carbon fiber tripod suggestions

[grandphage]

anyone can recommend the carbon fiber tripod (legs and head) that can support a Canon 20D with 70-200 2.8L telephoto?

[condyk]

There are plenty of options. What's your max. budget?

[grandphage]

$300-350 max budget... i'm just a student hehe :)

[condyk]

Get yourself a Dynatran 994 kit which includes their top of the range magnesium ballhead and you'll still have plenty of change. Buying direct is expensive but they sell via their ebay outlet too and you can get them very cheap if you wait and bid carefully. 110% recommended for CF. Check out Feisol tripods too. Again a very good CF tripod without pay silly prices.

This is the Dynatran I bought:

http://www.amvona.com/v7/shop/?page=shop/flypage&view=1&product_id=2101

BUT, note you must buy off ebay to get the very best prices. I paid $147 for my 994 kit. If you pay their standard pricing then you're better with a Manfrotto CF 055 or 190 with 488 RC2 ballhead (branded Bogen in the US), or even a Gitzo.

[keenasmustard]

Here's another option for you to check out:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=322184&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

What sort of photography do you intend to do with it? How tall are you?

[grandphage]

i intend to use the tripod primarily for landscape photography... i'm 5'9

[keenasmustard]

Charles,
When I bought my tripod, I was lucky enough to have a landscape pro give me some handy advice, so I'll regurgitate it here for you. Hopefully it points you in the right direction.

First here's some questions to ask yourself that will help you narrow down your search:

1. Do you intend to do a lot of travel with it? If so, by air/car etc?
I would assume most landscape photographers are also ppl who like to travel! The fact that you've already said you want carbon fiber (CF) indicates the same. Apart from weight, folded size comes into play. If you intend to travel a lot by air, you'll be faced with the question of whether or not to check your tripod at the terminal. The downside to CF is it is more vulnerable to cracking if it's dropped (or more likely by baggage handlers thrown). Obviously if you want to go the safest route and be able to take the tripod on as carry on, then you need to be careful about your folded length. FYI: I've managed to get mine on as carry on so far on every flight.

There are two other ways around this issue if you can't find one small enough that suits you. First is to pack it in your suitcase but wrap clothing around it for extra padding inside. You still are at risk of handlers running over your suitcase (this has actually happened to me) with a baggage cart or losing your bag all together, but I guess that's what insurance is for. I'm personally paranoid about arriving at a destination without a working tripod and then being nowhere near a store I can buy a replacement. The other option that I've heard some pros go with is to ship their tripod (and sometimes other equipment) ahead of you. Obviously an expensive option I'm not really looking at personally as just an enthusiast- and I would guess you wouldn't go for that as a student either. ;)

If you're not likely to do much air travel with it, then ask yourself if you think you are going to be travelling far on foot with it. Are you going to hike up mountains or go on long walks through national parks? Do you want it to fit in/on a backpack? If none of this fits your way of doing things, you'll be far less restricted with height and weight. As a rule of thumb, good advice I read in a different thread is: you want the tripod to be your friend in your style of photography- not your enemy. You don't want to have a $300 (or more!) paperweight that just sits in your car because it's too much of a pain in the butt to carry around and set up.

One of the features of a tripod that can help make its folded length smaller, is having more leg sections. Some of the travel pods out there have 4 sections, (like the Dynatron Condyk mentioned) and I think I vaguely remember seeing one that had 5! One of the downsides of having more leg sections that the pro mentioned to me, was it makes the tripod less stable. In good models, I have no idea how significant this difference is, but it's something to keep in mind. I guess it makes sense from an engineering point of view. Everything in photography (so I'm learning so far) is about compromise. If you want a really compact tripod, you sacrifice stability for compactness; or if super-stability is more important to you than portability, then you have to go for a pod that is less compact! You just have to decide where that fine line lies for you.

To give you an idea of a comparison between two tripod's measurements, I'll compare Condyk's and mine: (I'll list the Dynatron first & Velbon second.)

