Wanting/Needing New Tripod

I am wanting a more stable tripod from what I currently own, that being a Manfrotto 3021BPRO bought in 2003.

My problem is when I try to manually focus on something like the moon with my Sigma 150-500 lens the picture shakes violently and I am hoping to find a better built tripod that will keep the lens/camera from shaking so badly.

I have a friend online that owns a video tripod with twin legs (with stabilizers between each leg) which he says he can focus his Tamron 150-600 lens with very little shake.
I am also trying to learn star astro photography, and being able to manually focus on dim stars would be very helpful which my friend also does with his.

I have a budget of about $600... what can anyone suggest I look at?

I am planning on purchasing from a camera store that does have a fairly large inventory that is about 60 miles from where I live. I do want to be able to tryout the tripod before buying it, so I don't really want to buy on the internet for that reason, to be sure I will be happy with it.

Also I want the tripod head to be 60 inches or more high, no shorter than that.

Is a video tripod what I should look at, or is there something else out there that would work as well or better?

Thank you

You probably are looking for a heavier tripod than I would use these days, so I'm not able to give a specific model suggestion. But a few general ones...

The tripod you have is a fairly stable tripod.

Carbon fiber has less vibration so is more stable.

Using the legs for stability is more solid. Using the central column is less stable. If you use the head on the legs, you will have significantly more stability.

Fully extended legs are less stable than partially extended legs. If you extend each segment less than its full length, you will have more stability.

The head and connection to your camera are significant factors in stability.

If the tripod has a hook, you can hang a bag from it, adding weight and stability.

Try looking at something like this... http://www.ebay.com …d=82&chn=ps&ul_​noapp=true

It doesn't go up to 60" without extending the geared center column, however.

F2Bthere wrote in post #18132648
You probably are looking for a heavier tripod than I would use these days, so I'm not able to give a specific model suggestion. But a few general ones...

The tripod you have is a fairly stable tripod.

Carbon fiber has less vibration so is more stable.

Using the legs for stability is more solid. Using the central column is less stable. If you use the head on the legs, you will have significantly more stability.

Fully extended legs are less stable than partially extended legs. If you extend each segment less than its full length, you will have more stability.

The head and connection to your camera are significant factors in stability.

If the tripod has a hook, you can hang a bag from it, adding weight and stability.

I do not understand what you mean by "using the head on the legs"?

stevewf1 wrote in post #18132681
Try looking at something like this... http://www.ebay.com …d=82&chn=ps&ul_​noapp=true

It doesn't go up to 60" without extending the geared center column, however.

Thank you, but I am not interested in buying a used tripod.

Inspeqtor wrote in post #18132459
My problem is when I try to manually focus on something like the moon with my Sigma 150-500 lens the picture shakes violently and I am hoping to find a better built tripod that will keep the lens/camera from shaking so badly.

Even with a concrete pillar, your lens will shake violently at 500mm and longer. The lens itself is not a solid piece. Touching it introduces vibration. You will have vibration no matter what due to you manually focusing and touching it. The only way to focus it and not touch it is with electronic control (like BackyardEOS using the micro-focus buttons to advance focus electronically, etc; if shooting Canon). For telescopes, we use much lighter focusing knobs that are aftermarket, but even then, the gentlest touch will shake these things at these long focal lengths.

So what you do is you change focus a little, then stop and let it stabilize and take a look. Use a bahtinov mask on a star to achieve best focus that way, then turn your lens/scope to the moon.

Yea, I can do that too, without a tripod. Image stabilization is a big deal with these lenses for focusing. If your 150-500 has stabilization, turn it on when focusing. Turn it OFF when imaging though. The Tamron's VC is very good and it really makes achieving focus a lot easier since it can help stabilize the shake. I have one too, and the VC really helps to get focus fast. I turn VC off after getting focus when I image though.

It's not due to the tripod.

A $20 bahtinov mask and better techniques. Save the rest of your money for something else.

You could spend all your money on a really tight ballhead or gimbal on a really big stable tripod, and you still will get shaky manual focus on a lens that long. Image stabilization helps if available when focusing. But the lens itself is not made of a single piece of material, it will shake, even on a super stable mount. Again, use a Bahtinov mask on a star to get focus initially. Then turn to the moon, or any other object.

Save your budget for something else for AP if that's your goal (like a star watcher adventurer or something).

