is a manfrotto 290, I really like it.