Posted by goon1
Thank you for the advice. Anything and everything to do with photography seems to follow that rule. Do you think buying a used tripod that initially retailed out of my price range could be worth it? I was browsing through some refurbished and used tripods the other day, but I don't know how refurbished and used tripods typically pan out for people.
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That would be a great idea because:
1) Tripods don't follow Moore's Law where a new product is expected to substantively outclass the preceding products (despite marketers' best attempts to convince you otherwise). A well-cared-for high-end tripod from the last decade is probably going to be almost every bit as good as a comparable one fresh from the camera shop.
2) Tripod legs don't really wear out* unless abused... and abuse is fairly obvious and easy to identify.
* This is the basis for the idea that a good tripod will last you your photography lifetime.
Now, heads (not limited to just ballheads, as people tend to forget that geared heads can be excellent for the architectural aspect of UE photography) also go along the same lines, but are slightly more prone to wear... especially geared heads. But as with tripods, wear is generally obvious and easy to identify.
I would recommend trying the used-gear department of your local camera shops, online used gear retailers of some repute (notably KEH; B&H/Adorama don't have it as their primary business, so they're a little lower on that hierarchy), and even your local Craigslist (where you can inspect the items in-person; there generally isn't much hidden to a tripod/head that you can miss with a reasonable inspection).
FYI, all three of my main high/higher-end tripod legs I've bought used, consisting of a 2-series Gitzo w/an Acratech ballhead (I use this primarily for backcountry landscape photography); a traveler-type FLM w/matched ballhead (traveler-type tripods generally need a specific ballhead if you want to legs to invert and compact fully); and my main UE tripod, a lever-lock 3-section Manfrotto w/a Manfrotto geared head. All my heads I've bought new.
It should be mentioned that I immediately and fully disassemble/clean/rebuild anything I buy used. Not that it is strictly necessary, but it does bring me peace-of-mind for equipment that I will rely on... as it is also pretty much the deepest inspection you can achieve without blueprinting it.