[HRC]

I have ordered a Canon SD 400 camera and was wondering which tripod(s) are recommended for this style camera? Someone told me to get a *ball* head. Any other pointers?

Danny

[Squawks]

I've tried many tripods, and nothing beats, so far, Velbon. It's not really a true ball head tripod...the head and can twisted vertically or horizontally and both can be locked via twisting a lever (great for maintaining a steady angle).

Furthermore, the higher model Velbons have a detachable plate that screws separately beneath your camera so that you won't have to bother with the hassle of attaching/detaching your camera via the slow screwing mechanism atop the tripod.

They may be pricey relative to others but later you'll realize the conveniences of a high-quality tripod.

[Romulus]

It all depends what type of photography you wanna do. You can spend between 20 (best buy) and 1000. FYI, for that camera you won't need much of a tripod since it's so little.

[eleven24]

Originally Posted by Romulus

It all depends what type of photography you wanna do. You can spend between 20 (best buy) and 1000. FYI, for that camera you won't need much of a tripod since it's so little.

Romulus pretty much took the words right out of my mouth.

If you're just taking pics of your car, or anything else in bright light situations then you probably don't even need a tripod. In low light, or fast paced action a tripod is a necessity. Personally, I use a Canon 1D MarkII, which is a big camera, especially when coupled with a long lens. For this I almost have to use a tripod for even bright lit scenes if I want a perfect exposure.

The head I have on my tripod is an Arca Swiss ballhead, which was pretty pricey. The ballhead allows me to pan a scene and blur the background while keeping the object in focus. If I primarily took pics of still images, I wouldn't have gotten the ballhead.

The camera you have is so small and light, it would seem like overkill to use a professional level tripod with it. Go for one of the sub $75 tripods & don't worry about what kind of head it has.