Max height: 72" vs 63.8" (192.8cm vs 162cm) (that's with the Velbon's centre post raised... Condyk I can't find anything that says whether or not 72" is the Dynatron's max height with/without centre post raised??)
Max height without centre post raised: ?? vs 55.1" (?? vs 140cm)
Min height: 21.3" vs 4.7" (54.1cm vs 12cm)
Folded length: 30" vs 22.8" (76.2cm vs 58cm)
Load capacity: 13.2lbs vs 13.2lbs (6kg vs 6kg)
Weight: 5.85lbs vs 3.3lbs (2.7kg vs 1.5kg)
Leg sections: 4 vs 3

This by no means is necessarily rubbishing the Dynatron. Its maximum height is much greater than the Velbon and you might decide you want to get one that suits your height better. Just be aware of the tradeoffs. Hopefully that comparison gives you a good example of the different tradeoffs. Another thing to note is the minimum height. (see below) You might not rate this as important though.

2. I asked your height because an ideal tripod will be one that you can stand comfortably, without crouching, and be lined up with your viewfinder. Ideally, you should be able to achieve this without raising the centre column of the tripod. Every time you raise the centre column (if it has one- some don't), you lose stability. I'm extremely lucky that I'm short- 5'3"(woohoo! I found one advantage to shortness!), so my setup lines up perfectly to my eye without raising my centre column! My guess is the average person out there (most being taller than me) must be buying a taller tripod, crouching or raising their centre bar? (correct me if I'm wrong guys!) FYI: don't forget you have to allow for your camera and whatever tripod head you have when you are thinking about tripod height vs your height... also you're not looking at it reaching the top of your head. Your eyes are in the middle of your face after all!

The issue of a centre column is interesting too. Having one adds extra weight, but some are completely removable. If you can get a good height for a normal shot, without raising the column, you then have the bonus of being able to raise it for special shots. What I mean is there may be times when you want to have that extra high perspective, so you stand up higher on a rock or log and then have the pod positioned on the ground. This has actually come into play for me, when I was trying to take a pic over a wire fence and I wasn't tall enough! I ended up standing on a camp chair and raised my centre column up to meet me better.

Having the ability to remove the centre column (or buying a tripod that doesn't have one to begin with) gives you a fantastic advantage, that I LOVE to use in my landscape photography. You can get a really LOW perspective- thus having more potential for interesting shots! It's also handy if you have any thoughts of getting into macro work. So, when you're looking at potential tripods, check out their minimum height too.

3. Twist vs lever clips. Different models will have leg sections that either twist or have a lever clip that you snap down to lock into position. From what I can gather, this is totally personal preference. I've heard different people swear by both. I personally found that I was able to set up my pod faster with the lever clips. I found the twist fastener took me too long. This may or may not be important to you. Also, you might find the ideal pod that fits all of your needs only comes with one or the other.

There are lots of other features tripods may/maynot have like:
Independent leg spread- handy for setting up on rough terrain.
Spiked feet- gives you a sturdier grip on the ground.
Foam leg protectors- gives you a more comfortable grip of the legs and insulates your hand against the CF in really cold weather.
and of course PRICE! There are probably other factors that I've missed... but I think I got the main ones.

There are lots of different Velbons http://www.velbon-tripod.com/ and Dynatrans http://www.amvona.com/v7/shop/?page=shop/category&category_id=fecac09b697ada65bb54b5966d05cd99 (I couldn't find their website, but that one featured a lot of them.) B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ stocks a huge range of lots of brands including Gitzo, Manfrotto and Velbon and provide a good list of specifications listed under the same name.

Hopefully that's been of some help to you. I know that I found the prospect of choosing a tripod very daunting, as there are so many out there and most of them aren't accessible for us to physically try out. The thing that helped me narrow things down was to make up a spreadsheet in Excel (you could do the same thing on paper) that made it easy to read comparisons going off each model's data. I then cross checked my final choices with reviews and people's comments in forums. If you want a blank copy of my spreadsheet, send me a PM.

Good luck!

Michelle
PS I hope you got through all of this! I'm not known for saying anything in brief... sorry!

[condyk]

Thanks for the useful outline of tripod features to look out for.

Michelle, remember you are using height/weight specs from the Dynatran with the magnesium ballhead included, without considering the centre column reverses so allowing the camera to be fixedunder the tripod for Macro/low level shots and also that I paid half the price of the legs you have with that price including their top of the range ballhead, which is just as good as the Manfrotto 488 RC2 I sold.

