Topic: New Tripod?

[jbwolffiv]

I am thinking of getting a new tripod.  Only I know very little.  Some things I am looking for would probably be a ball head since I now have one with two really annoying handles and trying to position it is a nightmare. 

Do I need to worry about the max height, I figure something in the range of a little more than 5 feet should make sense.   

I have a Nikon D7000 with a battery grip, would max weight of 11 lbs be enough, most of my lenses are not very large (I dont have any real awesome glass, you know the real heavy stuff)

Right now my tripod is 24 inches when folded and I would like it to be a little shorter.

Any suggestions?

[mSummers]

I think I have a tripod article bookmarked on my computer that talks about weight ratios between the camera, ball head and legs. I'll look it up after NCIS is over. 

Regarding height, you want to try to get something tall enough that the tripod height plus the height of the bullhead put the camera at or above eye level so you don't have to bend over all the time.

Really Right Stuff, and Acratech both make good products.  There is a third manufacturer I can't remember the name of that also makes good products.  If you go with one of the above manufacturers, seriously consider a "L" bracket which allows you to switch back and forth between vertical and horizontal without leaning the tripod head over. 

I can't help with suggesting models though.  I went with a really tall tripod.

[gary]

tripod makes that are really good imho are gitzo and benro, also velbon, although they no longer make the official tmip model. as far as ballheads i am a confirmed acratech user, i now have 3 of them and like all of them. carbon fiber or basalt for the legs, gives strength without a lot of weight, the trouble with the really compact travel models is that they are not going to give you the height to reach eye level, not a big deal for some times, but can be weary for al day shooting.


forgot to add, i use L plates on all my bodies, most often from kirk, some from really right stuff, both have nice products

[mSummers]

The link to the article I was thinking of is dead...  I should have printed a copy since it was pretty good.  Working from memory, I think it recommended figuring out the weight of the heaviest camera/lens/flash combination you'll ever put on it and then multiply that by1.5 so you're not working the components at capacity which can cause them to wear out quicker allowing the head to creep under the load. 

The other tip it had was that for maximum stability, you want a tripod with no center column because once you raise that column up you've taken an inherently unstable single column and placed it on a stable three leg platform, thereby reducing the stability of the setup.  The drawback is that by having no center column, the legs have to be longer, which makes the tripos less suitable for travel. 

[jbwolffiv]

Thanks for the ideas.  I will be sure to find the weight and multiply it to be sure. 
 
I am not really sure what an "L" plate is, are they expensive?

[mSummers]

An " L" plate is an "L" shaped tripod mounting plate that gives you the option of mounting the camera to the tripod head in either the vertical or horizontal position.  This allows you to quickly switch orientations while keeping the film plane in e same position over the tripod, so you don't have to recompose.  With a standard tripod plate, you have to tilt the head to head vertical shots which puts moves the film plane down and to the side causing you to have to recompose.  Also by not having to tilt the head, the camera's center of gravity is always directly over the tripod instead of off to the side which reduces stability.


Here's some more information and a short video: 

http://reallyrightstuff.com/WebsiteInfo.aspx?fc=80


Really Right Stuff is selling them for $120 for a bracket sized for the D7000 body only or $183 sized for the body and the MB-D11 grip.  Kirk has them for comparable prices.

http://reallyrightstuff.com/Items.aspx?code=BodyNikonD7000&key=cat

[jbwolffiv]

Great info Michael!!  Thanks for the links, I'll give them a look when I get home.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gary]

I would strongly suggest acratech for your ballhead choice, yes they are pricey, but the machining is first rate, excellent design, and they look to be a many year purchase. Acratech made their bones doing precision machine work for nHra drag teams. And spend the $ for a model with a built in level on the base. And a little customer service story, the little bubble level fell out of one of mine, probably due to the fact that it's on my pickup tripod, and i tend to get lazy and not take the time to secure it in the gun rack as i should, i called them up looking to buy a replacement, the owner happened to answer the phone. He said that should not have happened to one of their products, so he sent me not 1 but 2, at absolutely no charge. Now that's the way to take care of the customer, and one of the reasons i recommend their products

[mSummers]

That's how customer service should be done.  I have a similar story for RRS.  I realized about a month before my trip to the Durango & Silverton that I needed a monopod for the 200-400 and debated between the RRS monopod which had been announced but was not in stock yet and the equivalent Gitzo and planned to get a RRS lever release clamp for whichever one I settled on.  I ended up deciding on the RRS model since the build quality looked as good as the Gitzo (now that I have it, I think it's actually a little better than the Gitzo) and was made in the USA. 

RRS was scheduled to receive the first batch two weeks before my trip and was scheduled to take the first orders as soon as they had them in stock. The first batch was delayed a week which was cutting it close to my trip.  I decided to wait for it and ordered it the moment I got the email (exactly one week before my trip) that they were in stock and told the sales person when I needed it and why and asked them if I would get it in time.  He told me that the lever release clamp I wanted was out of stock but put me on hold and went in the warehouse to check.  When he came back on the line he told me that he found one on one of their pre-assembled head & clamp combinations and stole it off that and went ahead and attached it to my monopod for me.  He then upgraded me to next day shipping free of charge as a way of thanking me for waiting for their product instead of ordering something else.  That along with their great build quality is why I continue to purchase and recommend their products.

I think customer service is still alive and well in small businesses that want to treat their customers right.  It sounds like both Acratech and RRS take great pride in their products and customer service.  You probably can't go wrong with either one.