Tripod and head help

Hi

I was looking at a tripod and head for dual purpose use.

I wanted to use them for race track shots with panning and outdoor/indoor portrait work as well.
I would like some opinions and suggestions.
These are the tripods and ball head, I was looking at. Thanks for your input

Tripod 1
http://www.amazon.com …?ie=UTF8&m=A17M​C6HOH9AVE6

Tripod 2
http://www.amazon.com …r?ie=UTF8&m=ATV​PDKIKX0DER

Ball Head
http://www.amazon.com …?ie=UTF8&m=A17M​C6HOH9AVE6

The Manfrotto RC0 quick-release plates do not fit well on Canon EOS cameras and associated lenses. The ball head you listed, in itself, is overkill in my opinion. I would suggest the Manfrotto 498RC2 ball head for your purposes, along with extra quick-release plates so each camera and lens can have one on them more or less permanently.

For the racetrack work, a monopod would actually be much more suitable than a tripod when you're putting the camera into motion. Handheld is even better, though, unless you're using a HUGE lens.

SkipD wrote in post #10435204
The Manfrotto RC0 quick-change plates do not fit well on Canon EOS cameras and associated lenses. The ball head you listed, in itself, is overkill in my opinion. I would suggest the Manfrotto 498RC2 ball head for your purposes.

For the racetrack work, a monopod would actually be much more suitable than a tripod when you're putting the camera into motion. Handheld is even better, though, unless you're using a HUGE lens.

The 5DMKII and 100-400 gets kinda heavy after a while. The sun and heat make it worse, so I thought the ball head would help smooth the panning.
I have a mono pod, but used my really old tripod that has a fluid head and it worked out well, except the tripod can't handle the weight.

drdiesel1 wrote in post #10435220
The 5DMKII and 100-400 gets kinda heavy after a while. The sun and heat make it worse, so I thought the ball head would help smooth the panning.
I have a mono pod, but used my really old tripod that has a fluid head and it worked out well, except the tripod can't handle the weight.

When panning to follow motor racing, you'd be much better off pivoting your own body. Locate your feet such that rotating your waist gives you the motion and travel range that you need while keeping your body firmly planted and stable. You'll find that (maybe with a little practise) you can pan better that way as opposed to spinning the camera on a tripod. It's the way I always worked at races (of all sorts - from motorcycles to Formula 1) after I found that a tripod was a serious nuisance in that sort of scenario.

SkipD wrote in post #10435261
When panning to follow motor racing, you'd be much better off pivoting your own body. Locate your feet such that rotating your waist gives you the motion and travel range that you need while keeping your body firmly planted and stable. You'll find that (maybe with a little practise) you can pan better that way as opposed to spinning the camera on a tripod. It's the way I always worked at races (of all sorts - from motorcycles to Formula 1) after I found that a tripod was a serious nuisance in that sort of scenario.

OK.

Thanks for the help