Heavy duty tripod advice...

...in September I shall be adding a 500 F4 ii and 5D3 to my arsenal. At present I have a Manfrotto 055XProb that I use with a 498RC2, not the most cutting edge gear but good enough for what I use it for, these items will not work well with my future purchases.

I've had a look at Gitzo tripods and to be honest I'm lost in all the different options, although I have decided that I don't need a centre column but that's pretty much it.

The Wimberly Gimbal seems to be the most liked, also the priciest. Is it really worth more than other brands?

All help appreciated!

I use an Induro GHB2 gimbal with my 500/4 and love it. It is smooth operating and sturdily made and costs considerably less than the Wimberly, last time I looked. I have an Induro AT-214 tripod which I like (although it is a bit on the light side. I've been considering stepping up to the 314). I took out the long center column immediately and replaced it with the optional short column so I could get down to near-ground level (I shoot primarily birds) and I don't miss the column a bit (I'm 6' tall).

Many thanks, I shall have a read up.

Take a look at the Feisol 3371/3471 (3/4 leg section pods) My 3471 is a beast! I just shoot a 100-400 with a 1.4 but its definitely very stable.

icassell wrote in post #16045617
I use an Induro GHB2 gimbal with my 500/4 and love it. It is smooth operating and sturdily made and costs considerably less than the Wimberly, last time I looked. I have an Induro AT-214 tripod which I like (although it is a bit on the light side. I've been considering stepping up to the 314). I took out the long center column immediately and replaced it with the optional short column so I could get down to near-ground level (I shoot primarily birds) and I don't miss the column a bit (I'm 6' tall).

One note on columns and ground shooting. Some tripods allow you to put the center column in upside down, and you can send it all the way down to the ground with a head and body/lens on it. This allows you to leave the legs in a normal orientation, and you don't have to splay them to the point of being a springy platform for a ground shot. Of course, there's the minor concern of using your camera upside down, but that might be easier bent over anyway :P

waterrockets wrote in post #16045799
One note on columns and ground shooting. Some tripods allow you to put the center column in upside down, and you can send it all the way down to the ground with a head and body/lens on it. This allows you to leave the legs in a normal orientation, and you don't have to splay them to the point of being a springy platform for a ground shot. Of course, there's the minor concern of using your camera upside down, but that might be easier bent over anyway :P

I may be wrong, but I don't think this system would work well with a gimbal and long lens. The camera wouldn't be upside down, because you mount the gimbal to the lens ring and not the camera, but it doesn't seem like you would be able to track very easily.

icassell wrote in post #16045909
I may be wrong, but I don't think this system would work well with a gimbal and long lens. The camera wouldn't be upside down, because you mount the gimbal to the lens ring and not the camera, but it doesn't seem like you would be able to track very easily.

Good point! Actually, ball/pan head and lens ring are the same result, and you can spin the camera right-side up.

I use a Gitzo GT3530LS with either a Markins Q20 with Wimberley Sidekick or Wimberley WH-200 Gimbal

Use the ball head a lot and carry the sidekick if I might need to switch over. Or if I know its only a long lense day I take gimbal and leave the ball head at home.

Highly recommend all of these.

I recently purchased a RRS tripod and monopod. The quality is beyond amazing. They weren't cheap but they are a joy to use. Simple, stable, and built to last a lifetime with proper care.

Have you thought about size constraints, such as length when folded? If you intend to pack it for travel you may need one with 4 sections rather than 3. When looking at weight ratings look for one that is rated 2 or 3 times the amount of weight you intend to put on it. Sirui M series might be an option.

I see you are in the UK. I believe Paterson still have Benbo tripods. I still have a Benbo Classic No 2 which I bought in the early 1980s to mount medium format and 4x5 cameras on. The Benbo is the toughest tripod I've ever used.

Check them out.

http://www.patersonpho​tographic.com/benbo-tripods.htm

I've just bought a Vanguard Tracker 1.
It's a pretty good unit and takes the weight of a 1 Series body and 300/2.8 with no probs.
Can't see that it will have a problem with a 400/2.8 or anything longer.

Thanks for all the replies, plenty to go and look at now!
What with the time difference between me and all of you, I hope you don't think I was ignoring, I was just asleep!

Size isn't too much of an issue (3 or 4 sections) as most of the time I shall not be hiking too far from car or home.

There are several companies that now produce gimbal heads that are up there with Wimberly, but not quite as expensive. I use a Jobu after using a Wimberly on long-term loan and there's no real difference.

One thing to check on is that the platform can be raised/lowered so that the axis of rotation goes straight through the centre of gravity. If it doesn't then the lens won't stay put at an angle without some friction.

hollis_f wrote in post #16047642
There are several companies that now produce gimbal heads that are up there with Wimberly, but not quite as expensive. I use a Jobu after using a Wimberly on long-term loan and there's no real difference.

One thing to check on is that the platform can be raised/lowered so that the axis of rotation goes straight through the centre of gravity. If it doesn't then the lens won't stay put at an angle without some friction.

Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't seen them before.

I assume you use that with your 300....my other option is the new 300 and a 1DX (instead of 500 and 5D3) I had a brief email chat with Andy Rouse, and he seemed to think that the 300 option would be better, especially as the version 2 lenses seem to work well with the new converters.

I find it hard to get over the length advantage of the 500 though!

Whichever option I go for, its use is going to be for UK wildlife, its first proper outing will be a solo week on Skye.