Longest Telephoto for a Given Tripod

[ben_johnson10]

I have a question concerning the longest telephoto lens one can use with a given tripod size.

 

It has been my understanding that one shouldn't use a focal length longer than what the tripod is rated.

For example the catalog for the Gitzo 6X carbon states that the longest lens that can used on a Series 2

tripod is 300mm (due to torsional vibration considerations). I believe this is when the camera is tripped by

a shutter release cable.

 

However, if one is for example shooting wildlife, with a telephoto on a ballhead and tripod, and tracking a

bird flying through the sky, couldn't one use a telephoto lens with a focal length LONGER than the tripod

manufacturer recommendation?

 

My thought is that the vibration induced by the photographer moving the camera body would more than

exceed the vibration if the camera were shot, hands-off, with a shutter release cable, so the size of the

tripod would not have any bearing on image sharpness (to a degree, of course).

 

I believe this would still be the case if the photographer wasn't tracking the action, and holding the

camera still in one position, as the heartbeat of the photographer, or the vibration caused by mashing the

shutter button would be much larger than any torsional vibration damping qualities of the tripod.

 

(By the way I just read George Lepp's equipment column in the latest Outdoor Photographer magazine

where he mentions on a recent safari shoot he was shooting a 500mm lens on Gitzo GT2540 tripod, so

this seems to indicate shooting longer lenses is indeed possible than what the tripod is normally rated

for.)

 

Any thoughts on this?

[john_hanlon3]

Gitzo's recommendations are just that: recommendations. Obviously when using a large telephoto, the more rigid the support the better, but more rigidity equals more weight to haul around. The thing to remember is that nothing is cast in stone, as evidenced by George Lepp's article.

[g dan mitchell]

I'm going to agree that there aren't hard and fast rules about this. I think that various things

may influence what tripod will be solid enough for your use including the conditions in which

you shoot, the significance of the bulk and weight of the tripod for you, etc.

 

Dan

[alex_lofquist]

I never can find how the manufacturers rate their tripods. (By the way the ratings are almost always originally in kilograms, but when converted to pounds suggest that the limits are very critical.) George Lepp used the lightweight Gitzo 1228 to support his 500mm and 600mm lenses in Antarctica with no problems. On that basis, I bought that tripod for use with my 500 and TC14B. It has been just fine for me too. Just get something light enough to use, and try it in situations that you expect to encounter. Study up on long lens technique. Long lenses in windy conditions are the toughest.

[ben_johnson10]

That is interesting that Lepp used a tripod as small as Gitzo 1228 to support up to

600mm. I guess opinions are all over the place on this. I read someplace that John Shaw

considers the GT3530 the smallest tripod that should be considered.

 

It seems to me in reading various photographer's forums on the web that the general

consensus is to use the heaviest tripod that one can use which means carrying around too

much weight if you don't shoot teles exclusively.