cezlaw

Wow.....tremendous information. Thanks everyone. This is great. I'll need to take some time tonight to sort through all of it and look at some the specific information you have suggested.

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

Image magnification, not gear weight, will determine what tripod you end up with. light and flexible does not translate into stability. Researching is good, choosing proper sources is not. UHH is NOT a good place to get advice on tripods. Look at the RRS pages on how to select a tripod:

http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/tripod-guide

And the Gitzo tripod catalog - catalog attached below.

These are consistent in establishing that the top tube diameter is an excellent predictor of tripod stability. Higher magnification requires thicker legs, preferably made of carbon fiber. You cannot avoid this reality. And you are not going to get stability in a $200 tripod with skinny legs. A tripod for landscape with a wide lens can be considerably lighter than the one you'll need for macro and long lens use - regardless of how much everything weighs. If it has the stability it will definitely have the load capacity. Sadly, load capacity rarely indicates how stable a tripod is.

If you can justify an RRS tripod - it will be the last tripod you will ever buy. They have a great modular system for pano, long lens gimbal, and macro rail use - and their ball heads are legendary. I think they are the best in the industry, and slightly less costly than Gitzo, which is also quite good.

If that is too rich - then there are alternatives if you pay attention to what matters.

Gitzo Catalog
Attached file:
(Download)

cezlaw

Great advice! Thanks. I'll look at this. I've got over 5k in the camera and just one lens. Not to mention the filters. I'm not going to scrimp on the thing holding all that up.

cezlaw

Thanks!

cezlaw

Completely agree. Thanks!

cezlaw

Good Advice.

cezlaw

Looks like if I want to protect my gear and have the right pod for my preferred shooting I'll be spending around that price.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

I’ve come to agree with Gene51 regarding UHH and tripods. Plenty of advice on UHH to buy lightweight cheap tripods that will need to be replaced or simply won’t do the job. Ease of use is also underplayed.

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

You have more wisdom that the average UHHer providing advice on tripods, or those looking to buy one. There is something alluring and magical about the $100 tripod that somehow attracts normally sensible people who buy them, thinking that it's all they need. You, thankfully have more sense than that.

Indeed, many have figured out what it takes to properly support and stabilize gear for specific uses, and have made excellent and responsible recommendations - others continue to sing the same old song that goes like this, "I have this tripod that I bought for [cheap price] and I love it, so you should, too!" So be careful, and continue to follow your gut. If you go RRS, whether you go Versa 2, 3 or 4 will be determined by your ultimate goals - really long lenses, or macro at 1:1 or larger - you''ll be best served by a 4, and so on.

Your suspicions are confirmed at :48 in the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8HVPrPzpR4

There certainly are a lot of nuts out there. . .

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

It’s better to buy too much tripod for your camera/lens than put too much camera/lens on your tripod.

JMHO

jackpi Loc: Southwest Ohio

I have two RRS tripods and two RRS ball heads. The big tripod extends to 7' in case I need to extend legs down a slope. The small tripod is for backpacking. They were chosen based on damping for 800mm lenses and high resolution full frame cameras.

jcboy3

Here are three things to consider:

How tall are you? How much do you want the tripod to be tall enough that you don't need to bend over? Subtract about one foot from your height (to account for distance from top of head to eyes, viewfinder to base of camera, and height of tripod head). For stability, the tripod legs should get close to that height without use of the center column.

How compact do you want the tripod to be? Look at the folded length of the tripod (with or without head attached, depends on the design which is applicable). The key factor is how many segments the legs have, and whether the legs fold up over the tripod head or down from the head. More segments means shorter collapsed length (but less stability). If the legs fold down from the head, you can remove the head for compactness. If the legs fold up, you are limited to included tripod heads (or have to remove the head whenever you fold it up).

Does it come with an Arca-Swiss type head (or you get no head with it and buy and Arca-Swiss type head)? Arca-Swiss is a quick release mechanism that everyone copies. It is not the quickest release mechanism, but it is the most flexible. Get a custom base plate for your camera, and your big lenses, and you can easily mount the camera or lens. Custom base plates are flush with the camera body, and add a little extra height for better handling.

Here are some special considerations for folded length:

1. Do you want to travel with the tripod? Most of my travel gear is <21" so it will fit in carry-on luggage. I am 69" tall (yup, shrunk with age and a serious back injury), and my large travel tripod is exactly 21" if I remove the center column, and the height is 57" without extending the center column. If I was taller, I'd still go with that tripod; a little column extension won't hurt stability that much.

2. Do you want to carry the tripod around with you? I use a smaller tripod with about 14" folded length (without head) which fits inside some of my camera bags. This is very convenient when I need to be in crowds; much better than worrying about a tripod strapped to the outside of a bag. It means I don't get eye-level with the camera, but I'd rather bend over a bit than worry about smacking someone in the head.

Finally, get carbon fiber. It's more expensive, but the weight savings can be significant. And there's nothing like cold aluminum; carbon fiber does not suck the heat from your hands.

SteveMcBill

I would recommend from personal usage a Gitzo Systematic Series-4. Good luck with it all.

Steve

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Really Right Stuff....think of it as a System that can grow with you as your needs expand. Not inexpensive but very well made and a great set of components for all kinds of shooting...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Ron E B Loc: UK Hertfordshire

Like so many others I went through numerous tripods, some OK some not so good. They all had issues such as weight , sturdiness, ease of use etc, etc. Eventually I bit the bullet and bought a Gitzo (almost had to take out a mortgage), this meets all my present and likely future needs, using lenses up to 500mm. The main lesson that I learned was that the sum of all the other tripods came to substantially more than the Gitzo, so invest in quality, spend the money and you may never have to buy another.