stepping beyond wrote:
I replied the only tripod I could get would be aluminum because as soon as I go to snap the shot I would shake and the shot would be trash.
That isn't a valid conclusion. What you really want is a carbon fiber tripod
and a remote shutter release (either a cable or a radio trigger, or both).
Not just special for your use, but that's true for all of us. You just have more shakes that the average person. If you are actually touching the camera, it will be moving.
So don't touch it!Carbon fiber is lighter and it also dampens vibrations better than aluminum or other metals. Wood can do even better, but it isn't lighter either.
stepping beyond wrote:
Well folks today "I was blessed with a excellent condition Sunpaak ultra 757 B steel tripod. Totally the" Cadillac of tripods " as I'm concerned .
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, eh?
Your new tripod is a low cost bit of kit that is nearly junk! But it can serve a couple of good purposes for you, in particular because it is a gift horse! No regrets about the cost...
It will teach you the main things a tripod can do. It will hold your camera and separate your shakes from the camera. It will teach you the effort in labor required to produce too! You have to pack that thing everywhere! Your tripod weighs over 6 pounds. And it isn't exactly the most stable or easy to use tripod ever made.
As a comparison, the top of the line Gitzo Series 5 tripods weigh less, and instead of breaking with a load over 11 pounds, they are rated for upwards of 50 pounds! A vast difference! Of course every single one of them costs more than $1000 too, so that just shows what is on the other extreme of the teeder totter.
stepping beyond wrote:
Doesn't even look like it was used, the box had thick dust from being stored in his back room where he does all his tinkering . Can I get some feedback on this tripod, is it as worthy as I think it is? I'm calling on all UHH to help me to be most awesome at landscapes and wildlife Photography. So come on and get me to shine like all of you.
For sitting in your house on a solid floor, it will work to some degree.
For hiking around to get landscapes and wildlife shots, that's not a viable tripod. Note that the 11 lb load rating means you shouldn't actually use it with more than about 3 lbs on it. So in addition to a lighter weight tripod, made with carbon fiber to reduce vibrations, you'll need a more realistic load rating (which depends much on the size of the lenses you might use). Figure the total weight you'll put on a tripod and multiply times 4 to get the minimum load rating. 6 or 7 lbs means you want at least a 25 lb, or more, load rating.
I'm not up to date on various tripods, so I can't recommend any specific models. But you can certainly find something that does what you need and weighs less than half the Sunpak tripod, with a load rating of more than twice as high.
But play with what you have for awhile, and learn what it does and doesn't do. That will allow you to appreciate what a better tripod does. Learn with it, but remember it is just about the worst case tripod you could find for hiking out to get a shot of "wildlife".