Clovishound
Senior Member
An answer in search of a question?
Should I replace my tripod?
- Thread starter Clovishound
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It's probably best suited for real estate and architectural photography where precise leveling is important and where it can be used quickly and often. But it isn't a feature I'd want myself unless it was a need and I earned big bucks. No doubt there is a market for it.
Clovishound
Senior Member
Well, the new tripod was on the front porch this afternoon. I unboxed it and tried it out. Initial impressions are impressive. It seems like a quality piece of gear, although there are a few plastic parts that may keep it from being a piece of gear you can hand down to your kids and grandkids. Keep in mind this is a $200 tripod.
It comes in a very nice canvas bag with a couple outside pockets for accessories.
Those accessories include a strap for the carrying bag.
A bag with tools and replacement spike feet for the tripod.
It also comes with a short center post to be used when the legs are splayed out and you are going to be shooting very low to the ground.
It comes in a very nice canvas bag with a couple outside pockets for accessories.
Those accessories include a strap for the carrying bag.
A bag with tools and replacement spike feet for the tripod.
It also comes with a short center post to be used when the legs are splayed out and you are going to be shooting very low to the ground.
Clovishound
Senior Member
And here is the tripod fully extended.
If you notice, it even has a hook to hang a weight on the bottom of the center post, to increase stability.
The legs are a larger diameter than the Bogen 3021 it is replacing, and has over twice the weight capacity. The twist locks are much quicker and easier to deal with when extending and collapsing the tripod than lever locks. I was very pleased with how easy these two operations were. One of the legs has a foam rubber covering to make it easier to hold onto. I really like the center post lock and unlock. Easy to use and very positive lock. It even has a small bubble level near the center post. Weight is light enough for a reasonably sturdy field tripod, and carries well over the shoulder, although I may revisit that after carrying it for an hour or two. Height is good. With the legs fully extended and the center post down, the viewfinder is little too tall for me (I'm 5'10"). This is while using the gimbal mount which offsets from the top of the post the same as my standard head.
The two cons, so far is that while most parts on the tripod are robust, there are a few plastic parts, such as the leg angle locks, and the center post sleeve. These are robust enough for most use, but will likely fail a decade or two down the road, or sooner with very hard use. Again, it's a $200 tripod, not a $1000 studio beast. The second is that the center post has a keyway and won't rotate when loosened. Not a problem with the heads I will be using with it.
Without really using it yet, I am very happy with this piece of gear. I look forward to getting it out in the field. Hopefully the Pup and I will make it over to the Center for the Birds of Prey on Friday. I would push for tomorrow, but my buddy wants to go hunting then. I'm tempted to take the camera with me, but I pretty much have to choose between camera gear and hunting gear. If I take my camera there will be a whole sounder of feral hogs in front of me, and if I take my hunting gear, it will be wood ducks, eagles and foxes.
If you notice, it even has a hook to hang a weight on the bottom of the center post, to increase stability.
The legs are a larger diameter than the Bogen 3021 it is replacing, and has over twice the weight capacity. The twist locks are much quicker and easier to deal with when extending and collapsing the tripod than lever locks. I was very pleased with how easy these two operations were. One of the legs has a foam rubber covering to make it easier to hold onto. I really like the center post lock and unlock. Easy to use and very positive lock. It even has a small bubble level near the center post. Weight is light enough for a reasonably sturdy field tripod, and carries well over the shoulder, although I may revisit that after carrying it for an hour or two. Height is good. With the legs fully extended and the center post down, the viewfinder is little too tall for me (I'm 5'10"). This is while using the gimbal mount which offsets from the top of the post the same as my standard head.
The two cons, so far is that while most parts on the tripod are robust, there are a few plastic parts, such as the leg angle locks, and the center post sleeve. These are robust enough for most use, but will likely fail a decade or two down the road, or sooner with very hard use. Again, it's a $200 tripod, not a $1000 studio beast. The second is that the center post has a keyway and won't rotate when loosened. Not a problem with the heads I will be using with it.
Without really using it yet, I am very happy with this piece of gear. I look forward to getting it out in the field. Hopefully the Pup and I will make it over to the Center for the Birds of Prey on Friday. I would push for tomorrow, but my buddy wants to go hunting then. I'm tempted to take the camera with me, but I pretty much have to choose between camera gear and hunting gear. If I take my camera there will be a whole sounder of feral hogs in front of me, and if I take my hunting gear, it will be wood ducks, eagles and foxes.
It looks great and appears to be quite functional. If the plastic parts are a concern, you could always opt to purchase them now. I have two Gitzo tripods ... one aluminum (the one I use the most) and one carbon fiber. Both are series 2 tripods and both have plastic parts.
Good luck with it!
Good luck with it!
Clovishound
Senior Member
Well, the Pup and I made it to the Center today. Full sun, which is not as good as overcast. The tripod worked well. The main issue I had was sitting down while taking pictures. Next time I should put the tripod up nearly full height, and move off to the side of the "bleachers". It was too awkward shooting with the gimbal from a sitting position. Once I got set up, I didn't want to stand up in front of those behind me and make a distraction setting up. The Pup got some very good pictures. I got some decent ones, but nothing all that great. I also need to go back to my original AF settings. Too many out of focus on BIF.
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Bikerbrent
Senior Member
Nice first tripod shots Clovishound!!
Nice shots. When I take falconry photos, I tend to keep my shutter speed at least 1/2000" because I tend to be extremely close to the raptor. When I'm further away, I can usually get away with 1/1600".
Are you using Manual Mode with Auto ISO? When I use it, I choose my aperture and shutter speed and allow the camera to choose the ISO. Any exposure adjustments are easily made with the +/- button (usually +0.7 when the raptor is against the sky. Otherwise, +0 or less if the raptor is against the trees). Your shutter speed varies quite a bit which is why I'm mentioning it.
Are you using Manual Mode with Auto ISO? When I use it, I choose my aperture and shutter speed and allow the camera to choose the ISO. Any exposure adjustments are easily made with the +/- button (usually +0.7 when the raptor is against the sky. Otherwise, +0 or less if the raptor is against the trees). Your shutter speed varies quite a bit which is why I'm mentioning it.
Clovishound
Senior Member
I'm using aperture priority mode for exposure and manually choosing the ASA. I keep an eye on the shutter speeds and adjust as necessary. I've been trying to keep my shutter speeds at or above 1/1000 sec. That may not be fast enough for stopping some of the wing motion. Of course, I was hoping to get a few with some blur to the wings to bring a sense of motion. For better or worse, I accomplished that. I am somewhat ambivalent about the second picture of the owl. I love the sense of motion that the wing blur brings, unfortunately, I caught him slightly off frame. I still like the feel of the image, although I'm a little put off by the composition.
I'm relatively new to BIF photography. I find it challenging, and a bit frustrating.
Here is another that I found interesting, but wasn't quite there. Of course, I could just title it The Headless Kite.
I'm relatively new to BIF photography. I find it challenging, and a bit frustrating.
Here is another that I found interesting, but wasn't quite there. Of course, I could just title it The Headless Kite.
May be headless but great subject separation.
Clovishound
Senior Member
After doing a little research, I will try highlight metering mode next time I go out to shoot birds. Looks interesting, and may give me better exposures on the fly. Some of the situations have rapidly changing lighting situations as the bird flies. Yes, post processing can usually overcome a fair amount of over/underexposure, but better to nail the exposure as close as possible for maximum detail. It may well give me more consistent exposures with more static subjects. White birds can play havoc with exposure, and even though the exposure compensation wheel is right there at my thumb, it still takes a few seconds which can make the difference between getting the good shot and not.
