Bugfan Loc: Toronto, Canada

I have a heavy tripod that would remain stable in a hurricane, but I rarely use it except near home or a parking lot, I just don't like carrying all that weight.

Instead I tend to use a relatively light tripod, I have several of those too. I get around the weight problem with a reusable grocery bag. I'll set up the tripod and grab the bag filling it with sand, rocks, whatever happens to be about that is heavy, and then I hang the bag on the tripod. That suddenly takes a light tripod and makes it like one made out of cement. At the moment I also have two MePhoto tripods which come with a convenient hool at the base of the column, but my other tripods work too without the hook, you just have to be a bit creative.

And of course sometimes I'm I an area where I can't find rocks or sand or something similar, I fill the bag at home before I go out. The only problem with that solution though is that I end up carrying a heavy tripod again only in two pieces.

lental Loc: Tallahassee, FL

Can't say that I would consider a 5 lb. tripod solid, because I haven't used one that was, but I could live with that as far as weight is concerned. I'll check the RRS and Gitzo tripods. Do you have a preferred source? It may be a late Christmas present for me. Good info. Thanks!!!

Ol' Frank Loc: Orlando,

For the "what it is worth department". We have been playing with some images on the computer this morning taken with the Christmas present my wife and I bought for each other. If you are still considering more "mm"s, we have our solution. I bought a used Tamron a011 150-600 from B & H and I think it must have been left overs from some store when the new ones came out. I don't think it has ever been out of the box until I got it. You can't go wrong with one of these if there are any left, in my humble opinion.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Hi,

I have both a Tamron 150-600 and a Nikkor 80-400. I have had excellent results with both lenses. But, there are differences. The Tamron is in the mail as I write this, being returned to me from Tamron as the autofocus failed; that was the second time I had a problem with the lens and it seems that others, too, have had this problem. Tamron fixed it for free and without comment. The first time it failed, it fogged up and it was too cold for it to un-fog and thus unusable the whole trip (grizzly bears in Alaska). The second time was just two weeks ago in New Mexico photo-ing birds. I shot about 2 hours with the Tamron and the autofocus failed and I could not use it the whole trip. Shot with the Nikkor 80-400 WITH a Nikon TC, the TC-14E, both in Alaska and in New Mexico. Got great shots with it, hand-held, which is one advantage of this lens. Also have gotten good shots with the Tamron, even hand-held. I think when people say that lenses are soft at the wide open end it might be because they are not adept at shooting at the mm length and the lens is not steady. I have gotten very sharp shots at the wide open end of both lenses. I think that most of us, however, want to shoot outside the range of the lens and then we blame the lens for being soft. A lens will only get sharp shoots at a certain distance, this applies to any long lens. I just purchased a Nikkor 200-500 and I'm taking it on a trip today to photo bobcats and birds this week.

Tamron, 600mm, shot at 600mm, a very far distance away.


Nikon 80-400, RC-14E, shot at 600mm, maybe three football fields away

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

My Gitzo 3530 at 4 lbs was far sturdier (rated at 40 lbs by Gitzo), and far more stable with a long lens than my 16 lb Bogen 3051. You need to try one, maybe rent one, to fully appreciate how stable and strong carbon fiber is. A Gitzo GT5542LS Series 5 6x Systematic 4 Section is a hair over 6 lbs. The Series 5 and represents the sturdiest tripod you can get.

RRS's Series 4 is equivalent, and a few ounces lighter that the comparable Gitzo Series 5 - and is just as stable.

lental Loc: Tallahassee, FL

No wonder you're so pleased with the Gitzo. At prices like that it ought to be solid regardless of weight. I would call $836 on Amazon for GT5542LS a bit beyond my pocketbook as an amateur. There's no way I could justify that even if I were young. I'm at the age now that my wife says every time I buy something new, I'm really buying it for someone else because I'll be dead before I get full use out of it. That's strictly for professionals. Realistically, I would have a hard time justifying much more than $100 for a tripod so I may reduced to using sandbags and other tricks to making an inexpensive tripod do the job. Thanks for the education!!!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I ended up selling my Gitzo in 2006 and buying the Feisol CT3472 in 2007, which was actually a bit more stable than the Series 3 Gitzo, seemingly made just as well, and just as light. I haven't felt the need to upgrade it to anything heavier duty - and I routinely shoot with a 600mm F4 and a D800. It's given me flawless service over the past 9 yrs, and I expect many more years of service. I paid $520 for mine.

lental Loc: Tallahassee, FL

I've isolated a couple of carbon fiber tripods (Bonfoto 55" and Huihuang 61") at @ $100. Bonfoto has 4.5* rating and no reviews on Huihuang. I'll probably go with the Huihuang because it's $20 cheaper and often you can get good buys with new products. Bonfoto also has an identical 55" in aluminum but you've convinced me carbon fiber is worth a try. After I've had it for awhile, I'll try to remember to post a report back here. thanks for the info.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

What focal length are you going to use these with?

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Thanks! I know you have one of those and like it very much - mine is a little older and parts for it are hard to come by, but when it breaks I will likely replace it.

lental Loc: Tallahassee, FL

Most often I'll use it with my 600mm Sigma mirror F8. On rare occasions, I might try it with my Opteka 600-1200mm but likely would have to add weight to stabilize when I do. Those are inexpensive and very slow lenses but at my age, I'll not likely be upgrading to anything better.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I don't think either of those tripods will serve your needs. They are both intended for very light duty, with wide to short telephotos, but their primary value is their tiny size when folded. I wouldn't expect that either would be sufficiently stable enough to hold a 600mm steady.

lental Loc: Tallahassee, FL

Bonfoto aluminum has a 17.6 lb. load capacity, the Bonfoto Carbon Fiber has a 15.4 lb load capacity and the Huihuang has a 26.5 lb. load capacity. The Opteka lens is heaviest at @ 7 pounds and it's long but it balances well. The Sigma is wide and short. Both Bonfoto tripods average 4+ star reviews and neither had less than four stars. I've decided to go with the Huihuang because it's carbon fiber and has a decent load capacity. We'll see if it lives up to its hype.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

It won't.