Beginner's tripod?

[trtlrock]

Any recommendations on a beginner's tripod? Ultra-light not necessary -- won't be hiking with this. Affordable would be good. Reliability & general sturdiness would be nice. Intuitive to use for a noob, yet flexible performance.

FYI will be using it with 2 different P&S cameras for starters, so I don't need to worry about accessories or interfaces for larger & heavier cameras and/or lenses, etc.

[Sotol Vista]

If you are just going to use P&S cameras for now, a basic tripod will work.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2504170#


James

[Arlon]

The gorilla pods are very handy and cheap.  They are perfect for the P&S cameras. You can just do so much more with them than you can do with a run of the mill tripod.

[stingrey]

If you WERE going to hike with this type of item and if you WERE going to use this only for point and shoots or kit DSLR body/lens combos, I'd have to recommend this bad boy:

http://www.amazon.com/Tamrac-ZipShot-Compact-Ultra-Light-Instant/dp/B002WC8862/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318875297&sr=8-1

I love that thing! It has replaced my other "hiking" tripod for non-bulb exposure situations. Prolly the fastest to setup, definitely the lightest (think airplane travel MUST), and for sure one of the more portable.

[BigBender]

I second Arlons opinion on the Gorilla Pods, very small light weight, but not very tall, you can hang them from trees etc.... I know, not many trees in BB except for in the Mountains.

Also, if you are going to spend much money, buy a good one so you aren't wishing you had a better one in case you graduate to a dslr. Spend more now to save later!

Just my two cents worth!