Tripod Advice needed please

[shazz501]

next year or maybe sooner i will be getting the canon 600mm lens,my question is which is the best tripod and head combo for this beast,i have never bought a "proper" tripod before and my old faithful jessops cheapie is making a break for the door at the thought of the weight..lol any advice is appreciated,i will most likely be getting all the goods from warehouse express

[shazz501]

also advice on a carrying method would be useful,i'm only a wee slip of a thing and there has to be a slightly easier way of lugging this beast across the countryside,i have seen people carrying these on some kind of back strap,would that be of any use?? many thanks in advance

[DaveG]

Originally Posted by shazz501

next year or maybe sooner i will be getting the canon 600mm lens,my question is which is the best tripod and head combo for this beast,i have never bought a "proper" tripod before and my old faithful jessops cheapie is making a break for the door at the thought of the weight..lol any advice is appreciated,i will most likely be getting all the goods from warehouse express

I'm not sure how you are going to use the 600, but you might want to think about a monopod as well as a tripod. It'll have a tripod collar so you don't need a head on the monopod, which, in my opinion, makes things worse. You can use the IS when you use a monopod which helps, and you'll also have a lot more flexibility in following moving subjects.

Believe when I tell you that I'm a tripod guy. I shoot about 90% of my weddings from a tripod. But with my 300 f2.8 (and I'm imagining using a 600 f4 in the same way) I just can't use a tripod and make good images at the same time. Sure I'd get better technical results, and I'd love to have that. But if the subject is moving quickly - and that seems to be a huge customer for the 300 - then a tripod is not practicable.

If you do need a tripod then a big Manfroto or Gitzo will be fine. Determine the weight of the lens and camera and then have a good look at the specs of various ball heads, so that you get an appropriate one. Too make life easier I'd suggest a rapid release mount as well. There's also the Wimberly mount system. I've never used this item but it looks like it would be very useful (although expensive) if your subject is routinely above you, such as in bird photography.

[JonMoss]

Shazz,

If you are contemplating using a 600mm lens, you will really need a Wimberley head on some very sturdy legs. My personal choice is Gitzo - very well made and the carbon ones are very light too. If not a full Wimberley setup, certainly a Sidekick on a decent head (BH55 or Arca Swiss B1).

If you are in the States at all, the prices are much better than Warehouse Express

Jon

[PacAce]

For birds and wildlife, you'll probably want something like the Gitzo 5-series tripod (eg. GT-5530 or 5540) and a gimbal head like the Wimberley WH-200. The 600 f/4 would be too heavy for the Wimberley Sidekick.

[shazz501]

many thanks for your advice,i have been looking at the gimbal heads and have found 2,the wimberly wh-200 and the kirk king cobra,anyone have any experience with the kirk?? have seen a lot more using the wimberly

[PacAce]

Originally Posted by shazz501

many thanks for your advice,i have been looking at the gimbal heads and have found 2,the wimberly wh-200 and the kirk king cobra,anyone have any experience with the kirk?? have seen a lot more using the wimberly

If you look closely at the King Cobra, you'll see that it's set up basically like the SideKick. Instead of mounting the lens on top of a horizontal platform, the lens has to be mounted vertically with the tripod collar going sideways. And for something as heavy as the 600 f/4, I would think that whatever concerns there are with the SideKick would probably be applicable to the King Cobra as well.

As an alternative to the Wimberley WH-200, you might want to take a look at the Black Widow - Heavy Duty gimbal head from Jobu Design which is similar in design and operation to the WH-200:

http://www.jobu-design.com/catalog/i...54/2040327.htm

[JonMoss]

Good advice from PacAce - I had forgotten that the Sidekick would not handle the 600 monster!
I'm debating the Sidekick for my 300mm 2.8LIS - I presume this would be ok?

Jon

[PacAce]

Originally Posted by JonMoss

Good advice from PacAce - I had forgotten that the Sidekick would not handle the 600 monster!
I'm debating the Sidekick for my 300mm 2.8LIS - I presume this would be ok?

Jon

The SideKick for the 300 f/2.8 IS L isn't a problem since the 300 is relatively light compared to the 500 and the 600. I've seen some people even use the SideKick for the 500 without problems. You just need to be very careful with it.