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tripod and head for a Canon Ef 500 f/4 (1 Viewer)

Thanks for the advice John, Malcolm. Will it be sufficient to get a Gimbal head for the 055x legs? Say a 393 Manfrotto?
The 055x legs seem quite stable to me, but I have not used anything else, so my impression is not relative to something else.
If the plan is to lurk low and shoot, is there a suitable non-extending tripod that would do the job?

I used to have a Manfrotto 393 until I tried a Wimberley 2 - sold the 393 straight away to a friend who sold it on as soon as he found a Jobu Gimbal for sale. I think you get the picture, the 393 is OK and is MUCH cheaper than the alternatives, however having owned both there is no comparison in actual use.
I have also owned the Manfrotto 55 and again it's great for the price but doen not compare to my 2 series Gitzo let alone my 3 series. Will it hold up the 500 - yeas easily, will it be steady and damp vibration well - no but then it is not designed for these lenses.
As a side note I use a Gitzo 3320BS for low level work - it is rated at 18 kilos but will support 105 kilos (ME!) and is ridiculously rigid.

I don't understand spending that much on a top quality lens and then skimping on necessary accessories - still that's just me! As I mentioned in an earlier post you can have a look at the used market where I bought an excellent tripod & head for 300 GBP.
 
BTW: You should never use IS while on tripod. The vibrations produced by tripod is very different from camera shake caused by handholding and stabilisation systems are not designed to compensate for that kind of movement (there are scientific reasons behind that). Better IS systems have tripod mode detection and they automatically disable IS while on tripod.
This is not so according to Canon and also from my own experience. In fact with a tripod sensing lens it is actually beneficial to leave IS on when on a tripod. I always did this when shooting my 300/2.8 mk1 with a 2x tc and it worked a treat.

There is a secondary I.S. mode which comes into play when using on a tripod.

According to the digital picture review of the 300/2.8 (which also applies to the 500/4) "The IS version on this lens is tripod-sensing. The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens knows that a tripod is being used when vibrations go below a certain level. Keep IS turned on when mounting this lens on a tripod to take advantage of the secondary IS mode - reducing mirror slap, shutter and tripod vibrations."

This is also supported by Canon's Chuck Westfall who states that using I.S.on a tripod is actually beneficial for the tripod sensing lenses "In 2000 Canon released the next generation IS professional lenses. These lenses feature a "tripod-detection" mode which means that there is no problem using IS on a tripod. Even more than that - IS will correct vibrations caused by the mirror operations of the camera".
 
Thanks for the advice John, Malcolm. Will it be sufficient to get a Gimbal head for the 055x legs? Say a 393 Manfrotto?
The 055x legs seem quite stable to me, but I have not used anything else, so my impression is not relative to something else.
If the plan is to lurk low and shoot, is there a suitable non-extending tripod that would do the job?

don't do it... the 393 is ok but there are so many better options out there. When I was looking to get a gimbal I had the chance to field test a 393 for a week and found that it was less stable than my old video head (501). Sure it was a bit easier to track moving subjects but it was hopeless at dampening vibrations to I quickly gave up on it. Since then I have owned and used a number of gimbals (Jobus and Wimberleys) and they are all so much better than the 393. Sure they cost a good deal more but in my opinion they are well worth the money.

As for the legs the 055 is a superb tripod for use with a telescope or a shorter lens but really isn't good enough to support one of the big lenses. Try a Gitzo and you will soon realise what stability really means. A Gitzo and good gimbal will cost a good chunk more than a 055 & 393 but will give you much better results. Given how much you have spent on the camera and lens I reckon it it worth giving it the best support you can.
 
This is not so according to Canon and also from my own experience. In fact with a tripod sensing lens it is actually beneficial to leave IS on when on a tripod. I always did this when shooting my 300/2.8 mk1 with a 2x tc and it worked a treat.

There is a secondary I.S. mode which comes into play when using on a tripod.

According to the digital picture review of the 300/2.8 (which also applies to the 500/4) "The IS version on this lens is tripod-sensing. The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens knows that a tripod is being used when vibrations go below a certain level. Keep IS turned on when mounting this lens on a tripod to take advantage of the secondary IS mode - reducing mirror slap, shutter and tripod vibrations."

This is also supported by Canon's Chuck Westfall who states that using I.S.on a tripod is actually beneficial for the tripod sensing lenses "In 2000 Canon released the next generation IS professional lenses. These lenses feature a "tripod-detection" mode which means that there is no problem using IS on a tripod. Even more than that - IS will correct vibrations caused by the mirror operations of the camera".

I didn't crop the "Quote" properly!
My contribution was the last line stating that the 500 has tripod sensing IS. Sorry my post was not clearer!
The only SuperTele I was not certain about was the 300 F2.8 IS - which you cleared up for me a while ago.
 
I didn't crop the "Quote" properly!
My contribution was the last line stating that the 500 has tripod sensing IS. Sorry my post was not clearer!
The only SuperTele I was not certain about was the 300 F2.8 IS - which you cleared up for me a while ago.
The main point I was trying to get over was that it is not a case of tripod sensing lenses turning the IS off as there is a secondary IS mode that automatically comes into play when a tripod is sensed. It is actually beneficial to leave the IS switched on.
As you stated 'You might be surprised how much sharper you lens actually is once you get solid tripod and disable IS' it seemed to me that you did not know the benefits of leaving IS on when on a tripod. I obviously agree about the decent tripod (and head) but would suggest that the OP would do better still by leaving IS switched on.

I got some very sharp shots with stacked tc,s on the 300/2.8 and apart from a decent tripod and head I put this down to leaving IS switched on.
 
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Sorry Roy C the only part of that post that was mine was:
"The IS on the 500 F4 L IS Mk1 or 2 is tripod sensing so you don't need to turn it off when using a tripod."
I cut and pasted it - that will teach me!

I totally agree with you the IS is still very useful even on a tripod, I just wish all my lenses had tripod sensing IS!
 
Thanks for all the responses. I have narrowed down on the Benro GH 1P or the Benro Gh2.
The GH1P is side-mounted, while the GH2 has regular bottom support. The Gh 1P sounds very interesting, much lighter, and probably sufficient for my gear. Just seems inherently less safe, and mounting the lens in the field will probably be more difficult.

Request advice from people who have used either.
 
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