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Tripod & Head Advice (1 Viewer)

U

Upland Birder

Birding On The Edge
Hi all,

I have a Nikon D300s body and will shortly be in receipt of a Sigma 50 - 500mm lens. I need to purchase a tripod and head. I would like to know what BF members are using with this set up.

I would appreciate advice on types of tripod head in particular and pros and cons. I have been considering the ball head design but you guys and gals out there may have different ideas.

Dean:t:
 
Hi Dean,

Get a Wimberley gimbal head, not a ball head. Ball heads can be a pain to use for large lenses, if you are to get a ball head, a RRS BH55 will be what to get. Gimbal head, Wimberley as i previously stated works very well
 
A gimbal head would be a pain in the neck to use with a zoom lens. They are designed for heavy primes & need to be set up to balance properly. A zoom lens would continually need adjusting to get the balance correct while zooming in & out (internal zooms such as the sigma 800 or nikkor 200-400 would be ok). If it was me i would get a decent ball head (& i have a wimberley for my 600). The 50-500 is not a large lens.
 
I use the Manfrotto 393 head with the Sigma 150-500mm zoom without any difficulty getting to the zoom or focus rings.
It's a lot cheaper than many of the other gimbal type heads out there and seems to get good reviews by users of long lenses, both prime and zoom telephotos.
 
Hi Dean,
Good choice of body, I've been overjoyed with my D300. Regarding the tripod head, I've tried many designs over the years and the only one that I'm almost perfectly happy with ( nothing's perfect!) is the Gimbal type. I'm not sure of the size/weight of your intended lens but I tend to use a smaller Wimberley head with my Nikon 200-400 zoom ( I have a larger one for my 600). Up to now I can't recall a problem with focussing etc. If you're into flight/action shots then next to hand holding, I don't think you can beat this kind of set-up.
cheers, Mike.
 
Hi all,

Thankyou for your advice it has made interesting reading. Some for Gimbal some against for my set up. The Sigma is not a large lens I know but is there a Gimbal head good for it, the D300s with battery grip ?

I am still considering all options and trying to narrow these down. In the near future I hope to be able to make my mind up.

If I was to go for a small Gimbal (I am now unsure about) which make and size. If a ball head what would be a good ball head for the set up.

I was also thinking about the Manfrotto Fluid head options.

Has anyone had experience with the Calumet range of tripod and heads?

Dean
 
Last edited:
eenymac said:
I use the Manfrotto 393 head with the Sigma 150-500mm zoom without any difficulty getting to the zoom or focus rings.
It's a lot cheaper than many of the other gimbal type heads out there and seems to get good reviews by users of long lenses, both prime and zoom telephotos.
Click to expand...

Hi,
I wasn't refering to being able to get to the zoom or focus rings. What i meant was that by zooming in & out, you are changing the lenses center of balance because the lens gets longer or shorter as you do so. This would upset the balance of the gimbal. The Nikkor 200-400 or Sigma 300-800 are internal zooms, so the external dimensions do not change & upset the balance. A decent ballhead such as those made by Kirk, RRS or arca-swiss would be worth looking at & can be fitted with a Wimberley sidekick at a later date if the OP purchases a larger prime lens.
This is only my opinion & what i would do if i had this camera & lens. Others may dissagree.
 
Dean Powell said:
Are Gitzo ball heads compatable with Manfrotto Carbon Fibre tripods?

Dean:t:
Click to expand...
Most heads have a standard thread either 1/4 or 3/8 BSW. The legs will have one or the other & you can get an adaptor to convert one to the other.
So in short, yes it will be!
Cheers
Rob
 
I found the Manfrotto 393 gimbal to be a brilliant tool for big lenses.
Even with my SW scope, with 2"+ of focus travel, i could still set the scope at any angle and it would sit there, despite me changing the balance everytime i changed focus. The tension on the bracket knobs just need to be set to counter any swing cause by weight transference.
 

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For lenses like the 50-500 the ideal Gimbal is the Jobu Jr which can be used as a side-mount or full Gimbal see HERE.
With bigger Gimbal's releatively light lenses like the 50-500 are not heavy enough to get the best out of them.
 
For my gimble head i use the one in my Signature :) it can hold up to a 600f4
this is with my 7d and 150/500
Rob.
 

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horukuru said:
Can we use Gitzo 3 Series with 500mm F4 lens ? Or only with 5 Series ?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can use a Gitzo 3 series with a 500 f/4. Should work fine. The 5531s, OTOH, is just that much more rigid, and not that much bulkier than a 3 series, particularly when it's slung over your shoulder.

The way I figure it, if you're going to go to the trouble of carrying a 500 f/4 in the field, you might as well carry the beefiest tripod you can manage. Dispense with the center column also, both for additional stiffness, and to be able to position the 'pod closer to the ground.

Jim
 
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