The ones that get the most use are nos 1,3,7&9. 1&9 as a 'best' team - 3&7 as a travel kit. The others I could do without if I had to...

I should add that I seldom use really long or heavy lenses - if I did I might have to get another tripod - a Gitzo series 5 would be nice

I've not been at all organised in my approach, I use 4 different styles of QR plates,plus an Arca Swiss adaptor if required...

I have mentioned before that I have a fondness for tripods - just as nice bits of engineering, as well useful bits of kit (at least TBA is a bit cheaper than LBA). I updated my inventory photo the other day so I thought I would share, together with a few comments as to what I find them best suited for - might I suppose be useful for anyone trying to decide which tripod to buy from the vast and confusing variety in the marketplace.

Excuse the quality of the shot as it was taken in a hurry (before my wife got in from work) at 1/15th sec, camera held at arms length as high over the centre of the dining table as I could reach...

[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/IMGP5689copy.jpg[/IMG]

This second pic was taken last year and shows the various heights, without centre column extended. Unfortunately the tallest and shortest are not in this shot as I had not bought them yet.

[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/006copy.jpg[/IMG]

O.k. here are my comments on what I use them for - though a couple of them do not get much use at all. I'll include the model numbers though in most cases they will have been superceeded.

1.Gitzo G1578L mk2 5 section carbon monopod. Nice and tall, very useful to shoot over peoples heads in crowds, at preserved steam railways for example.

2. Giottos MM5570 4 section aluminium monopod. Does not extend quite as high as no.1 and is heavier (good for use as a defensive weapon though). Neat integral tilt head/QR arrangement and a rather useless feature that allows 3 little legs to be screwed to the base to make it self supporting (but very unstable). The 3 little legs store in the base of the pod where they rattle around annoyingly unless you tape them up. Not used much since I got the Gitzo.

3. Gitzo G1566 mk2 6 section aluminium monopod. Folds nice and short so is easy to pack in a case. Can also strap to the side of a shoulder bag without injuring passers by. Extended height is o.k. for me (I'm 5'10")but anyone taller would have to stoop.

4. Cullmann shoulder pod/table tripod. Really cheap and nasty plastic construction. Very lightweight and compact.Works reasonably well as a shoulder pod, hopeless as a table tripod. Don't pay more than a tenner for one.

5. Redged RTA 320 table tripod (with Gitzo G1178M ballhead). Nicely made Gitzo copy from the Netherlands. I use it for macro but it could be handy for traveling light (for those low level UWA shots maybe?)

6. Gitzo Gilux Tatalux 4 section aluminium tripod (with Ising panhead and Manfrotto QR). At least 30 years old and beautifully made. Very compact though does not quite reach full standing height.

7. Gitzo G1027 mk2 3 section carbon fibre tripod (with Gitzo G1780QR centre ballhead). Compact, very lightweight. This is my travel tripod unless I'm using anything really heavy. Also does not quite reach full standing height.

8. Gitzo GT2940C 4 section basalt tripod (with Manfrotto 322 RC2 pistol grip head) Very compact with the head removed. Same extended height as 7 and a bit heavier but will cope with a bigger load.

9. Gitzo GT2540G 4 section carbon fibre tripod with geared centre column (with Manfrotto 468 MGRC4 hydrostatic head). My most used tripod - if anything could be described as a 'general purpose tripod' this would be it. Reasonably light, comfortable working height and good load capacity.

10. Gitzo G2220 explorer 3 section aluminium tripod (with Gitzo G1276M off-centre ballhead). A very flexible design that is good for getting to hard to reach camera positions. Quite heavy and a bit fiddly to use but useful when nothing else will do.

11. Gitzo G224 3 section aluminium tripod (with Gitzo G1372M pan/tilt head). An old warhorse that has seen much heavy use and has the scars to prove it. If I know I'm going to be shooting in mud and muck this is the tripod I use.

12. Manfrotto 058B Triaut aluminium tripod (with Manfrotto 029 pan/tilt head). My newest tripod. I bought it because on a few occasions I have needed something taller. I would have liked a Gitzo giant but even very old ones command high prices. If you are thinking of buying one of these be aware that Manfrotto have not compromised on size and weight. It is very big and very heavy. I would not choose to lug it very far and it will only just fit into the boot of my car (with head attached). That being said it is tall and sturdy, ideal for wedding receptions and other functions where your kit is likely to be under seige from kids on the loose and drunken grannies. The triaut mechanism works well, though I have my reservations about its durability - the levers are plastic and all auto mechanisms fail eventually. I would have also liked secondary locks on the leg extentions for even greater rigidity...but still an impressive bit of kit. Only time will tell how much use it will get.

As a contrast, this is the same Arum this morning. Yup, it's raining again!
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/IMGP2924copy.jpg[/IMG]

K10d with Pentax 100mm macro

A clump of arum lillies in my garden was looking good in a rare period of sunshine. I tried to capture the effect of the sunshine through the leaves (petals?)

I usually go for a natural look but this time I've cranked up the colours and contrast for a more dramatic effect.

1. Uncluttered.
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/IMGP57482.jpg[/IMG]

2. Cloud
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/IMGP5722.jpg[/IMG]

3. Fisheye
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/IMGP5753.jpg[/IMG]

4. Sunshine
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/IMGP5772.jpg[/IMG]

1 and 2 taken with Sigma 24-70 at 24mm. No 3 with Samyang 8mm and no 4 with Tamron 10-24 at 15mm (all on my K5)

Not a comment on lenses but a viewpoint suggestion. A very good view of the Olympic park can be had from the top floor of the John Lewis store in the adjacent Westfield shopping centre. Just go to the Olympic 2012 dept.where there are floor to ceiling windows looking over the site.

I was having real problems focussing with my Samyang 85mm f1.4 so I bought a Pentax O-ME53 magnifying eyepiece. Only 1.2x magnification but it has definitely made manual focusing easier. I can still see all the viewfinder information, in fact I keep the the thing on the camera all the time now.

I have also had the perception that Tamron lenses are in some way inferior - based on nothing more than the fact that they are cheaper and the plastic they use feels a bit naff. However my one Tamron, the 10-24, gave me a surprise today.

I'm waiting in for a parcel to be delivered so I thought I would kill time doing an informal comparative test of my standard zoom lenses. Just out of interest I decided to include the 10-24, not thinking it would compare well.

The lenses I compared were:
Pentax 16-45
Pentax 16-50
Pentax 17-70
Pentax 18-55 WR
Sigma 24-70 2.8 (non HSM)
Sigma 17-70 (non HSM)
Tamron 10-24
Pentax 21mm (just out of curiosity to see how a prime would do)

I set them all to 24mm (except the prime obviously) and f4.5, put the camera on a tripod, mirror up remote release, and took flat on pics of my bookcase full of books and DVDs.

The results surprised me. There was no noticeable difference in colour rendering but the sharpness did vary. The sharpest across most of the frame was the Tamron, closely followed by the Sigma 24-70, with the Sigma perhaps a little better at the edges. The other lenses were all o.k. but not as sharp as the best two.

I know this is not exactly a scientific test and it only covered one focal length and one aperture but it has made me view the Tamron with a new respect.

If it is for Olympic events keep in mind that you will not be allowed to bring in any photo equipment more than 300mm long (physical length not focal length). Fortunately most lenses are shorter than that but when attached to the camera it could be a close thing.

Ouch! I couldn't watch the whole of that clip ...not a good way to go