Camera Labs

Hi guys So i'll soon be getting a Nikon d300 and i'm leaning towards the 18-200mm vr lens. I'll be shooting some of everything but mostly landscape and nature. So i was wondering if anyone could give me some advice about what tripod to get.

So i've read around on what posts i could find and i see that Manfrotto seem to be the best. Also i see there are three types of heads, geared seem to be too much for the pro and wouldn't really be needed so it's ballhead and three way. I'm thinking three way would be the best for me, i would like to try out panoramas. Am i right in this? or would geared be better? Also i've seen that to shoot panoramas in portrait mode you don't shoot on the lens axes so is there some way of correcting this?

I saw thomas suggested and uses Manfrotto055ProB/808RC4

But on the websit i could only find 055ProB and when i combined them on the "tripod and head choser" it said that it's an unbalancd system.

So is there another tripod i should get? or is the website talking rubbish?

Thanks for the help


Manfrotto055ProB/808RC4

I don't know what Manfrotto is up to. Their website is a bit quirky.
I can attest to the stability and ruggedness of that combo.

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Ok thanks Thomas, i just saw on their sit it said 055xProB (which i guess i typed wrong in my original post i'll correct now) wasn't sure if this is different to yours? i figured it wouldn't be.

So the combo works well for you? have you tried any panoramas and if so did they come out well?

Thanks for the fast reply

Nope, I'm not into panoramas. But you can easily turn the head along the horizontal axis and it has a scale to read the degrees and bubble-levels to adjust everything horizontally. The plate has approx 2cm adjustability for shifting the camera back and forth to find the nodal point...

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Hi Shane,

I'm still trying to work out what to buy as well. One device that might be usefully employed between the tripod and the ballhead is a levelling base (allowing extra levelling capability) such as

Image courtesy of Acratech

Another solution is a Panning Clamp on top of the ballhead, such as

Images courtesy of RRS.

Note that I am not making any particular manufacturer recommendations here.

One article I have found very useful is Tripods and Ball Heads by Thom Hogan. The only downer is that it makes a pretty convincing case for not scrimping when it comes to choosing a tripod and ballhead. I also note that whenever Gordon posts here on the forum on the subject he is fairly dismissive about lightweight tripods.

One final thought is that for panoramas you might want to consider an "L plate" as well as a levelling base. Here's a review of the Really Right Stuff L-plate with some background information. The RRS web-site also has an interesting article on the subject here.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

...... have a look at stitching together panos using PSCS3 before buying a pano head as you will be surprised at this new software in Photoshop 3.......

I have stitched some hand held panos and got good results....... a tripod with a rotating base will give great results....... managed to put together 8 exposure pano using just the rotating base and PSCS3

[quote="Big Pix"]...... have a look at stitching together panos using PSCS3 before buying a pano head as you will be surprised at this new software in Photoshop 3.......

Amazing Big Pix,,,,, I tried that feature in Photoshop 3 for the first time today and what amazing results. I was seriously thinking of purchasing a Panning Clamp, however, now seeing the results of what CS3 can do I am reconsidering. Most likely in the future I will purchase one but for now I am content with the results.

_________________
Roger,


Canon 7D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM , Canon EF 70-200 f/4 L IS, Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, Canon Speedlite 580EX E-TTL II, Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod and Manfrotto 322RC2 grip ball head, Lowepro SlingShot 200 AW