Best tripod for shooting verticals with 20D and BG-E2

[nick_breedlove1]

Hi,

 

I'm looking for the best and most cost efficient tripod, preferrably

from B&H for the 20D. I have the BG-E2 grip. I want something that I

can have the camera in vertical orientation and it not drag the

tripod down. I don't want to spend over $100. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks

Nick

[david_haynes]

"Any recommendations?"

 

A bigger budget.

 

Look to invest a minimum of $200 in the legs and at least that much in a good head

for a medium-level tripod system.

 

Remember. a good tripod is a purchase that will serve you for many years, though

many cameras and lenses, so choose carefully.

 

Think abou it... if you're using a 20D and BG-E2, you've spent over $1,500 on a throw

away camera that'll be obsolete in a year or two and worth only a few hundred bucks.

For a third of what you paid for the camera/grip, a good tripod will last a lifetime and

will make shooting a pleasure instead of a pain. Very few photographers ever realize

this simple fact.

 

The best system I've seen for shooting verticals is the "L" bracket system sold by Kirk

and Really Right Stuff, but it's not cheap. The "L" shaped brakets are Arca Swiss style

quick releases that mount to the camera and allow them to mount to the tripod in

either the vertical or horizontal position. That way, the position of the lens changes

only a fraction of an inch, if any, instead of swinging in a wide arch and being lower

and to the side as with bottom-mounted cameras.

 

Here is the RRS website:

 

http://reallyrightstuff.com/body_plates/canon/index.html

 

I have the Gitzo 2220 ($200) and Arca Swiss B1 ballhead ($400) and it's already seen

cameras from D30, 10D, 1D, 20D in the two years I've had it. I expect it will see many

more.

[Ed_Ingold]

The best way to shoot vertical pictures is to use an L-bracket from Really Right Stuff. This keeps the camera centered over the axis of the tripod.

 

The RRS L-bracket is designed for Arca-Swiss type clamps and plates. However, there are (usually) tripod sockets on both legs if your tripod is screw mount only. You would need an A/S plate for the camera.

 

It seems you have discovered one of the drawbacks of a grip-type head - it only works well if the camera is nearly level.

[godfrey]

A $100 tripod will generally not be worth wasting your money on.

 

Like others have mentioned, the Really Right Stuff L-bracket for Arca-Swiss type QR clamps is

the best way to go. A good set of legs like the Bogen/Manfrotto 3021PRO, a good head (Kirk

Photo or Acratech, for example) with A-S type QR clamp and the L-bracket will run you about

$350-450. That setup will be worth using.

 

Godfrey

[awindsor]

The key is to have a antitwist plate of some kind or the weight of the lens causes the camera to twist about the tripod mounting screw (at least that was my experience).

 

For roughly the budget you could go with the Bogen - Manfrotto 3005N - 3001N Tripod with 3030 Pan/Tilt Head with Quick Release Plate and add their archiecture plate (which is a generic non-twist plate). It would be best if you could try the plate first and see if it fits the BG-E2. I think that a pan-tilt is better than a ball in the "flopped" position.

 

For a bit more you can get a more expensive pan-tilt head and a Bogen-Manfrotto elbow bracket. I don't know what the arrangements are for antitwist on the elbow bracket. Maybe someone has one and can comment.

 

Despite what is often written you can use a tripod without an Arca-Swiss ball head or even Arca-Swiss quick release platform.

[awindsor]

Check out <a href="http://www.normankoren.com/phototechnique.html#Tripod">Norman Koren's Tripod recommendations</a>. Nothing under $100 but certainly closer to your budget than the B1 recommendations. In particular he mentions a junior elbow bracket I was not aware of. I don't like the grip style heads but with an elbow bracket they may be OK.