Reddit reviews Ravelli APGL5 Professional 65" Ball Head Camera Video Photo Tripod with Quick Release Plate and Carry Bag

First things that come to my mind:

1. This tripod is so absolutely fantastic, and cheap!
   
2. A fast lens or two. Either a zoom at f/2.8, or my suggestion would be a prime (50mm or 85mm -- or both) at f/1.4 or f/1.8. These primes will yield incredible results, and are reasonably priced.
   
3. A flash. Something that can be used off or on camera. Something you can slave/master would be best.
   
4. A polarizer for your best lens(es). Polarizers make a huge difference when taking landscape photos or photos with a lot of reflections.
   
5. One of these two backpacks could make being mobile so much easier! This one or this one. I have owned the first for a couple years now -- taken it all around the world, don't have a single complaint.
   
   Hope some of these ideas help.

You absolutely don't need to spend $400 on a tripod. In general that's an extreme luxury purchase unless there's a very specific need.

There are tons of great tripods available for <$50. I personally have been very happy with this one. Any tripod that has hundreds of good reviews will meet your needs most likely.

I wouldn't call this super professional or anything, but the design of the tripod allows you to mount the camera underneath (by making the legs point "up" and then flipping the tripod "upside down"). The 4th picture shows how it looks, it works pretty great for me personally.

Ravelli Professional 65"

i really like this one - it folds up small enough to fit into a carry-on, but holds a lot of weight w/o shaking. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RBX0GO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

I bought this on Amazon for $39 and was surprised at how professional it is and how much I like it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RBX0GO

Do not get a gorillapod.

The t3i is a still camera above all else - the shallow depth of field that it is famous for will be a nightmare if you plan on shooting things by yourself (if you plan to put it up on sticks and perform to the camera). It is very pretty for isolating the subject in your video, but it requires precise control - someone has to be working the focus if the subject moves.

If you plan on shooting things yourself without help, I would advise getting a smaller sensor camcorder with auto-focus. The smaller sensor means the depth of field is very long, and keeps all things in relative focus, plus the auto-focus would help you out tremendously. Plus it's cheaper.

However, if your heart is set on a DSLR, then I would highly advise against a fixed focal length lens, especially the 50mm 1.8. The t3i has an APS-C sensor, which means that the 50mm will actually give you an 80mm field of view. This is a tight and narrow focal length, so forget about wide shots if your kitchen is small. Get an EF-S zoom lens, which is designed for the APS-C sensor, is very flexible so with the turn of the barrel, you can go from wide to close up without having to phsyically move the camera toward the subject.

Going back to the issue of solo-operation, I would not recommend the zoom h4n, unless again, you have someone that could operate it while you perform. The zoom is a shitty $300 microphone, so if you plan on shooting in your kitchen, I would get a cheaper microphone that plugs into your camera and would perform much better than the zoom. The zoom is great as a secondary system, but then you have to deal with adding it into your videos in post, which is not a huge headache, but it will nonetheless add more to your post workflow. A wired lavalier microphone connected directly into your camera would be easier, and give you better audio pickup than the zoom, unless you plan on holding the zoom up to your face while you speak.

If you want to do birds eye view shots, get a still camera tripod like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-Professional-Camera-Tripod-Release/dp/B004RBX0GO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1345196263&sr=8-5&keywords=tripod

For video, any class 4 SD card will perform the same as a class 10 - the only advantage with class 10 is if you are shooting still images in rapid succession, which is much more data than 1080p video.

Hope this helps you from making a costly mistake.

I'm a cheapass and got this awhile ago- hasn't failed me yet. It's much sturdier with my bag hanging beneath it but for $30 I'm very pleased. It even has a ball head (which supports my Olympus E3 with long lenses no problem) http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-Professional-Camera-Tripod-Release/dp/B004RBX0GO/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325021802&sr=1-6

That said, if you need perfect sharpness in your shots with absolutely no room for error (consistently selling large prints perhaps), then obviously none of the cheap options will suit you in the end

I don't own either (yet), but after looking around on amazon for myself, I am torn between these two...

http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-Professional-Camera-Tripod-Release/dp/B004RBX0GO/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1319143151&sr=1-4

...and...

http://www.amazon.com/Dolica-AX620B100-62-Inch-Proline-Tripod/dp/B001D60LG8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2BD8DF96955B4&colid=P7JSM7XEQ2E7

The both cost $40, weigh less than 4lbs, and claim to support significantly more than 10lbs.

Ravelli APGL5 was recommended on /r/videography a couple months ago and it's great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RBX0GO/

Pretty solid construction, folds up small. $40 and it comes with a bonus mini tripod. It doesn't have a pan/tilt head, of course, but for anything short of that it's adequate.

I have to agree with this advice. Since OP only wants to try out long exposure shots, there's no inherent need to get a $300+ tripod. Might as well just spend <$50 now and find out he doesn't like it versus spending ~$500 and finding out the same thing.

I used a $40 Ravelli tripod for the longest time (a newer version can be found here) and I got some decent results out of it.

I upgraded because I did find I used the tripod a lot and once i upgraded to full frame, the tripod sagged too much with the weight of the body and lens.

Here you go: http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-APGL5-Professional-Camera-Release/dp/B004RBX0GO/ref=sr_1_4?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1419955562&sr=1-4

They're pretty sturdy.

Here's the best solution:
http://ktekbooms.com/proshot-camera-support/

I would get one but they're kinda pricey

http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-Professional-Camera-Tripod-Release/dp/B004RBX0GO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395627511&sr=8-1&keywords=ravelli+professional+tripod

I bought this for a buddy not too long ago and it seems to be holding up very well.

The greatest weapon in your arsenal.