40d and 100-400, what tripod?

[mark f]

I wanted to pick your brains on what tripod and head i should use for this set up.
I use it for bird photography and can walk a long way.

If i was to ever get the 500 is prime lens would i then buy a new head to handle that or should i think ahead optimistally when buying now?!

I dont mind buying quality so it will last for life, but dont want to buy something that i dont need.

Thanks, mark

[QuantumTiger]

Hi Mark

For long lens use I'd advise getting something very sturdy because the smallest wobble gets magnified! I'm a big fan of Gitzo and have one of their older carbon fibre tripods. Their current Basalt range is supposed to be very good. Fewer leg sections is better because although they pack longer they are faster to get up. It's worth getting one where the extended leg length is at least long enough to come up to your eye level - because extending the centre pole with a long lens makes things considerably less steady.

As far as heads the choice is between a gimbal style or a ballhead. For bird in flight shots most people recommend a gimbal (eg a Wimberley Head or Wimberley Sidekick). I've not tried one myself - but if I ever went 500 I expect that this is what I go to.

I currently use a Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead (http://reallyrightstuff.com/ballheads/03.html). I tried a couple of other mid-pricerange ballheads and found that with a long lens you'd set stuff up, lock it down and then find the lens had dipped slightly - not much but enough to be really annoying. To solve this the choice for me came down to the Acra Swiss or the RRS and I preferred the RRS (although it's a pain getting their stuff in the UK!).

edit: Should say I'm using the 20D and a 400mm f/5.6 prime which is slightly lighter than the 100-400mm.

[Roy C]

I have just bought a Feisol CF 3372 (http://www.feisoluk.com/Tripods-Tournament-Tripods/c24_35/p75/CT-3372---Large-Tournament-Class-Carbon-Fibre-Tripod/product_info.html) . It is a Superb tripod, rock solid. A big step up from my Manfrotto 055 proB.
For a head I have just got a Jobu Jr compact Gimbal (http://www.tripods-heads-gimbals.com/products/jobu_design/gimbals2/) which is great for the 100-400 but if you go up to a 500/4 you would need the next model up. I find a Gimbal to be much better than a ballhead for moving birds including flyers.
I am currently using the Feisol and Jobu gimbal with the 400/5.6 + 1.4 tc and the combo works a treat.

[kevindurose]

Mark,

To be honest you dont really need a tripod with your set up. You should be able to get sharp images at 1/200 th a sec and above providing the bird keeps still. When light is low a monopod should suffice and even better a bean bag. For a 500mm lens you will need a pretty substantial tripod just to hold the weight and to be honest this would be overkill for your current set up. Why dont you try some test shots and work out what is the minimum shutter speed you need to prevent motion blur using you current set up. I'm sure you will find its somewhere around the speed I quote above. I recently did some test shots with my 500 lens and 1.4tc and concude that there is detectable motion blur only in occaisional shots taken at 1/200th sec. The best way to check is to take pictures of a printed page from about 9 or 10 metres. If you then open your images in photoshop and zoom to 100% you will see any blur, especially on the full stops. You can then decide whether its worth lugging a tripod round with you.

If you go for a tripod. Although many people do recommend Gitzo tripods, it might be worth following Roys advice, as my Gitzo is the worst bit of gear I have ever bought. Completley over priced and bits fall off on a regular basis! I think this is only a recent thing due to so called improvements, so an older Gitzo model might be a good buy and significantly cheaper too.

kev

[Highcountry]

I have been using a Gitzo 1325 with no center post and an Arca-Swiss B1 ballhead for 5-6 yrs now. The combo worked perfectly with my now departed Nikon D200 and Nikkor 80-400mm lens. Now I have the 40D and several L lenses and use the Sidekick with my 500mm IS lens. The whole kit is well balanced, light, and versatile. The Sidekick works great with the 500mm. Unfortunately, I read where Gitzo and A-S both are having quality issues with their latest models.

[mark f]

thanks guys for your help it is very much appreciated.

I will definitely look into your setup roy, i have never heard of that kit.

Kev, i have been doing bird photography for only just over a year, (or any slr photography) and started with my present set up, and like you say have never thought i would invest in a tripod until now. But last week we had a large flock of waxwing near us and although they were very obliging i struggled with the bad light when hand-holding.
There were a lot of birders both days i went to watch these wonderful birds and a lot of photographers, all of which were using tripods, and who seemed to be getting away with a much slower shutter speed. Admitedly it was so cold i could hardly stand still let alone hold my camera still!! maybe like you suggest a mono-pod would have helped.
On the plus side a lady said the local press had been down and wanted some photos of the waxwings so i sent a few in and mine was used, which i was well chuffed about as this is the first recognition i have had for any of my photos, and i also recieved an email from some one who had contacted the paper asking if they could buy my photo ! Its only a hobby, she can have the photo, but it boosted my confidence.

