Tripod for Wildlife

[rjmelone]

<p>I've often read how a tripod can improve sharpness and detail. Since my current lens (70-300mm VR) is not that fast or that sharp to begin with (at 300mm), I thought I would try shooting wildlife with a tripod. Please note that I do plan on purchasing the 300mm f/4 with tc sometime soon (I know about the collar). I have a D90 and envision myself walking out on a long jetty or walking the perimeter of a wildlife refuge, so weight is a factor in proportion to cost. My budget is around $300 with a head. I’m currently evaluating the Manfrotto 488RC4 ball head with the 055XPROB tripod. Here are my comments: the tripod is stable and the height is good but I’m not sure about the weight after a few hours walking. The horizontal pan motion on the head is slow. Quick release is fine but not essential especially when considering weight, and I am not that pleased with having to use a coin to lock the camera to the plate. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.</p>

[phil_burt]

<p>Robert,<br>

You may need to up your alloted $$ a little.<br>

If you are going to carry this any length you will most likely need something with carbon legs. I have a reasonable set, they are like the Flashpoint ones Adorama has, but the head to me is the most important part and I use an Acratech Ultimate head that is very reliable using a Sigma 70-200 lens that is very heavy. That alone is $300.00 +with camera Plates. I certainly would not go with a cheap head .... I did and just lost that money as it wouldn't support the camera and lens.<br>

Good Luck,<br>

phil b<br>

benton, ky</p>

[nicksta]

<p>Have a read of the following article by Thom Hogan.<br>

<a href="http://bythom.com/support.htm">http://bythom.com/support.htm</a></p>

[acbeddoe]

Your budget is likely a little low for a tripod and head of acceptable stability and durability. I use a Manfrotto 190 CX3 tripod (about $250) which is light enough for hiking and very stable with a D300 and 300mm f/4 lens. I urge you to look at Arca-compatible attachments and not the Manfrotto types.

 

I now use Arca-compatible clamps and plates. These are low profile, light-weight, rigid and stable. There are several brands and all are good, some are better. This allows you to shop around a bit.

 

I used a Manfrotto 468RC2 and the ballhead functioned nicely, but was very heavy. The RC2 attachment system is, quite frankly, clunky and the attachment to the camera or lens not the most secure. I replaced the RC2 clamp with an RRS one, then eventually replaced the 486 head with an RRS BH-40.

[warren_wilson]

<p>I spend a lot of time hiking with my camera gear — days at a time in the mountains. I carried a Manfrotto aluminum tripod for years, then last year bit the bullet and spent the money on a carbon fibre set of legs. </p>

<p>I so wish I had done it years ago. The carbon legs are significantly lighter, AND they seem more precisely machined, and the new Manfrotto (190 series) has a very cool way of swinging the centerpost sideways for macro and other low perspective shots.</p>

<p>While pondering how much the tripod might be worth to you, consider that you will probably find it outlasts a few camera bodies and co-exists with a few generations of lenses. Even when packed in rough mountain country.</p>

[Two23]

<p>Don't go cheap on a tripod. You will end up buying another one shortly after. Especially don't go cheap on a ballhead. Get one with an Arca style quick release, such as AcraTech, Markins, RRS, etc. Bogen plates will drive you insane very quickly.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

[rossb]

<p>It helps to have a sling for your tripod so you can carry it on your shoulder. I have Manfrotto aluminum legs and a 488 RC2 ballhead. I think that they work very well and have durability for a lifetime. There is much lighter and better gear out there for a price of course. My tripod fell off a cliff a few years back and survived it very well. The ball head shattered but I just bought another one on the way home. </p>

[carl_becker2]

<p>I have purchased a few cheaper tripods before getting a good carbon fiber one. I wasted a bit of money. Do read the tripod section on <a href="http://www.bythom.com">www.bythom.com</a> and follow it. Do it right the first time and save. I use a wide nylon sling over my shoulder and neck to carry my large tripod with D700 and 500mm f4 when walking in the woods looking for small birds for photograph. Fairly quick to setup and easy to carry for a few hours. As Kent mentions the Arca Swiss style is a great QR and do get a good head also. You may be able to save a bit if you buy used. Arca Swiss and Kirk also make good ballheads.</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Just an inexperienced viewpoint...<br />

