BP4U Photo Tips

What is the best tripod for the Nikon D80?

Note: QOTDs (Questions Of The Day) are from our Facebook page. If you would like to submit a question, please click here to submit your question. We will then post them on our Facebook page and let our fans respond to the question. We will then transfer the question over to our blog so we can keep them in an organized way for others to see.

QOTD from Mariah: "Looking into getting a tripod. What kind fits and works best with a Nikon D80?"

Shannon: Carbon fiber, a little pricey but the light weight of it makes it worth it. Try your local camera store to compair options.

Mariah: Small town they just got rid of our only camera store.

Brian: First thing when considering a tripod, is to calculate your worst case weight scenerio. What is the weight of your camera + heaviest lens + battery + (grip weight if you use it)? Do you plan on getting a heavier lens?

Now that you have your heaviest weight, now you can look into buying a tripod. You must look into one that both head and legs supports your weight and more.

Also consider that the more leg sections, the thinner the last leg will be. That can potentially make it unstable. However the less leg sections potentially makes it longer and less compact.

Carbon fiber vs aluminum. CF are strong stable and light, but are considerably more expensive than aluminum.

Personally, as photographers we spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on gear. A tripod is meant to hold up and support that investment. One faulty moment is all you need for all that money to just go crashing down on you.. I don't see why anyone would want to go cheap on a tripod.

Melanie: You'll buy cheap tripods your whole career but you'll only buy a great tripod ONCE.

Feel free to keep responding to this question using our comment section below.