Tall tripods and heads?

I've been researching tripods and the consensus is to buy a tripod and head that, with a camera on, puts the viewfinder at eye level. Now I'm 6'2" and it seems most of what I can both find locally and afford doesn't come close. The tallest one I found locally would make the viewfinder at just over 5'.

I am hoping that someone has done this themselves and has some recommendations on what worked for them so I can keep researching from there.

Weight isn't really a factor and it would need to hold, at most, a 70-200 2.8II and a gripped 5DIII. It would be used for portraits, landscapes and some nighttime photography. Budget would be around $500CAN but could be convinced to go higher if worth it.

Thanks.

Really Right Stuff has tripods as tall as you could ever wish for, but they're likely to be well above your budget (I don't know what the $CAN/$USD rate is like). The quality is outstanding.

It's not a bad idea to have a tripod which can hold the camera above eye level at times, eg when you want to shoot upwards at stars, birds in trees etc. When shooting a crowd of people a stepladder & tall tripod could give you useful extra options. There's no need to extend the legs fully at other times.

I chose the RRS 34L and most of the time only extend 3 of the 4 leg sections. It's nice though to have the extra length if/when I want it. Hope this helps, good luck with your choice.

Savethemoment wrote in post #16735664
Really Right Stuff has tripods as tall as you could ever wish for, but they're likely to be well above your budget (I don't know what the $CAN/$USD rate is like). The quality is outstanding.

It's not a bad idea to have a tripod which can hold the camera above eye level at times, eg when you want to shoot upwards at stars, birds in trees etc. When shooting a crowd of people a stepladder & tall tripod could give you useful extra options. There's no need to extend the legs fully at other times.

I chose the RRS 34L and most of the time only extend 3 of the 4 leg sections. It's nice though to have the extra length if/when I want it. Hope this helps, good luck with your choice.

Thanks for the reply. Very nice but that is way out of my budget right now. I only use a tripod a couple of times a month right now. If I cannot find anything that's suitable in my price range I might just save up and get something like one of those.

You could take a look at the Feisol 3441T or 3442, when you add the height of the ballhead and camera, and take away the top of your head to your eyes, it comes pretty close to eye level (about 10cm off I'd guess). Although they aren't exactly studio tripods, being more suited to hiking and travel (good for landscape when you don't go by car)

edit: forgot you had a grip on, that makes it even better.

The Feisol 3441t brings my non-gripped 5D2 almost to eye level (within an inch or 2). The grip should easily bring your viewfinder to eye level. This is with a Markins Q3. I am 6'2". $500 wont quite cover it I dont think, but there are cheaper ball heads that should perform as well as the Markins. The legs themselves have worked wonderfully and are light and sturdy

The Feisol 3472 is a bit taller than the 3442, and pretty close to that budget.

Dear flying moose,

Since weight is not an issue look at the Benro A3580F. The legs are $ 168.00 USD at B&H and Adorama and just about everywhere you care to look. You'll have about $ 340.00 left for a ball head then so you might be able to find something decent.

I'm 6' 5" and with the legs fully extended and the center column all the way down using a Benro B-2 ball head I cannot see the top LCD screen on either a 1DMK2 or gripped 40D. The height will be more than sufficient for you and the weight capacity of the tripod greatly exceeds your requirements as well.

It comes with a nice padded case and a strap along with interchangeable spiked feet and it weighs about 7 pounds with the ballhead. You can pay more if you'd like, but I can tell you that I am plenty happy with my Benro.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

I use the Sirui m-3204,it's very tall.

I'm 6'6", and I long ago gave up the urge to have anything at eye level.

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

Benbo Classic No 2. 2.5 metres when extended.. Because of the unique bent centre bolt, you can swivel the centre column around so your camera is inches off the ground. Wonderful British ingenuity.

I've had one since the late 1980s. Bought the Benbo to mount medium format and 4x5 cameras. Strongest and tallest tripod I've seen . Not one for hiking though.

The Induro AT413 is 67.5" with column retracted and $216. Load rated at 44lbs (for what that's worth)
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=usCPcjgts2M

http://www.naturescape​s.net …loy-6m-tripod-at-413.html

Couple that with something like a Sirui K-40x ($165) and you've got a solid set up for not a lot of clams.
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …RK40_K_40x_Ball​_Head.html
http://www.dpreview.co​m …s-top-ball-heads-tested/7

The Sirui and Induro together are almost 73" tall.

I shoot a lot from a tripod and the majority of my shots are never at full extension. I always chuckle when I see a photo group out all with their tripods fully extended lined up taking their photos from a comfortable, yet boring position.

You can always make a tripod shorter, you can't make it taller.

Thanks for all the replies. Got lots to look at now.

dave63 wrote in post #16737197
I'm 6'6", and I long ago gave up the urge to have anything at eye level.

I'm 195cm (abour 6'5") and my Induro CT313 with an Acratech ballhead gets my viewfinder to eye level without the central column. Add a battery grip for the extra inch and you'd be there.

I gather than Induro do an aluminium version that is probablty cheaper.