what tripod to buy

Hello everybody,

I am working with a 10D with battery pack, combined with a 17-35 2.8-4 sigma or 70-200 2.8 is usm.
Currently I am looking for a tripod. Preferably a manfrotto. But I am unsure which type of tripod / head would best fit with my tools.
Weight is not the primary issue, stablity (obviously) is. Most of the time I shoot portraits.

Thanks for your reactions.

If people could also give opinions about monopods, I would appreciate it since I am shopping for one. Thanks.

I use a Gitzo Reporter Mountaineer G1228 with an Ultimate Ballhead by www.acratech.net . The Gitzo is light, sturdy, and relatively compact. Very stable.
Scott

I have an old Manfrotto 055 tripod that I like. They still make it...a nice workhorse. I have the Manfrotto 3D head on it..and find it fantastic for my needs.

Just got myself a monopod as well. I bought a Manfrotto 681 3 sectional monopod with 235RC quick release head.

http://db.manfrotto.co​m …p3?manufid=1&se​ctionid=14

I have a set of Bogen 3001N legs with a 3way pan QR head. Not a bad setup, but I replaced it with a Gitzo 1325 and Arcatech ballhead with RRS QR plates. Thinking about selling it, since I probably won't use it anymore.

So, when you buy a monopod, you then buy the ballhead seperately?

That is correct. Most good tripods as well...do not come with a head either, that is an extra cost.

Not sure why you would want a ball head on a monopod. If you want to turn the camera, simply turn the pod. Go for a swivel mount...makes more sense to me.

I see by your gear that you have the 70-200 f4. If you have the tripod collar then you won't need a ball head when you use this lens on a monopod. The whole thing actually works better WITHOUT a head in this case. You can quickly rotate the lens/camera with the tripod collar and the weight of the setup stays directly over the centre of the monopod.

If you do have a ball head then you'd pretty much have to lock it down, otherwise you introduce an extra pivot point, kind of like having a trick knee, and then the whole thing would be unstable when you losen things to adjust your vertical/horizontal composition.

I use the monopod only on heavy lenses with tripod collars (70-200 f2.8 & 300 f2.8 ) where I'm trying to shoot action and I need at least some freedon of movement. If I'm working with shorter lenses and still trying to shoot action I'll just handhold the camera. If it's a shorter lens and I want the best results I can get, then I use a tripod. With my workflow a ball head (or any kind of head for that matter) isn't needed on my monopod.

Ok, thanks so much!

I use a simple tilt only head on a monopod... sucks not to have the tilt if you need to aim up or down

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
sucks not to have the tilt if you need to aim up or down

That's why they put the swivel point at the base of the monopod

It doesn't have to be held normal to the center of the earth

There are some situations, such as sitting in a confined space, that the tilt head makes a lot of sense.

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
I use a simple tilt only head on a monopod... sucks not to have the tilt if you need to aim up or down

I just tilt the monopod forwards or backwards. It's so naturally intuitive that I can't imagine anyone NOT using a monopod this way; which in turn, kind of makes the tilt head redundant.