catterar wrote:
I am leaving for Antarctica in 10 days and I need a tripod.
I am looking at the Sirui T-024X Traveler Light Carbon Fiber Tripod with a C-10S Ball Head. I am basing my choice on size and weight. However I am concerned about whether or not it will be stable enough. I will be shooting with a Nikon D5300 body and a Nikon 18-55mm kit lens and a Nikon 55-300mm zoom lens. The weight of the camera body and 55-300mm lens is 2lb 10.125oz.
Any comments on the suitability of this set-up or suggestions for a more suitable tripod. I only have a budget of $300.00.
Thanks,
Bob
I am leaving for Antarctica in 10 days and I need ... (
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I am assuming you are planning on using the 300mm lens with the tripod.
What you are looking at is a little too light duty for a 300mm lens on a crop camera - with the equivalent field of view of a 450mm. Though I guess it would be fine if you are using the shorter lens - the shorter the focal length the better. A tripod with a top tube diameter of only 22mm is going to shake with a 300mm lens (450mm FoV)regardless of whether you spend $140 or $670. If you are more than 5'4" tall, you will have to extend the center column, which will make it even less stable. And though I think Sirui ball heads are among the best values out there, this does not include the C10X, which only has a 29mm ball. It will droop under the asymmetrical load of a fully extended 55-300mm, supported only by the camera's tripod thread. I think you will regret that purchase, unless you don't intend to use the 300 with it, and don't mind stooping over your tripod, or a little shake here and there if you need to extend the center tube.
If you like Sirui, then you should consider their tripods with 29 or 32 mm top tubes, like their 2204 series Carbon or their heavier duty ones, and a K30X as a minimum head, and preferably the K40X.
This might sound obvious and possibly a little patronizing, but the point of bringing a tripod is to use it to hold your camera in a stable and safe fashion to ensure minimal vibrations that will rob your images of the quality that your camera and lenses are capable of. If you cannot justify the $400-$500 expense needed to get good sharp results, then consider renting. The other thing is that both of your lenses have really good stabilization, adn you may not even need a tripod.
Something to consider - Gitzo rates their gear based on the angle of view of the lens. Their 22mm tube diameter tripod, their Series 0, is rated for stable use with a 75mm lens. There is no rational reason to think that the $235 (with ball head) Sirui is going to be any more stable than the $670 (no ball head) Gitzo. When you think about it, it doesn't really make any sense. As far as using a 200-500 lens with it, I would suggest you don't do that. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. And if you do, and something bad happens, you'll have no one to blame for the disaster but yourself.
Here is a little video that I like to post the link to from time to time. Pay particular attention to his pearls of wisdom at :45. Makes me chuckle every time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8HVPrPzpR4Putting a long telephoto lens on a ultralight tripod reminds me of the guy with the red Jetta coming back from Home Depot.