<br />

My belief is that the 055XPROB is pretty popular - friends of mine were considering it. I tried it in a store, and came away with the carbon fibre version, 055CXPRO3. I was expecting it to be significantly lighter than the aluminium version (although it's not as scary as the 190 series, whose CF version weighs almost nothing), but it was *significantly* more solid in the wobble-test - I wasn't expecting such a detectable difference. The three-section version seemed a bit more solid to me than the four-section, and the length difference when compact is quite small, but you may choose differently depending on your luggage requirements. Gitzos are probably better, but seem to cost much more. If you're worried about carrying it a long distance, and if you're going anywhere windy, I'd seriously consider budgeting for the CF version. It depends how much else you're carrying - I carried a Modo up Snowdon and regretted the extra weight, so only you can decide how much it's worth to you, but know that you're paying for rigidity as well as weight. (The carbon legs also don't feel as cold in bad weather...) Manfrotto have just updated their range, so you might find a bargain as stores dump stock.<br />

<br />

I ended up with a Giottos 1301-652 (at least, I think - it might have been a 1302, I'd have to check) head, which I found a little nicer to play with than the Manfrotto equivalent. It seems to hold a D700 and 150-500 okay except at truly preposterous angles. I have no delusions that it'd hold a 500 f/4, but I'll solve that problem when I need to (a Manfrotto 393 seems to be the budget option). The consensus of buying an Arca-Swiss head rather than buying a lot of inferior products en route to getting one probably doesn't apply to me - I don't do enough tripod shooting that I expect ever to want to spend that much on a head, and I imagine that it'd be overkill any time a gimbal head wouldn't be a better idea (cue flame). YMMV.<br />

<br />

Disclaimer: so far both tripod and head have only had a limited work-out from me. I've been happy with both on the occasions I've used them, but please don't take my view as that of an expert, or even someone with a lot of experience with this kit. However, as someone who was shopping for a low budget option with similar requirements relatively recently, I hope that helps a little. (Everyone will now tell me where I wasted my money!)</p>

[peter_n1664876959]

<p>Save a bit more and fatten that budget a bit. If necessary spend more on the ballhead than the legs. A Markins Q3 or Q3T ballhead would be a great fit for your rig. Get a carbon fiber tripod, the gold standard is Gitzo but the Chinese manufacturers are pushing them at much lower prices. Sirui, Induro and Benro are all good, stay clear of Feisol. Here's <a href="http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=3794673&postcount=1">a good post on trade-offs in tripod/ballhead purchases</a>.</p>

<p>Buy a bit of quality the first time and you won't be going back to the shop a second time.</p>

[michael_tam1]

<p>I have many years used the Manfrotto system with 3 different size tripods for different purpose. For hiking, I recently upgraded the Manfrotto ballhead with the brand SIRUI due to its Arca compatible design, excellent quality and price. After several field trips with it, I am more than happy with the result. Please see:<br /><a href="http://www.downtowncamera.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=462&Itemid=2">http://www.downtowncamera.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=462&Itemid=2</a></p>

[rossb]

<p>Here is a short vidio with Jim Zuckerman talking about tripods. I do not know the brand he is talking about but it may have some useful information.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.jimzuckerman.com/youtube.php">http://www.jimzuckerman.com/youtube.php</a></p>

<p> </p>

[david_poole1]

<p>I use an older Manfrotto 055MF3 carbon with a Markins Q20 that I use with my D300s with my lens 300mm and up. Really stable, no issues and the package gets used a lot in all types of weather (rain, snow, ice, saltwater spray)).</p>

[kevin_havers1]

<p>Manfrotto has a $40.00 rebate on carbon fiber tripods, i just got one (055cxpro3), it seems quite rigid and very light.<br>

K</p>

[ShunCheung]

If you are using nothing longer than a 300mm/f4, perhaps with a 1.4x TC, I would get a monopod. That lens is not that

big, and your budget is not quite sufficient for a good carbon fiber tripod.