500mm F/4 is being ordered today. Now ?

I'm going to go ahead and order the EF 500 f4 today. Now the $1000 Dollar + question is. What I'd really like to know now is. What the idea tripod and mount for the 500mm? Pictures and brands names spelled out w/ the model would be extremely helpful. Also, what other item would be considered a must have with this purchase - drop in filters ect.....

Now the waiting begins until the 500 arrives.

Hey, I bet you cant wait, thinking about one myself.
will watch this thread closely

I went with the Gitzo 3530 LSV, (now 3531), Wimberly II, Really right stuff tripod foot and am now considering the stabilizer bracket from RRS also, just because...

Not everyone's choice but it's rock steady and I'm more than pleased with the set up.

The LSV model comes without a center column and the viewfinder reaches my eyes with my 6'4" frame easily.

Enjoy your new lens, it's a monster!

Roger

Here's the short list;


Canon extenders 1.4X and 2X Teleconverters = Kaching
Gitzo GT3530 Carbon Fiber tripod = Kaching
Full Wimberly Head = KaChing
or Markins Ballhead with Sidekick = KaChing!
Gitzo 1321 Leveling base = Kaching
4th Generation Designs replacement foot with Arca mount = kaching
Kenisis L511 bag = kaching
Better Beamer Flash Extender = kaching
Wiberly Telephoto Flash Bracket = Kaching!

Are you going to be carrying this setup far? If not, get a 3 series Gitzo CF.

If so, you can easily get away with a 2 series.

Don't listen to the people who have no experience with these items.

I have two 1 series and either easily holds a 400 f2.8 on a wimberely sidekick. Is it stable? For my purposes it is. If I was shooting in relative darkness with very long exposures, perhaps it would not be steady enough. But for general landscape, the weight and size difference is very important to me.

I can easily pack my 1 series in my carry-on suitcase. Try that with a 3 series.

As to drop in filter, a CP is nice, but I rarely used mine with my 300 f2.8

me

Bought mine last October as a 50th Birthday prezzie to self - Fantastic Lens, you'll just love it! (A real heavy beast too).

Also needed a sturdier tripod so went with the Gitzo 3530L (carbon fibre) with the full Wimberley head - It's rock steady once you balance it up (really easy).
Must admit I could do with a crank up centre column to get the height right every time, but I did put a couple of pencil marks on the legs to roughly achieve the same viewing height.
Enjoy it, and don't forget to post the obligatory Duck shot!

I bought my 500L back in October of last year then got laid off so I had to sell it - believe me it was not easy letting it go

Anyway I learned really quickly that I needed to revamp my support system BIG TIME and of course as luck would have it I just had upgraded to a nice but certainly not up to the task Manny Tri/Monopod Setup.

With this in mind I went with a Gitzo GT3530 Carbon Fiber Tripod a Kirk BH-1 which you can get directly from Kirk on e-bay for a decent discount if you are willing to take a blemished one (still haven't found the blemish on mine). From there I debated on a full Wimberly head or a Sidekick. The full head is awesome without a doubt but for me I wanted to still be able to use my tripod for other lenses and my body without having to switch heads. That said I went with a sidekick and it was also awesome. Add in the replacement foot (Kirk), Lens Coat and a Backpack to put it in and my $5k lens ended up costing me close to $7k when all was said and done.

The good thing is that even though I sold the lens I made the decision to go with only Arcia Swiss for my Bodies, Lenses and Heads and I have to say that was a great investment and I would never ever go back to proprietary systems again.

funhouse, do you have a link to the Kirk ebay seller or to one of those tripods?

Here's the link to Kirk

**link removed***

From there just click on the items for sale on the left.

Actual link to Kirk Photo;
http://www.kirkphoto.c​om/

He was looking for the link to the Kirk Phto e-bay store and not Kirk site itself

Sorry man, go ahead and post it again,. I did not read all of your earlier post, and was wondering what the heck that E-bay page was about..

I thought you'd made a mistake when in fact it was...
My mistake.

No worries I was just making sure that I didn't do anything wrong when I saw my post edited. At the same time I could have replied with the original quote in so it would have been more clear.

badams wrote in post #7912925
funhouse, do you have a link to the Kirk ebay seller or to one of those tripods?

The Kirk e-bay site is - Click on the Items for Sale link on the left hand side.
http://myworld.ebay.co​m/kirkphoto333/

The Tripod I have is a Gitzo 6X Carbon Fiber GT3530. I bought mine from some random person off e-bay and was lucky enough to get a nice live cash back on it as well. I'd say keep checking e-bay regularly they do show up but they tend to sell pretty quickly. Most people hold on to their Gitzo's unless they are upgrading or something

I know this is a little old but who else used the kirk swiss plate? I just want some more assurance it is reliable.. I know the saying about cheap priced items and expensive lenses but this is 50% off another brand arca swiss plate. If this works just as well, I'm willing to take it on ebay.

Thanks!