501hd vs 503hdv vs 701hdv

What tripod would you guys go with? Which is the smoothest?

I am not hellbent on getting one of these 3, but they seem to be the popular ones these days.

Hey Scott,
I have both the 055XPROB and the 351MVB2 tripods, both Manfrottos. My fluid heads are 501HDV both tripods. I use the 055 most of the time because it's easier to move and carry. The 351 is much heavier with the cross braces so it's much more stable especially in wind. I'm real happy with both setups. I also have a couple older fluid heads and tripods also Manfrotto but they are smaller and lighter and really not much good for pans or video.

good luck.
Don

First off Scott the 501, 503 and 701 are fluid heads. I use the 501 same as Don work really well with the fx1000. Here's the difference between the 501 and 503HDV.

The 501HDV head has one spring and a balancing lever and can handle 13 pounds

The 503HDV head has a three spring counter balancing system and can handle cameras up to 17 pounds.

Now the 701HDV head is a replacement for the 501 head and only has a fixed spring so balancing is matter of camera placement and can handle up 8 pounds. If you don't intend to use a heavier camera than either your Canon of Sony purchase the 501HDV with what ever tripod you'd like to use

Is the 501 pretty big and bulky? I'm thinking for travel and strapping it to my back.

I guess it also depends on what legs I go with too...

I'm leaning towards the 501 head right now. The 701 looks too teeny. There isn't a local store that has them to test out...which sucks.

No, the 501 isn't bulky at all but it might be for the canon. That really depends on what other equipment you might add onto your canon such as rails, follow focus and what ever in the future.

Probably not too much on the canon, but I'm looking at getting an ex1 beginning of the year.

Now didn't you tell someone that your canon was better than his EX1? Then why would you purchase one?

Yeah, I remember you saying your Canon was better than an EX1 and wincing :-)
EX1 is a big camera so you will need a decent tripod. I have the 501 head and wishbone legs found it was too light for my EX1. . . got too much vibration at full zoom or when I touched the pan handle. I went to a Miller head and carbon fiber legs because I like to get off track for alot of my video work. The experts say that you should spend half of what you spend on a camera again on a tripod.

Birkley I have the same problem with my camera at full zoom but it wasn't the fault of the 501 head it was the tripod I use in the field. Knowing that I take more care in how the tripod is setup. By the way the EX1 is only 1 pound heaver than my FX1000.

Scott,
I have both the 501 and 503 heads.
I use the 501 on a lighter tripod for traveling.
I use the 503 on more substantial tripod for studio or local shoots. The 503 is much more smooth even with a light DSLR camera.
Also, since I use a crane the 503 is better suited for that.
If you're getting a larger camera, I would go with the 503.