Hi Marc,

What are your thoughts on tripods? Legs, heads, etc etc?

Thanks!

Hi PD,

Mind if I share a story? Flashback 12 years or so. I was shootiing in a rock park just north of Los Angeles with a beautiful girl. She was a former Playboy Playmate and one of the nicest girl's I've worked with. I was shooting Bronica medium format cameras at the time and was taking my brand new
[$1,800.00] 250mm lens out on it's maiden shoot. I also had a fairly inexpensive tripod--you getting the idea where this is going? Yep. the cheap tripod went over with my very expensive toy attached. The camera literally bounced off the ground...twice. I had a bellows lens shade/filter holder at the time. I picked the camera up to sound of broken glass and my heart sinking...I shook out the remains of a 33 cent home made diffusion filter, dusted the camera off, popped a polaroid and kept shooting. The camera and lens were fine. Bronica was undeservedly given second class status in the medium format world. They were/are good solid cameras. Anyway...I bought my heavy duty Bogen monster the next day. Lesson learned: get the biggest baddest tripod you can afford--it is literally holding your livelihood for you.

Larry, I completely agree with Steve on this one, you've got alot of money wrapped up in camera equipment and the tripod is often the place where everyone skimps.

I'm going to assume that in general your asking about a tripod for shooting landscapes because your asking this in the landscape forum. I can't tell you how many times i've come close to dumping my camera because of a big gust of wind etc...

I shoot from a Gitzo tripod with a Really Right Stuff Ballhead, I personally think that they make the finest heads on the planet they just work for my shooting style. Yes i have over a thousand dollars wrapped up in a tripod and head but in theory i'll never have to buy another one. Before i bit the bullet and spent the money for that set up i probably spent equally as much buying cheaper heads and legs that i just wasn't satisfied with.

I think the biggest thing is you need to make sure that whatever you buy fits your shooting style.

For what it's worth

Cris...

Larry

I use a "Really Right Stuff" ball head and "Slick" legs. I have the small and the large ball heads from RRS. I use the small one for backpacking trips and the large one for just about everything else. I never did like tripods nor heads, in fact until digital I did not use one enough. Since I was not viewing all my film images at 100percent in photoshop. Now that I do, I am far more critical of detail and use the mirror lock up on my camera along with a cable release. However, with this said I still find the most efficient tripod as possible due to the fact that on a good day I will set it up and tear it down tooooo many times. The Slick tripod I use is lightweight and stands tall enough to keep me from having to crouch on those shots where low is not an issue and the most important feature for me is that there are only two joints per leg thus keeping teardown time low. The model is Pro883cf-d and it supports 12lbs.

Marc

Thanks, everyone, for chiming in. I've used an El Cheapo flex-leg video tripod for years, but the leg locking mechanism finally gave in. So I upgraded to a set of Bogan 3001 and a Bogan ball head. They work well, but weigh a ton.

My camera doesn't have a thread for cable release, or an electronic one for that matter. However, it does have a infrared remote, which is very cool.

We visited Mt Rainier and Olympic national parks recently. The day we spent at Rainier was foggy all day. Didn't see the mountain at all. Went up to the 360 observation deck at Paradise, nothing but white! Took some pictures of waterfalls though, and the fog gave it a nice effect I thought.

I've heard a lot of good things about Really Right Stuff and Markin/Kirk ball heads. I was doing some macro stuff recently and the head creep was starting to be a bit annoying. I'd frame the shot, lock the head and let go of my left hand--and the camera would dip just ever so slightly that my framing is off. Word has it that the top of the line ball heads will not creep.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your stories!

Hey PD!

Cruising through the forums, Tripod caught my eye... Ya know Bogan, (or is it Manfrotto), recently came up with a carbon fiber tripod that is supposed to be very tough, light, and sturdy. Haven't seen one in 'person', so can't report on it.

I've used a Bogan 3028 with a Bogan 3051 head for, mmmmm 13, 14 years now. I call it "PodZilla". Yes it's heavy, and I really do hate taking it on locations because of the weight, and I don't have an apprentice these days to lug my equipment around. But I'll say this, the thing is indestructable! And it has this great mechanism where you squeeze 2 levers simultaniously and all 3 legs drop, or retract. You can get it down to about 12 inches from the ground, and it extends to about 6'. (I'm 6' and have to get on a step to look through the viewfinder at full extention).

And there are things you just can't do hand-held, as you know. So, while it is heavy, that is the only drawback. It's sturdy as a brick even in stiff wind. And when you lock the head, it ain't movin'! A good sturdy tripod is a must!
Aloha,
SPC II