Nikon ED50 and travel tripod/head (1 Viewer)

Hi All,
First time poster so be nice

Getting myself a Nikon ED50 angled with 27x Wide fixed

Looking at various options for tripods - anyone used it with the little Sirui T-025X?

Any other options - most of the time would be sitting looking out to sea at a coastal place but will also come travelling when out with mates sea cliff walking and out with birding mates

Have seen the threads going back 2010 and even more confused than ever (never owned a tripod before)

Rick

Rick I have the straight version ED50 and love it. I don't see why the Sirui T-025X would not work very well with an angled version of the ED50. As long as the maximum height is ok for you. Light wt. scope and tripod.
http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=440190&d=1367241598

mooreorless said:

As long as the maximum height is ok for you.

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That is a big if - the maximum height of the tripod with the column fully extended is listed on the Sirui webpage as 130cm. Even if we allow for 20cm for head and scope, that's not a lot.

I am 1.88m and usually have my tripod extended to 145cm total (column extended 15cm or so) with head and my 77mm Kowa adding another 25cm for comfy use while standing. Less when I use a chair on the balcony or am in a group and others might want a peek too.

Also you ideally want to keep the column down for maximum stability.

And it's 5 sections with 4 locks and very thin lower sections which is not ideal for stability either.

I'd say try before you buy or use a vendor with a good return policy.

Joachim, who has an old 3 section carbon bought used for a song which barely fits into the suitcase... but it's light and stable.

I haven't used the ED50 with that Sirui but I saw the T-025x carbon in a store once. I thought it was lighter, flimsier than I'd want for my ED50 at 27x. It only weighs .8 kg and only goes up to 54.5 inches. At 5'9" I need around 56" for my angled ED50.

I've been considering the Manfrotto BeFree carbon which is only a bit more in cost than the Sirui. I haven't seen it though.

My battered aluminum travel tripod that I use with the ED50 weighs 1060gm and goes up to 58". I personally wouldn't want any less tripod than that for the ED50 but it works pretty well.

Mark

Kammerdiner said:

I haven't used the ED50 with that Sirui but I saw the T-025x carbon in a store once. I thought it was lighter, flimsier than I'd want for my ED50 at 27x. It only weighs .8 kg and only goes up to 54.5 inches. At 5'9" I need around 56" for my angled ED50.

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Same here. I actually tried it in a shop with my ED50, and I thought the combination wouldn't really work in the field. It's also too short for me (I'm 6'3''). And I personally don't trust carbon tripods with such thin legs anyway, not even Gitzos.

Kammerdiner said:

My battered aluminum travel tripod that I use with the ED50 weighs 1060gm and goes up to 58". I personally wouldn't want any less tripod than that for the ED50 but it works pretty well.

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Is that 1060 gr. including the head? Finding a decent lightweight head isn't easy, even though the ED50 works pretty well with a lightweight ballhead. But my lightest ballhead that works reasonably well is still almost 400 gr. (including a quick release plate).

Hermann

Here's a pic of my Whitehall Travelite TR-1. It's a nice, old minimalist travel tripod that I've used for years with the ED50. It's got a skeletal two-way head and no QR plate. 4-section legs and 2-section post. Folds to 17". It's almost 100% aluminum including aluminum knobs on the steel set screws. Nicely made, too. Very old school.

The ED50 could use more tripod, but I just like this vintage American creation. Icing on the cake: it cost me 10 cents at a thrift store.

One reason I don't upgrade is that I'm not sure I'd like a ballhead and that's what all the travel tripods have.

Hermann: at 6'3" you're gonna need more tripod than this!

To the OP: I think something carbon in the 1.5-2 kg range would work well. The T-025X not so much.

Mark

I just got an Induro Stealth CLT103 Series 1 tripod to use with the Opticron MM3 50mm for work. It weighs 2.8lb (headless), extends to 58.5", and compacts to 22.6". I looked at the Manfrotto BeFree but I prefer the twist locks, and I'm using it with a 700RC2 head. I felt it the best intermediate between low weight and sturdiness; I'm 6'2" so I needed something with decent height.