Tripod for 500mm

So I'm sure this has been covered before, and yes I've read quite a bit of previous threads on the forum, but I've perhaps got a more specific set of conditions.

I just bought a pristine condition 500mm f/4L IS USM mk1, and will be using it on a 5D3 gripped, perhaps a 1DX somewhere down the line.

My head of choice will be the Sachtler FSB-8T head, which sports a 75mm bowl or removable stud (flat mount 3/8").

I tried shooting around the neighbourhood with my set of speedlock 75mm legs and it worked more than fine yesterday. However, I envision a situation where I would want to go really low, and that set of video legs will not do the trick.

I also have an RRS TVC-23 but a mate of mine said that it's not recommended, especially since I lose the ability to level the head (I have the RRS leveler but I need a shorter countersunk screw for the quick release arca swiss plate at the bottom).

He recommended that I get a 5 series Gitzo, which of course means that he thinks money drops from the sky, but more importantly I feel that a 5 series would put me in a situation where the photo sticks would be no different in weight / price / size as my video sticks, and I've all along relied on the portability difference.

So I have a few questions:

- Is the RRS TVC-23 actually good enough for consistent 500mm use with a 2kg video head? (I'm gonna test it out in an hours' time at a nature reserve)

- If no, would a Gitzo 4 series GT4552TS (traveler series) work better? There's a possibility that I can trade my RRS setup with a local copy of it.

- If no, what other set of sticks would be ideal, if money were no object but portability and the ability to do 75mm video bowl mod be of highest importance?

- And lastly, what if money was a thing? What other more cost-effective options would I have?

Hope you good folks can help me, and I'm definitely psyched to join the 500mm club

RRS TVC 34L should have a 75mm bowl, no? I imagine the fluid gimbal video head from RRS would be right up your alley, wouldn't it?

Headshotzx wrote in post #17915555
- Is the RRS TVC-23 actually good enough for consistent 500mm use with a 2kg video head? (I'm gonna test it out in an hours' time at a nature reserve)

On the RRS site under Q&A for the TVC-24L:

SimonM: Hi, I have just ordered the TVC24-L and already own the BH-55. I intend using a Nikon D810 + 400mm F2.8 as the heaviest combination. Will the tripod be man enough or do I need to reconsider.... before despatctch!

CSR ScottN: All of our Series 2 tripods are rated to carry 40 lbs and solidly hold a 400mm lens with no camera shake. Your combination will work perfectly.

If RRS is confident it can take a 400mm f2.8 with a 2lb ballhead it should be fine with a 500mm f4 with a 4lb video head.

If you want to go low-low, traditionally, in video bowl-style tripods of 100 and 150mm you'd have sticks, sawed-off sticks, and a high hat. Sawed off referring to about half-height, because these sticks were actually sticks made of wood, and the typical design was one stage (two sections).

Now, 2-stage (3 section) is standard, you don't see sawed-off any more with alu and CF.

But, you can still buy a high hat! The selection in 75mm is quite meager, but they *are* out there. This could be great if you want to retain ball leveling.

Typically, a high hat is just high enough to clear the screw handle. A lens height of about 10" is typical. Moving the head between tripod and hat is a matter of 3 or 4 minutes.

This one is shown bolted to a piece of plywood, a very traditional approach:
http://www.indurogear.​com/dr-hi-hat-tripod-set.html

Also, for a wider range of choices, there are 100mm bowl to 75mm ball adapters, so you could use a 100mm high hat.

Here's one in the old style:
http://www.filmtools.c​om …-75-75mm-ball-hi-hat.html

A modern approach, which must be bolted to a base:
http://www.aviatorcame​ragear.com/product/mic​ro-hi-hat-75mm/

Or, you could get one of these:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …529B_529_Hi_Hat​_with.html

*and* a 100-75mm adapter
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …19_319_75mm_to_​100mm.html

Intrigued at your choice of head - are you shooting primarily video with the 500? If stills are your game then I would favor a Wimberley 2 - probably why I have one!
Your RRS tripod will certainly do the job and do it pretty well too! I would prefer the next series up (3 series) from either Gitzo or RRS.
I use the Canon 800mm F5.6 L IS on a 3 series Gitzo (3530LS) with a Wimberley 2 head. I have tried the larger 5 series but could find no practical advantage for shooting stills - video is a different game and I have absolutely no idea about it!
Were I in your shoes (shooting stills) I would simply put a Wimberley 2 on your RRS and go out and shoot! Then ONLY if you find a problem with the setup (I don't think you will) would I change the legs. I don't get the thing about leveling bases, whilst the do slightly speed setting up, to me they are dead weight most of the time and can reduce rigidity if you don't buy a top quality one.
Still intrigued by your choice of head.