+++++++++++

Cheap Benro A2970F with a cheap Obteka GH1 Gimbal holding a Tamron 150-600, with 1.4x TC and 2.0x TC with a wee little EOS-M in live view. Used VC on to stabilize. Live View a crater at the terminator at 10x magnification, gentle focus changes with VC on to help keep it stable. 10 second timer.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/ETjr​rf

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Fiyt​RE

Mal has a lot of good points there. The way I deal with that when I'm shooting the moon is to:

1. Turn on IS; turn on Live View; enable 10s timer; zoom to 10x in LV; focus on the leading edge of the disk; switch off IS; press the shutter and let go.
- 10s is normally enough for the lens to settle down and stop bobbing

or

2. Connect a shutter release cable; turn on LV; turn on 2s timer; zoom to 10x in LV; frame the moon with the leading edge in the focus area; wait for vibrations to abate in LV; use the release cable to focus and trigger the shot.

Both ways have the benefit of avoiding mirror slap by enabling Live View and having the mirror up and out of the way to begin with.

Inspeqtor wrote in post #18134187
I do not understand what you mean by "using the head on the legs"?

The center post in the down position so the head sits on the legs, not up on the center post is simplest. On some tripods you can mount the head directly on the legs without a center post.

On the point where the legs come together, you are resting the weight across three legs. Up on the center-post you are balancing on one tube which is balanced on the three legs.

Lots of great options with the quality imports... Induro, Sirui and Benro.

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #18135033
Lots of great options with the quality imports... Induro, Sirui and Benro.

I'll add Feisol also.

MalVeauX wrote in post #18134221

Inspeqtor wrote in post #18132459
My problem is when I try to manually focus on something like the moon with my Sigma 150-500 lens the picture shakes violently and I am hoping to find a better built tripod that will keep the lens/camera from shaking so badly.

Even with a concrete pillar, your lens will shake violently at 500mm and longer.

You are wrong on the above statement

I should have said above when he MANUALLY focuses his lens

MalVeauX wrote in post #18134221
Yea, I can do that too, without a tripod. Image stabilization is a big deal with these lenses for focusing. If your 150-500 has stabilization, turn it on when focusing. Turn it OFF when imaging though. The Tamron's VC is very good and it really makes achieving focus a lot easier since it can help stabilize the shake. I have one too, and the VC really helps to get focus fast. I turn VC off after getting focus when I image though.

It's not due to the tripod.

Very best,

It IS due to the tripod, and my Sigma 150-500 does have Image Stabilization

I just bought a new tripod that DID make a HUGE difference. It is the tripod that made the violent shaking go away.

I believe the difference is because this new tripod has multi-tubes on each leg which gives the tripod much better stability. When I manually focused on the moon yesterday, yes there was minor shaking as I touched the lens, it then settled down much faster than before, but nothing like I had using my Manfrotto single tube tripod.

You will not know the difference until you try a tripod similar to what I now have.

I am very happy with my new tripod!!!

Inspeqtor wrote in post #18140884
You are wrong on the above statement

You have a concrete pillar? I do.

High winds will shake a long focal length, let alone physically touching it.

Not to be disrespectful back, but I do have a far heavier duty tripod than what you're listing for my scope setup (and it's not the little wee tripod I posted above, to show that even with a small flimsy tripod, I can get focus and take sharp images with far longer focal lengths than you're using), and I happen to also have a massive 1200lb concrete 10 inch pillar with leveling plates. With long focal lengths, even with serious support, they wriggle and wobble if you touch them. No matter what. IS helps. Now, if your tripod was so flimsy that your lens & camera setup exceeded it in a big way, then yes, a more heavy duty tripod will help you. But I would be completely blown away if you were able to claim honestly that when you touch your lens to manually focus it, on any tripod, that it doesn't shake, when using 500mm or longer, regardless of sensor size assuming 35mm being the biggest sensor in this situation.

Maybe we are defining shake differently, my experience is probably different than yours here in all regards.

I'm glad you're getting better success with a sturdier mount.

Very best,

Please forgive me, I did not mean to offend you, but I can see how that was possible from my comments.

I did find that with my new tripod, yes I had some shaking as I touched the lens, but it was very minor in comparison to my previous setup, and settles down much faster than before.

Why not shoot from the lowest setting closest to the floor? That should get rid of the shake, no need for a video tripod. I have the sy 650-1300 and shooting near the floor gets rid of most shake issues. (This lens shakes much more than the tamron)

It's not like a 60" vs 20" tripod will get you any closer

^that's classic, and sooo true. Unfortunately I didn't figure that out for myself