Tripod minefield (1 Viewer)

Hi,
Would appreciate some help on tripod and head selection, I am a relative newbie
At bird photography but getting out every moment I get between work. My kit is a canon 60d with a sigma 70-300, I have very quickly realised that I need more mm's to get the kind of shots I would be happy with and have my eye on a 150-500 sigma. Although I am getting some reasonable pics handheld I realise I need more stability to get sharper pics so a tripod and head is required for BIF in particular. Budget is an issue to a degree so mid range or second hand suggestions will be appreciated .

Johno

I strongly suggest that you get the very best tripod that you can afford. Unfortunately the really nice ones are silly money these days!
I am quite happy to buy used gear, for example I picked up a good condition Gitzo carbon 1329 Mk2 + carbon center column for 100 quid, however a friend of mine picked up a mint Feisol 3342 and a near mint Gitzo 1329? Mk2 mountaineer tripod for 100 quid each! Going secondhand will allow you to buy much better equipment which will serve you well for a long time to come.
As to tripod heads, for wildlife, I prefer a Gimbal type head. Have a look at the Lensmaster RH1 head. It is perfectly adequate for my 300 F2.8 + camera (around 4 kilos) and VERY reasonably priced.

Benro 500EX works great for me! Also consider the Manfrotto 293 carbon fiber tripod. Both should be adequate for a Sigma 150-500mm lens to a max size of a Canon 300mm 2.8 II lens. Not adequate for anything bigger than that though.

Before you do anything else - read this:
http://bythom.com/support.htm

Feisol, Induro, and Gitzo seem to be the top choices followed by Manfrotto. Gitzo is generally regarded as the top end of this group. The Manfrotto 055PROB is a good compromise model on a tight budget, but the 3 series Gitzo and equivalents from Feisol and Induro are longer lasting choices.

The big way to save money on legs is to go with alloy rather than carbon fiber. Don't choose the ultralight models - they sacrifice more stability than the real weight savings.

There is a huge difference in performance and satisfaction when you choose a ballhead. Markins, Really Right Stuff, Arca Swiss, and a few others are at the top - and well worth it. If you are on a tight budget, you might consider Photo Clam. Just keep in mind there is no free lunch. The Marking Q10, RRS BH40 or the larger models from those companies are my recommendation - especially if you intend to have dual use with both a camera and scope.

For plates, stick with Arca Swiss generic plates and a standard Arca Swiss compatible clamp. Stay away from proprietary plates as they lock you into a system for other items and are costly to replace. I use an L-Bracket for my camera as it makes shifting from landscape to portrait orientation much easier. Camera specific plates help to eliminate any chance of movement or the plate working loose.

Johnno65 said:

Hi,
Would appreciate some help on tripod and head selection, I am a relative newbie
At bird photography but getting out every moment I get between work. My kit is a canon 60d with a sigma 70-300, I have very quickly realised that I need more mm's to get the kind of shots I would be happy with and have my eye on a 150-500 sigma. Although I am getting some reasonable pics handheld I realise I need more stability to get sharper pics so a tripod and head is required for BIF in particular. Budget is an issue to a degree so mid range or second hand suggestions will be appreciated .

Johno

Click to expand...

Just my personal opinion: it is difficult to have stability and birds in flight at the same time. The key there is fast AF and fast shutter times IMHO. Birds in flight tends to happen when you do not even have time to put up the tripod. For the rest of your shots, yes a tripod would help.

Niels