Best head for hour long night photos?

[chrismitchell]

What type of tripod and head would be best for hours long night photos?  

I lost the small Manfrotto ball head I had screwed on a lighter tripod while hiking in Olympic national park the other day.  I went back and looked for it, no luck.

I was questioning it's stability on longer shots, hmmm.  I found what appears to be a smaller size video tripod at the Goodwill store.  Model 321 is the only thing it says on it.  It should get me buy for the rest of my hike.  (My eagle photos look a lot better when I used a tripod compared to the hand held ones.)

At the end of the month, I am buying a lens and either a new head for my Manfrotto or a whole new tripod.

I want to take night photography into consideration as I decided which one.

Edited July 7, 2023 by chrismitchell

[paddler4]

Anything stable. Beyond that, not much matters, since the equipment will be stationary, so pick according to other features you need.

[Edwin Barkdoll]

Ditto what paddler4 said. Keep in mind the weight of your camera and lens – you want the tripod/head weight limit to exceed the weight of the cam/lens it supports. I also like the ability to attach a weight, e.g. rock in a cloth bag to hang from the center column for increased stability. A center column hook can make that easier to implement, but definitely isn't necessary.

[paddler4]

I'll second what Edwin wrote. If you are using a relatively lightweight tripod and head, having a way to hang a weight can be critically important. On one of my first night photography shoots, a gust of wind blew my camera over onto concrete. I was lucky: the only damage was a shattered lens hood and a bent filter ring. However, it could have been a disaster. And lesser motion will ruin long exposures even when there is no risk.

My tripod and head are quite light--an Oben carbon fiber tripod with a Markins head--so this is very important for me. I sometimes simply hang my photo backpack.