Joseph Tainter wrote: > > Would appreciate advice for a tripod and ballhead that are lightweight > and compact. This is primarily for flower photography, so it needs to be > able to get close to the ground. Sometimes I'll travel with it. > Primarily I'll use my PZ-1p and FA 100mm. f2.8 macro on it - a rather > heavy combination. > > I've been attracted by the Benbo Trecker, but have seen reports that its > ballhead can slip under heavy weight. Anyone tried it? > > Cost is a consideration.
Two tripods I'd recommend: The newer Bogen 3001 tripods go completely flat and some models have an option to mount the centerpost horizontally. Avoid the older 3001's unless you like to work upside down. And I bought a Slik 300 DX at the time when the only competitor from Bogen was the older 3001. I really like the Slik; I find myself carting it more often than my Bogen 3221 Wilderness when there's any distance to hike. I don't believe you can find a better aluminum tripod than this Slik at its price (typically 99 to 115 US dollars, complete with a usable pan-tilt head). One option you'd want with it is the short centerpost, which, as I recall, cost me about $15 US. The Slik won't go "flat", but it goes quite low at the widest leg spread What I've heard about Benbo is "try it first, and see if you can deal with the quirks." Apparently, loosening the U bolt makes all the limbs floppy. Hope this helps. -Lon - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
