Off-topic: tripod advice

I shoot on a 5D, and I'm looking for a "multi-base" tripod kit like the

Novaflex or Cullmann kits for myself and my father for Christmas. Looking for

anyone with practical experience who could dissuade me or encourage me in one

direction or another. The kits include a ground spike, ball head, clamp, etc.

 

Cullmann: http://www.adorama.com/CU1001.html?searchinfo=cullmann

 

Novaflex: http://www.adorama.com/NVSURVIVALKT.html

 

All input welcome - I appreciate the time.

 

-Mike

Just a quick comment -- if you are using heavy, fast glass (e.g., 24-70 2.8 or longer L zooms), these tripods you reference might be a bit flimsy? Are they substantial enough for your requirements?

Ken -

 

a fair question/comment, and one I'm looking to answer. Hopefully someone can chime in from their own experience. A single-point groundspike with a 5D and L zoom doesn't feel robust enough to hold up.... unless the spike is >12-14in long, which can be unwieldy.

 

I'd be interested, too, in a 12-24in (or greater) nylon webbing strap with a buckle and attachment point for some sort of ball head --- strap to struts, joists, trees, etc.... not sure if there's one on the market.

 

-mcs

I'll follow this thread because I'd probably want to use something similar rather than lugging around my Bogen/Manfrotto in the back woods.

If you check out the links, the Cullmann looks just.... gimmicky... to me. I googled a few different search strings (Cullmann, review, etc.) looking for a post at a photog's blog or somesuch, and can't find anything (yet).

 

Same for the novaflex system, which at least "looks" more robust, if that counts for anything.

 

-mike

"Ball 19, Micropod, Uniklem 42, Ground Spike Nagel, 5.9" Extension Rod (STA 15), Suction Cup, Plastic Clamp, Padded Zipppered & Partitioned Case "

 

 

$3000 camera and a $2 plastic clamp? It makes no sense to me.

 

As Ken says, they are a bit flimsy - maybe okay for a $100 P&S.

Maybe I should invent something SLR-ready.

 

:-)

 

-M>

Novoflex may look better, but it comes in a 7x10 pack.

 

Try this one, and it will support a F2 with a 300mm lens as well.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/30592-REG/Leica_14100_Table_Tripod.html

 

and half the price.

 

Mine is 40 years old and still works like new.

I have a couple of Ball 19 heads (Inside the Novoflex Survival Kit) that I use for ultra small lighting setups. There is absolutely no way I'd ever mount my 5D on one of them.

 

It looks like the Ball 19 in the kit is the one with a single locking knob. Be forewarned that when this knob is loosened the head is loosened at both the ball and the base. I assume this is to allow panning but the whole thing just feels very flimsy when the knob is loose.

 

They are nice little heads but not for a 5D.

If you are trying to find something ultra light to carry, I use http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/322191-REG/Velbon_ULTRALUXIF_Ultra_LUXiF_Tripod_with.html with a 5D. I wouldn't leave this unattended for a great length time, but I find it stable enough even with a 70 - 300 DO. One big thing to note about this particular tripod is that the head on it, places the camera body a couple of inches back from the center of the tripod, effectively that means that the camera-lens combination has it's overall weight balance close to centered over the tripod.

 

(I use gitzo carbon fiber and linhof ball heads for other cameras, read 4 figures $$$$) But for a walk about camera usage that my 5D is meant for, this Velbon which weighs under 3 pounds will get carried versus left back in the trunk. Please note that of this overall Velbon series this is the ONLY one which I consider strong enough for this application.

Since I'm old and tired, I've looked into many devices to substitute for lugging around a tripod, including the Novaflex survival kit. Many were tried and rejected because they took up space in my bag and were little used. The most promising were clamps; a C-clamp and a spring clamp. A gun stock saw some use but offered no substantial saving in weight or bulk. Table top tripods are great for tables - nothing else.

 

(Drum roll) TaDa... the winners are:

 

1.Omnipod. This is a bean bag with a 1/4 X 20 tripod screw, a textured rubber bottom that doesn't slide easily, and a strap for hanging or securing to things. It weighs 3 pounds but packs more easily than other devices.

 

2.A boot lace. Attached to one end is a thumb screw (1/4 X 20) with a weight (couple of washers) on the other end. This is a very old idea I read about in a photo magazine 60 years ago. You screw the thumb screw to the bottom of your camera, drop the string and step on the weighted end.

 

Jim

I've got a picture of the string if I can figure out how to post it.<div></div>

I bought a Cullmann kit many years ago, but have never made much use of it because it's really not equal to the task of supporting an SLR/DSLR, certainly not with any reasonably substantial lens. Maybe there are heavier-duty versions. My current tripod is a Gitzo 2220 (tilting centre column) used with an Acratech GV2 ballhead, and that's a very versatile combination, strong and stable enough for my current largest lens, the 100~400, with the added attraction that the ballhead can be used in gimbal mode, but also capable of getting the camera into positions very close to the ground for botanical work.

I've got three tripods I regularly use and another I use once in awhile, plus a couple of clamps that I can mount a head onto.