Saint,

From your comments you seem to be quite happy with your purchase. What is your frame of reference? have you tried using, even on a rental or a borrow, a quality tripod? Do you have a basis for comparison? Or are you just saying you bought the tripod and you are happy with it.

Are you suggesting that I should try this tripod because it is a great tripod, and that I will be happy with it?

Are you aware of the "danger zone" between 1/4 and 1/160 sec where shutter shock has it's greatest impact?

49 yrs experience, including the old Slik tripods which are NOT to be compared with the "cheaper" Daiwa tripods that are marketed under the Slik label, the older Bogen, now Manfrotto, and various and sundry tripods from Gitzo (Studex, heavy but like a rock), Majestic (heavy, but like a rock), Linhof (cost a fortune, but one of the best out there for heavy cameras) and a few others which I cannot remember - says that you may not have a good frame of reference. I also teach, and see all sorts of things in pictures, mostly high frequency low amplitude blur or "micro blur" which is the tell-tale of inadequate support. When I ask them to bring in their tripods, invariably, they have Slick, meFoto, Dolica, and other inadequate tripods. I let them use mine, and as if by wizardry, the images improve 100%.

Being a pro (which I am no longer), only allowed me to buy premium stuff, when the business was good. I think from what is currently available, Sirui, Feisol and some Induros will give you top shelf performance, with middle to lower shelf price. A $105 tripod will give you a $105 tripod with questionable performance but great features.

I was pretty clear that there are quite a few value-priced tripods from a variety of manufacturers that will be reasonable in cost and provide good serviceability. I can tell you that $105 tripod has some serious limitations. If you or anyone else is ok with that, fine. You will not get an argument from me. But if you care about your work and do not want to be identified by the images you take when using a tripod as an amateur, then there are ways to do this without breaking the piggy bank.

If your shooting conditions require a tripod, you don't need a Gitzo or a RRS tripod to get professional results. But you still need something reasonable.

There is no reason an amateur making long exposures or using a long lens has to be limited by an inadequate tripod, especially since an adequate one is within reach if they stretch a bit more.

I think it is a matter of perspective. Gene51 is a pro. If he misses a shot or it cannot be blown up to the size his customer wants and still be sharp he loses both time and money.

I, and I suspect you, are an amateur. Like most of us I hardly ever print anything and as long as the image looks decent on a monitor screen it's good enough.

I am sure that he has to go out and shoot under conditions where I will stay home where it is warm and comfortable.

As a result his standards when evaluating equipment are, of necessity, greater than mine -- and I suspect yours.

Jerry

Shutter shock is probably the biggest cause of vibration in inadequate support systems. If the mirrorless camera has an electronic front curtain shutter, you can effectively reduce camera-borne vibration. But a tripod that does not effectively reduce shutter shock vibration will have other issues with wind and possibly other camera movement from OS systems, AF systems, mirror slap etc. Bottom line, no one who uses an adequate tripod will suffer vibration issues. Gitzo makes 6 levels of tripod and assigns a design criteria that is based on stability with a focal length, and correlates that to leg top tube diameter. The same goes for Really Right Stuff, Sirui, and other reputable tripod mfgrs. RRS goes one step further - they correlate their tripods based in image magnification - so someone getting one of their tripods for macro work would select one with thicker legs as opposed to someone shooting landscapes with a lens focal length of 20mm to 85mm. The rest of them just advertise load capacity, which has nothing to do with stability. Nearly all tripods on the market will "hold up" a 6-9 lb camera and lens. This would include a mirrorless M4/3 with a 300mm lens - but effectively that combination would be a 600mm lens, and susceptible to the same vibration as a D4S and a 600mm F4, which weighs twice as much. It's not about the weight - its about the stability.

cheap three way pan heads, center columns, skinny top tubes, minimally stable leg locks, and metal legs - all contribute to instability. Unfortunately the low end so-called "Pro" 700 Slik tripod has all the wrong features. The $105 price tag should tell you it is intended to "look" like a Pro tripod to some, but in practice it would be very limited in usefulness. Spending good money on a good tripod is not a bad way to go. If you can't afford a good tripod, then wait until you can.

Last Thursday, God was looking down at earth and saw all of the rascally retirees' behavior that was going on...

So He called His angels and sent one to earth for a time.

When the angel returned, he told God,'Yes, it is bad on earth; 95% of retirees are misbehaving and only 5% are not".

God thought for a moment and said, 'Maybe I had better send down a second angel to get another opinion.'

So God called another angel and sent her to earth for a time.

When the angel returned, she went to God and said, 'Yes, it's true. The earth is in decline; 95% of retirees are misbehaving, and only 5% are being good".

God was not pleased.

So He decided to e-mail the 5% who were good, because he wanted to encourage them, and give them a little something to help them keep going.

Do you know what the e-mail said?

Okay, I was just wondering, because I didn't get one either.

They have added an additional video camera. South of the Chama Depot, pointing north. It shows the Depot area.

Also, the south camera has been tilted down a little and one can see the ash pit, bottom left.
One can also see, the green roof of the sand house (bottom of video). This is where the bags of sand are stored until needed. The building was originally used to process and store the sand.

The train leaves out everyday at 10:00am mountain time. The train season starts sometime in May and runs until sometime in October. The fall tree colors are beautiful!!!

About an 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours before departure time, the engine moves about the yard getting read for the days run.

After departure, the other engine may be seen moving about the yard.
There usually some yard activity while the passenger train is gone for the day.

There is another train that departs from Antonito, CO and heads out. Both trains meet in Osier for lunch.

This is a wonderful train to visit, ride and chase up to Cumbres Pass.
It burns coal!
There is an open car to stand on for wide open views to enjoy.
Easy to hear the engine chugging along and hear the whistle when used.

http://www.coloradonewmexicosteamtrain.org/camera-portal-horizontal.htm

This train is one of my many favorites!!!
Pat