What tripod head??

Do you have another alternative in mind :

I hope you mean that despite using a tripod collar on the lens... ...I can't imagine that trpod mounting the camera and then attaching such a beast to it would result in anything less than the lens mount detaching from the camera body.

One useful technique is to use two tripods. One supports the camera and the other supports the front of the lens.

4.5kg so a bit dodgy with your heaviest combo I would have said.

It isn't that the legs will collapse, but whether they will remain steady under the weight. Likewise with the head, if the combo is too heavy for the head it will slowly dip down. Very frustrating.
You should also bear in mind that the maximum weight the tripod will hold must include the weight of the head, not only of the camera/lens combo.

I went for a seriously expensive ball head (which I got for a good price btw) - the Markins Q3. It can take 30kgs, is light and solid as a rock. It also has the advantage of using Arca-Swiss QR plates.

Benro are a Chinese company that make lookalike tripods and heads, for a good price, and good quality. Just depends on how you feel about Chinese rip-offs.

No.

I use the 488RC2 because it was what suited me best (I think, although I often think there might be something better). To get around the rotation movement I described above, the point of rotation would have to be at the nodal point of the camera/lens. That's not going to happen unless you get a specialised panorama head, which is probably going to be more trouble than it's worth for general photography, as well as being expensive. Notice I said it can 'sometimes' be a problem. It's only really if you're already near the close-focus limit of your lens, and you tip it forward, and therefore nearer your subject.

Don't worry too much about it, I was just concerned about the Slik style of pistol grip. Chris might be able to offer advise on this.

Dan

My tripod (Slik 88 ) is doubtless not the stiffest - but I chose it (many years ago now) as a compromise between weight, adjustability and rigidity, at a time when I couldn't afford the Benbo I really wanted.

However, it's been great - and although admittedly there's a slight movement when I let go, having positioned the camera on it, as the legs take its weight and bend slightly, I guess I'm so used to compensating by the tiny amount necessary that I just never notice it.

It doesn't vibrate noticeably, and I've never seen any evidence of camera shake when I use it with all the usual precautions.

You can position the Slik one anyhow you like - even with the grip in front of the camera if you want.

Certainly I use it frequently, positioned to the side.

Sorry, I should have said 'horizontal' grip, see here: http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/cache/offonce/pid/2319?livid=80%7C81&idx=83

Dan

I bought a Manfrotto 322RC2 pisto grip head, and whilst good, is not very easy at all for minor adjustments. Having a bit of a video background in my teens, I remember the fluid heads we used to have, saw a Manfrotto 503 on ebay for £80 and bought it (normally about £250!).

Now it is a little overkill I know, but I love it. Its solid as a rock, and absolutely brilliant for moving wild life where the 322RC2 just would not cut it.

There was advice in another thread 2-3 months ago when I was looking for myself, to forget looking at video heads. Whilst I will not say that I made a mistake with the 322RC2 (the video head will not do portrait mode for obvious reasons), I do think that it would be a mistake to not go and try one out. Anyways with a Bigma, you can rotate the lens inside the tripod collar so you can still go portrait with it, and it is fantastic for tracking moving birds!





That shot was taken before we got the 2nd K10D, so can do more shots with a K10D on now with grip etc if you like, just ask!

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, if you are for example, tracking birds, it is very easy to use the IR remote that stores in the grip, giving you a free hand! Just hold it at the same time as the handle for panning and tilting, and press when you want to take the shot. This leaves my left hand free to zoom or focus at the same time.

Could easily wire in a cable, thought about it, but the IR works great, and is easily stored, so is always with me!

Correct John, I fix the lens to the tripod using the lens tripod mount. Problem is it's too far back and the combo is still very much lens heavy.

I have thought about fitting the camera to the tripod and the lens to a monopod but it's a very unwieldy (almost impossible) arrangement to use.

The Slik 88 is a terrific piece of kit. I used one for many years but my son took a liking to it so it's on permanent loan (he thinks).

I really haven't had much trouble with any of my tripod/head combo's (all Manfrotto now that the Slik 88 has a new user) except when I was trying some moon shots with my bigger-than-the-Bigma zoom. It's heavy and I needed to remove the rubber pad from the QR plate to get the tripod mount stiff enough. Even then I needed to use mirror lockup . . . and even then . . . the end of the lens visible shook when the shutter released.

Was the shake visible in the photograph, or was the vibration you saw caused by the mirror coming down?

Good question . . . and I don't know the answer. I'd need to make some more tests on a static object. The 'shake' I saw in the images may have been due to the the natural rotation of the moon, albeit very slight.

I'd say it was probably due to the mirror return, but I don't know.

Thanks guys some good suggestions and i am looking at them all.
So if my heaviest combo is going to be around 4kgs i suppose is should be looking at something in the region of 6kgs min :

Dan: I tend to use my Monopod or gorillapod for the majority of my macro work, i find a tripod very restrictive

Sorry for disappearing so abruptly last night but i was at work and it was around 3am and all these alarms started going off throughout the plant, so i had to get my ass into gear

Thanks again for all your suggestions