But for us photographers in the know, i know although a half decent photo it could have been a lot better! certainly a lot sharper! Hence the tripod....;)

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

I used a monopod quite frequently with this lens and always found it convenient and useful. Worth considering in my opinion. A tripod would be overkill for the 100-400 in my opinion.

[johnnybike]

Nice waxwing photo, especially hand held

[JohnZ]

Very nice Waxwing pic.

[QuantumTiger]

Mark

I use a monopod a lot too and it is generally sufficient for my needs, as well as being a lot more flexible than a tripod (easier to track flocks of small, flight birds with a monopod), but there are times when a tripod is very handy and times when nothing else will do.

Love the waxwing shot btw.

[postcardcv]

I think a tripod is a very good idea, you may be able to hand hold and quite slow speeds and get good shots, but odds on they'll be sharper if you use a tripod. A friend uses the same set up on a Velbon 635 CF tripod with a Manfrotto 128 head. I think the Velbon legs are well worth a look, very light but still stable (but probably not quite upto it if you then buy a 500) and I reckon Roy's recommendation of the Jobu head is a good one. I use the next one up with my 500 f4 and am very happy with it.

[Veracocha]

I have the 40D and 100-400 and marry them to the Manfrotto 055X and Kood ball head. It's rock solid but remember to switch off IS when its on the tripod. Tripod was about £80 iirc.

[kevindurose]

Mark,
nice shot, on cloudy days you may benefit from a tripod, but your pics without a tripod on a sunny days will nearly always look better. Thats why for most bird species I only bother on sunny days. With regard to your waxwing shot you might have missed that had you been using a tripod, remember its a lot quicker getting onto birds when your hand holding.

Kev

Please visit my blog

http://kevindurose.blogspot.com/

[mark f]

thanks for all your input.
Kev, love your blog. Youve some really lovely photos. You moved onto the 1ds from the 40d?

Wot did you do to the focus settings that you find preferable?

Love the short ear owl shots and the snow bunting!

[kevindurose]

Mark,
I dont really know how to use the 1ds yet and i'm still experimenting, for flying birds I use the AI servo with custom function 20 set to option 4 (the most sensitive). Usually with the centre focus point activated. This is different to the 40d for which I tended to use one shot for flying birds and dab the shutter and take a couple of shots at a time. Although virtually everyone else disagrees with me, I dont believe the AI servo really works fast enough to photograph a fast moving birds at close range on the 40d. thats why I usually use one shot on the 40d it seems to get more shots critically sharp for me.

[mark f]

thats interesting, ill have to give it a go. bifs are something i never seem to get right!

[a.dancy]

Mark you need to experiment and see what works for you. A tripod, where appropriate and when used correctly will give you sharper pictures than relying on IS IMHO. You will get more shots handheld but more sharp ones with a tripod. IS does not need to be used on a tripod (nor should it be) and it does not need to be used in very good light and when you have high shutter speeds. Having said that many photographers manage without a tripod even with a Canon 500 IS ! (They wouldn't last 5 mins in Manchester ;):-O:-O:-O )

Whereas the 100-400 is designed to be hand held for low light shots and in that regard is a god-send, it is not the be all and end all and the panacea for all ills. Some folk have more steady hands than others. It will be up to you to determine the magic shutter speeds. Having said that I shot pied wagtails tonight in the dark at shutter speeds of just 1/10th sec ... image quality does suffer for lack of light :-C but the pictures I got were sharp (no flash). Also the 100-400 can't be that bad or slow for birds in flight since I have achieved quick focus when the wagtails were in flight in almost complete darkness using flash, I have done peregrines and fast flying goldeneye along my river in low light against a busy background and goldeneye are like bullets!

Flight shots can be hit and miss anyway. IS may slow down focus speed a tad. If you don't need it , don't use it. I still maintain that your ability to get on a bird in flight probably has more to do with success than speed of focus of the lens itself.

I use a Velbon Sherpa Pro CF635. It is very light but very rigid for the weight and great value for money and accomodates my Sigma 500f4.5 very well. Though for a canon 500 you may have to step up.

Good luck with whatever you get or don't get.