With legs fully extended it is perfect for someone around 5'10". I am that height myself, but I often use it with just three leg sections extended. I only check composition and focus for a few seconds and then back away and use a remote to fire the shutter. I don't need to stand in front of the viewfinder for extended periods of time. The three extended legs add potential stability (tho' it's stable with four) and just make it easier to sling over my shoulder and carry my gear. It includes tools, bag hook, carry strap and padded carry bag. Also features a bag to add weight to and so stabilise the tripod legs in wind. Very useful.

The Velbon is a good tripod. I considered it along with the Manfrotto 190, 055 and a couple of Gitzo's, none of which added value over what I bought. If the Velbon is suitable for someone 5'3" then it isn't at all suitable for someone 5'9" I'd have thought. Any minor weight difference (if you take the Dynatran magnesium ballhead off) is insignificant and explained by the fact the Velbon is short I suspect. With a Manfrotto 488 ballhead fitted the Velbon would be heavier!

Anyway, both can be good buys. Here's a review I did of mine with shots:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=164099

[keenasmustard]

Thanks for clarifying that Condyk, and please disregard my comparisons Charles- except to show the type of things to compare when making your decison. I hadn't really heard of the Dynatran when I was looking for mine. It sounds like a worthy option to look into. BTW: the Velbon 630 suits my height and needs. There are lots of other models (including 4 leg section options) of Velbon. I probably shouldn't have used that one for a direct comparison. Hopefully it highlighted the vast differences between all of the different variables out there!

Condyk: Just out of curiosity, what is the actual height without the ballhead?

[condyk]

Condyk: Just out of curiosity, what is the actual height without the ballhead?

Sorry Michelle but I don't have a tape measure to hand. I can say that with legs fully extended and with ballhead fitted and camera (30D) then the viewfinder is exactly at eye level for me at just over 5'10" in bare feet. This without extending the centre column. The head specs are here: http://www.amvona.com/v7/shop/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=2520 and without it fitted the tripod comes to around shoulder height without extending the column.

The only minor downside, as you indicated, is the folded length isn't the shortest, but truth is I would prefer to have it in the hold rather than carry it around as hand luggage and so the length is fine for me. On walkabout or in the car that isn't an issue and it is plenty light enough to carry around.

[AFcrosshair-1]

you'll be alright with this tripod im 5'11" with shoes on and this tripod is NICE!!! http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=333969&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

[AFcrosshair-1]

+ to top it off you should get this also with it =] : http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=48595&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

[Double Negative]

You might want to check out Giottos. I have a bunch of their stuff and am pretty happy with it, and the price was very reasonable. If I had to do it over again, I'd have gone with the next size up ballhead though.

Other good ones to check out are Dynatran and Velbon, also reasonably priced.

[grandphage]

wow. thanks for the input! i'm looking at the Manfrotto 190 and 055 Mag Fiber tripod series... does anyone know the difference between the 190 and 055? the 055 series are more expensive than the 190 so there must be a difference, aside from price! what would be a good, lightweight head for these legs?

[KENB]

Just received the Dynatran 994 kit off ebay. 2 thumbs way up.:eek:

[lostdoggy]

wow. thanks for the input! i'm looking at the Manfrotto 190 and 055 Mag Fiber tripod series... does anyone know the difference between the 190 and 055? the 055 series are more expensive than the 190 so there must be a difference, aside from price! what would be a good, lightweight head for these legs?

9lb max vs 15lb max capacity

[col4bin]

I have a slik 713 CF II and a giotto MH100 head w/quick release plate. It can easily support my xt and 100-400L. It is very light and comes with an apron which you can put rocks in to weigh it down (or whatever else you might have) in windy conditions.

[Stefan A]

I am pretty sure the tripod I own in the 994 mentioned earlier. It's a real nice tripod - especially now that I have finally learned how to spread the legs out. I wish it had come with a manual so I didn't have to try guessing at it. But it all works real nice.

Stefan

[kiwimichael]

Hello,

Gitzo (www.gitzo.com) also make carbon tripods - these are expensive but they also have a Basalt range which are nearly as light and strong as the carbon tripods, but significantly cheaper. I have one and am very happy - also use it for my 4x5 field camera.

Michael