Being a beginner to photography I still have quite a bit to learn. My camera is the Panasonic FZ-200 which I still think is a very good camera for someone starting out.
OK, back on subject.
Not realizing how much a difference there could be in a tripod, as it just holds the camera (right ?), I purchased a Opteka OPT7000 on sale for a little over $30. Light weight and easy to set up.
Now the difference showed. Trying to focus the camera on the subject and tighten the locks would always move the camera position. I added shims to try to lock the camera plate more securly and that helped a little bit. I then purchased a inexpensive ball head, as I felt this might get the camera on the subject without many adjustments. Well I found out the mount on the tripod could not be removed to accept a ball head. I rigged up a way to do this. Now the whole setup is getting worse instead of better. Totally frustrated I put the tripod away. I spoke with a friend who has been doing photography for quite a long time. He asked if I needed a new one or just wanted one. I said both. Now the search began for me. This past week Hunt's had a sale on a Vanguard Pro 263AT w/ball head and a $50. mail in rebate. Just received it the other day. WOW! what a difference with a item that just holds a camera. lol
I guess the reason I am writing this is to inform others, who are new to photography, my experience with going for a low price when it comes to tripods, and the need to buy a quality product the first time. I realy do know better most of the time. I sure there are better ones out there but I am quite pleased with this purchase and if/when I go for another camera this tripod at 15.4 lbs capacity will serve me well.
Leason learned.
Ron

Recently, as a birthday present I got a nice Promaster lens case that has the "Pick & Pull" interior. I managed to end up with 11 openings for lenses, two small ones for batteries (for my Pentax K-50) and one small opening for a lens brush.

Here are the lenses I plugged the holes with, L -R, bottom to top.
1. SMC Pentax-M 28mm f:3.5
2. SMC Pentax-DA 50mm f:1.8
3. SMC Pentax-M 100mm f:2.8
4. SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm AL WR
5. SMC Pentax-DA 50mm f:2.8mm macro
6. SMC Pentax-DA 100mm f:2.8 macro
7. SMC Pentax-F 35-70mm (CF)
8. SMC Pentax-F 70-210mm (CF)
9. SMC Pentax DA L 55-300mm AL WR (CF)
10. Tamron 28-200mm (CF)
11. Sigma-AF(IF) 28-300mm AF (CF)

* I'm thinking about sneaking in my SMC Pentax-DA L 50-200mm AL WR!

I think, out of the lenses I have on hand, this should cover just about any possible situation I might come across.

I'm taking two camera bodies (both are Pentax K-50s) three SD cards, a monopod and a tripod.... as well as five batteries w/ charger (both AC and DC) and a small camera case filled with lens hoods, various filters (CP, UV, etc) a fairly complete set of Cokin Filters & a remote shutter release. Not to mention my HP laptop with editing programs loaded and several flash drives.

My girlfriend think's I've jumped the tracks!:lol:

Just for the sake of conversation, what would YOU take along if it were you? I realize that I'm in the minority, being that I shoot a Pentax camera.... but, just wanting to start a conversation on the subject.

There have been many threads on thi topic. This one is an update from the manual of my new 200-500. I suspect it means an update has been made to the technology.

As most know the pervious guidance for most lenses was turn off VR when using a tripod. They didn't mention monopods and I'd say opinions from the peanut gallery were mixed on that.

This lens has two VR modes: NORMAL and SPORT. They recommrnd the latter when the subject may move

erratically. Here is what they say:

"NORMAL and SPORT vibration reduction can reduce blur when the camera is mounted on a tripod. OFF may however produce better reults in some cases depending on the type of tripod and on shooting coditiond. NORMAL and SPORT are recommended if the camera is mounted on a monopod."

Purists might note that with this lens you should never mount the camera to either a tripod or monopod. They provide a lens mounting ring for that purpose. They mention that later for tripod but not for monopod.

You can decide if this is just updated advice, and therefore applicable to other lenses, or reflects a VR upgrade and only applies to lenses with this guidance.

OBTW they still don't suggest turning VR off at high shutter speed (as some peanut gallery folk suggest). I always leave it on when using high shutter speed. I don't think shutter speed has anything to do with VR, which is stabilizing for camera movement. It at least stabilizes the image in the viewfinder.

This has been an ongoing problem for at least the last month but it seemed to come and go. A spot appears at the same location on the image regardless of the lens I have mounted or the aperture set. It is especially noticeable if the image has sky or very light colors in the location where the spot appears.
This afternoon I decided to test my belief that it is a camera issue and not a lens issue. I set the camera on my tripod, attached a remote release, and tested every lens I have at max aperture and again at f11. If the lens was a zoom, I tested it at minimum and maximum zoom as well. Except for the Coastar 28mm f2.8 at f2.8, all lenses had the spot at the same relative location regardless of aperture or zoom. I believe this one anomaly was due to the darker blue tint of the Coastar at wide open ap simply washed out the spot.
In the attached images I used the paint program to put a red circle around the spot.
After I tested the lenses it occurred to me to do a sensor shake to make sure this isn't an easily fixable issue. No joy, the spot is still there. After that I removed the lens and used the mirror lock up feature for sensor cleaning. Even with a 5 power magnifying lens I can see nothing on the sensor that accounts for the spot but the fact that the spot becomes more distinct with smaller aperture seems to point to a sensor defect.
Clearly this is a camera issue. Am I right in my conclusion about the sensor? I have no cleaning tools for the sensor but I have been careful about when and where I change lenses. The camera is less than 3 months old and I bought it through Amazon so returning it should not be a problem but I'd rather not if there's a solution for this that I can accomplish.

This has been an ongoing problem for at least the last month but it seemed to come and go. A spot appears at the same location on the image regardless of the lens I have mounted or the aperture set. It is especially noticeable if the image has sky or very light colors in the location where the spot appears.
This afternoon I decided to test my belief that it is a camera issue and not a lens issue. I set the camera on my tripod, attached a remote release, and tested every lens I have at max aperture and again at f11. If the lens was a zoom, I tested it at minimum and maximum zoom as well. Except for the Coastar 28mm f2.8 at f2.8, all lenses had the spot at the same relative location regardless of aperture or zoom. I believe this one anomaly was due to the darker blue tint of the Coastar at wide open ap simply washed out the spot.
In the attached images I used the paint program to put a red circle around the spot.
After I tested the lenses it occurred to me to do a sensor shake to make sure this isn't an easily fixable issue. No joy, the spot is still there. After that I removed the lens and used the mirror lock up feature for sensor cleaning. Even with a 5 power magnifying lens I can see nothing on the sensor that accounts for the spot but the fact that the spot becomes more distinct with smaller aperture seems to point to a sensor defect.
Clearly this is a camera issue. Am I right in my conclusion about the sensor? I have no cleaning tools for the sensor but I have been careful about when and where I change lenses. The camera is less than 3 months old and I bought it through Amazon so returning it should not be a problem but I'd rather not if there's a solution for this that I can accomplish.