Thanks for the comments, guys, I'll go one by one.

idkdc wrote in post #17915561
RRS TVC 34L should have a 75mm bowl, no? I imagine the fluid gimbal video head from RRS would be right up your alley, wouldn't it?

Yeap, and also really much more expensive than the 23 that I own. Would there be an alternative from gitzo worth looking into?

ShadowHillsPhoto wrote in post #17916233
On the RRS site under Q&A for the TVC-24L:

SimonM: Hi, I have just ordered the TVC24-L and already own the BH-55. I intend using a Nikon D810 + 400mm F2.8 as the heaviest combination. Will the tripod be man enough or do I need to reconsider.... before despatctch!

CSR ScottN: All of our Series 2 tripods are rated to carry 40 lbs and solidly hold a 400mm lens with no camera shake. Your combination will work perfectly.

If RRS is confident it can take a 400mm f2.8 with a 2lb ballhead it should be fine with a 500mm f4 with a 4lb video head.

That's interesting. Problem is that they're talking about 400mm, and we're speaking of 500mm and sometimes 1000mm.

SailingAway wrote in post #17916426
If you want to go low-low, traditionally, in video bowl-style tripods of 100 and 150mm you'd have sticks, sawed-off sticks, and a high hat. Sawed off referring to about half-height, because these sticks were actually sticks made of wood, and the typical design was one stage (two sections).

Now, 2-stage (3 section) is standard, you don't see sawed-off any more with alu and CF.

But, you can still buy a high hat! The selection in 75mm is quite meager, but they *are* out there. This could be great if you want to retain ball leveling.

Typically, a high hat is just high enough to clear the screw handle. A lens height of about 10" is typical. Moving the head between tripod and hat is a matter of 3 or 4 minutes.

This one is shown bolted to a piece of plywood, a very traditional approach:
http://www.indurogear.​com/dr-hi-hat-tripod-set.html

Also, for a wider range of choices, there are 100mm bowl to 75mm ball adapters, so you could use a 100mm high hat.

Here's one in the old style:
http://www.filmtools.c​om …-75-75mm-ball-hi-hat.html

A modern approach, which must be bolted to a base:
http://www.aviatorcame​ragear.com/product/mic​ro-hi-hat-75mm/

Or, you could get one of these:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …529B_529_Hi_Hat​_with.html

*and* a 100-75mm adapter
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …19_319_75mm_to_​100mm.html

That's a very detailed response, I really appreciate it I was asking a few FB groups about the induro, and I mentioned that they weren't on sale anywhere now. Wonder what happened to them.

The Manfrotto high hat would be the next best alternative, but it's another 2kg just to go low. Rock solid though, I've used it before on video gigs.

johnf3f wrote in post #17916744
Intrigued at your choice of head - are you shooting primarily video with the 500? If stills are your game then I would favor a Wimberley 2 - probably why I have one!
Your RRS tripod will certainly do the job and do it pretty well too! I would prefer the next series up (3 series) from either Gitzo or RRS.
I use the Canon 800mm F5.6 L IS on a 3 series Gitzo (3530LS) with a Wimberley 2 head. I have tried the larger 5 series but could find no practical advantage for shooting stills - video is a different game and I have absolutely no idea about it!
Were I in your shoes (shooting stills) I would simply put a Wimberley 2 on your RRS and go out and shoot! Then ONLY if you find a problem with the setup (I don't think you will) would I change the legs. I don't get the thing about leveling bases, whilst the do slightly speed setting up, to me they are dead weight most of the time and can reduce rigidity if you don't buy a top quality one.
Still intrigued by your choice of head.

I do photography with my 5D3 and video with the Sony FS7... so if say I travel for a safari gig, or feel like I'm ready to do some more wildlife video, it would make sense to bring the FSB8. The FSB8 also packs down smaller than the full sized wimberley. With the wimberley being 1.4kg and the fsb8 being 2.1kg, that little 600g difference won't matter to me. That, and it's 600 usd (or whatever used prices go at these days) that I don't have to spend.

I underlined the part where you mentioned your gear and experience. I was contemplating moving to a 3 series but that friend of mine said that the size of the stage really matters a lot, especially with the 75mm fluid head, and told me it'd be a bad idea if I got a 3 series. He told me look at 4 series or 5 series... which would be beastly to carry around, no?

What do you guys think about this?

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …x_6_SECTION_TRA​VELER.html

I'm 165cm (5' 4"), and the sachtler head + lens foot to VF is about an additional 20cm + 18cm, meaning to say that if I'm to photograph something level, the tripod need only be 125cm. Which would probably mean that I can choose not to open the last leg unless needed. This would be helpful for me when I travel by car or by plane (check-in inside suitcase).

