General Purpose Tripod

I'm looking for a general purpose tripod at a price point of $300 or less (I'm not necessarily looking to spend at the top of that range unless it's necessary). Mostly I film speakers standing at podiums, so I don't need anything amazing, but I'm looking to be able to more smoothly pan a crowd or follow the speaker up to the podium. Also, I'm sometimes on press risers that aren't super steady, so I need something that won't exacerbate those tremors.

Thanks,
Will

DemWork - Jobs for Dems, jobs with progressive organizations, liberal campaigns, and Democratic Capitol Hill offices, including quite a few new media jobs.

Actually, the Bescor is pretty bad. Look at the online reviews. I made the mistake of buying one. Impossible to make a smooth vertical tilt, though the horizontal pans are OK. For very little more (though no ball leveling) you can get a pretty good and pretty cheap Manfrotto head/sticks combination: http://tinyurl.com/2w3q38 I just bought one and am happy. The head appears to be a true "fluid head". You do have to pay close attention to make silky compound moves, but you certainly can do them using a light and balanced touch. Far better than the light Libec.

Rick Wise
director of photography
Oakland, CA
http://www.RickWiseDP.com
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com

Libec TH-M20 Aluminum 2-Stage Tripod with 65 mm Ball Base Fluid Head, Mid-Level Spreader, & Case - Supports 8.8 lb B&H $179.00

KB