checklist for my first tripod purchase (1 Viewer)

ive looked at other tripod threads and the fitzharris book a bit and im trying to get straight what the components of a nature photography tripod system are.

1. i need a ball head that supports the various types of panning and ALSO something like a sidekick or jobu for heavy lenses right? do i need something like a sidekick for my canon50D and 70-300IS combo?

2. the basic components that i'll have to buy are: tripod, ball head, cable shutter release, quick release plate, jobu/sidekick, and.. what pieces am i forgetting about? what other costs will there be that aren't accounted for here, or is this everything i'll need?

thanks for the advice,
Matt

Hi,
You wont need a sidekick or any other gimbal head for the 70-300 lens. They require a far heavier lens such as a 300 f2.8 in order to balance correctly. The ball head would suffice & can be used for panning & even following birds in flight or can be locked down for static shots. Have a look at this for a bit more about camera supports:
http://lnrwildphoto.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html
This should help a bit.
Regards
Rob

Rob Chace said:

Hi,
You wont need a sidekick or any other gimbal head for the 70-300 lens. They require a far heavier lens such as a 300 f2.8 in order to balance correctly.

Click to expand...

Ok cool, I'll just make sure that whatever ball head I get can have a sidekick added to it later whenever I buy a bigger lens.

In Nature Photography by Fitzharris it says that I should look for tripod legs that allow the center column to be removed and mounted horizontally. What does this allow you to do / what is the advantage of this?

Also the book says that the best leg extension controls are 'spring loaded push buttons' can anyone point me in the direction of a tripod model that has those? All I see are ones with twist rings and flip locks..

thanks!

The flip locks are quite common these days, just look at Manfrotto (Bogen). I would not agree with the horizontal column as most tripods have legs that spread so that the camera is almost on the deck. I personally dont like center columns at all because they cant be as rigid as mounting the head straight onto the top plate. If you must have one, never extend it!
I have never seen a tripod with a push button release so cant comment on that.
Whatever you decide on, the most important factor is the load that it can carry. Go too light & it will be as bad as hand holding you camera. I usually tell people to work out the max load & double it. Look for a tripod & head in that region. You wont be disappointed.
Carbon fibre also has the benefit of absorbing vibration better than aluminium aswell as being lighter to carry.
Better to buy an over spec'ed head & legs now rather than having to upgrade in a couple of years time when you have bought a bigger, heavier lens.
Regards
Rob

Rob Chace said:

I would not agree with the horizontal column as most tripods have legs that spread so that the camera is almost on the deck.

Click to expand...

From this I gather that the 'so called' advantage of a center column that can mount horizontally is that it allows the tripod to have a very low minimum height for macro shots and such. I.e. if it didn't mount horizontally then the center column would prevent the legs from going (nearly) all the way to ground level, Right?

And what you're saying is that a better way to deal with that problem is to just not have a center column at all?

Thanks for clarifying,
Matt

If i need to get that close to the ground i use a beanbag instead! I think you will find most tripods go low enough for 90% of shots. Most of the cheaper tripods will have a center coloumn, some can be split so the legs can go lower & the more expensive makes such as Gitzo have the option of a flat base plate instead.
Your other option would be something like a Benbo which you can work into almost any shape, high or low, but can be a bit like wrestling a giraffe to set up! Depends on what your main use is going to be, general photography or macro.
Hope this helps
Rob.

I was looking at Velbon models and I came across this at b&h. They claim:

"It has what are quite possibly the greatest locking collets created, offering the small amount of movement needed(versus flip levers) without the annoying unwanted rotations & operational order traditionally associated with twisting leg locks."

Can anyone confirm that this leg locking method is actually better than flip levers?