Thoughts on stability? I just reserved the sale of my RRS TVC-23 + leveler, so I'm good to go for a new purchase.

You need the bowl adapter as a separate purchase? Fyi.

Headshotzx wrote in post #17917388
Thanks for the comments, guys, I'll go one by one.

Yeap, and also really much more expensive than the 23 that I own. Would there be an alternative from gitzo worth looking into?

No alternative from Gitzo on the fluid video head gimbal. Plus side is that it's one head to rule them all and specifically for supertele use, and also breaks down for storage.

idkdc wrote in post #17917577
You need the bowl adapter as a separate purchase? Fyi.

Yes I'm aware of that, thanks for bringing it up though.

Am thinking of going for it after watching this video. Seems like the 2nd (from bottom) leg section is about the same as a 4 series' last one.
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=IkM6YZe-O24

Based on the attached image, if I compare the 2 tripods that I'm looking at, it would seem that as a system, the price and extended length really doesn't differ too much. I would have to decide whether I prefer a more compact and heavier setup, or a lighter longer setup with possibly greater stability (due to leg sections and leg diameter).

Tough call, though.

Headshotzx wrote in post #17917612
Yes I'm aware of that, thanks for bringing it up though.

Am thinking of going for it after watching this video. Seems like the 2nd (from bottom) leg section is about the same as a 4 series' last one.
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=IkM6YZe-O24

Based on the attached image, if I compare the 2 tripods that I'm looking at, it would seem that as a system, the price and extended length really doesn't differ too much. I would have to decide whether I prefer a more compact and heavier setup, or a lighter longer setup with possibly greater stability (due to leg sections and leg diameter).

Tough call, though.

Hosted photo: posted by Headshotzx in
./showthread.php?p=179​17612&i=i172030204
forum: Tripods, Monopods & Other Camera Support

Probably depends on if you intend to fit the tripod in carry on or not (risky to stuff a 1k tripod in checked luggage, I would think?). I think the TVC34L is marketed as the right size for this without sacrificing height (4-section), but it does cost a bit more. The TVC33s is also smaller, at the cost of max height, but maintains 3 sections at the smaller min length at a lower price: http://dancarrphotogra​phy.com …ally-right-stuff-tvc-33s/. I found this guide useful a while back http://www.reallyright​stuff.com/Guides-Support-for-Tripods

And here's a comparison that you might find useful between Gitzo and RRS: http://scottgrobarek.b​logspot.com …stuff-tvc-34l-review.html

Interesting comparison between Gitzo and RRS. The top stage difference looks huge here - something that I might appreciate at 1000mm. Considering that it's also able to accept a 100mm bowl, this might come in handy as a hi-hat for video production use if I'm thinking of doing 100mm heads.

I tried stuffing the TVC-23 with leveler that I'm holding into my luggage and it's just right, diagonally. If it's a 3 series the top stage might be too large for it.

I would think that the gitzo at 50cm would be able to be placed in without having to resort to diagonals, which is one consideration because I might want to travel for birding or wildlife.

Yet the thought of lugging 2.9kg (almost twice that of my current TVC23 legs now) phases me a bit. Or maybe I'm just a wuss and haven't gotten used to trekking with much gear yet.

Headshotzx wrote in post #17917860
Interesting comparison between Gitzo and RRS. The top stage difference looks huge here - something that I might appreciate at 1000mm. Considering that it's also able to accept a 100mm bowl, this might come in handy as a hi-hat for video production use if I'm thinking of doing 100mm heads.

I tried stuffing the TVC-23 with leveler that I'm holding into my luggage and it's just right, diagonally. If it's a 3 series the top stage might be too large for it.

I would think that the gitzo at 50cm would be able to be placed in without having to resort to diagonals, which is one consideration because I might want to travel for birding or wildlife.

Yet the thought of lugging 2.9kg (almost twice that of my current TVC23 legs now) phases me a bit. Or maybe I'm just a wuss and haven't gotten used to trekking with much gear yet.

I think the top stage of the 2 and 3 series are fundamentally different, no? I would imagine that the 2 series top stage is taller because of the lack of bowl. Which one does 100mm bowl? The RRS or the Gitzo? I didn't catch that detail before.

idkdc wrote in post #17917907
I think the top stage of the 2 and 3 series are fundamentally different, no? I would imagine that the 2 series top stage is taller because of the lack of bowl. Which one does 100mm bowl? The RRS or the Gitzo? I didn't catch that detail before.

The Gitzo does a 100mm bowl.

Anyways, by a stroke of luck, there was somebody selling a GT4542LS at an extremely attractive price. Dude was previously a birder as well, and who also used the FSB8 for birding.

It's perfect for me now, and the increase in diameter of the stage is astounding.

Thanks for all your help and the links to other reviews!