Between tripod and camera?

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richardjames

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Richard Chiswell
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I've just bought a 5D mark II and shall be concentrating on landscapes and other outdoor scenes. I know I need a tripod and after quite a bit of asking around I'm thinking of settling on a Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 though an 055XPROB has also been suggested.

My question now is what should I pair it with? Would something like a MN 405 Pro Geared Head be suitable or would it be over the top?

I'd value any sensible advice.
 
I don't think a head can ever be OTT in terms of price as a well engineered one is a joy to use. Suitability for purpose comes into it too of course. A 3 way head is a bit slow to use, but that's not an issue for landscape work.

While you're making the choice, I'd checkout the Kirk and Reallyrightstuff ball heads though.
 
Personally, and depending on what lenses you habitually use, I think I'd favour a tripod from the 055 range rather than one from the 190 range. As regards the head, the 405 is a very nice head but bit of an overkill for landscapes I think, and certainly on a 190 tripod. Remember you have to add the weight of the head to the weight of your camera + lens when calculating what the tripod is designed to sustain. I use two 055XPROB's - one with a 410 geared head on it and the other with a 488 ball head and for landscapes I find myself always opting for the ball headed tripod. Nothing wrong with using a geared head for landscapes of course but I just find it far too tedious compared to the ball head. Now if you where talking macro or any photography where framing needed to be precise, I unreservedly go for the geared head.
 
CT and Gofer/Steve,

Thanks for your replies.


Steve, I'm interested in panoramas (linked up in CS4) would that affect your advice re. geared heads?

Cheers, Richard
 
There's a trade-off between the 055 and 190 legs, the 190, especially the cf, one is much lighter and easier to carry about for long periods, but the 055 is altogether much sturdier.Perhaps it might be worth looking at one of the cf versions of that too...
 
richardjames said:
CT and Gofer/Steve,

Thanks for your replies.


Steve, I'm interested in panoramas (linked up in CS4) would that affect your advice re. geared heads?

Cheers, Richard
Click to expand...

Possibly. Panoramas are not my scene (groan - sorry) so I couldn't comment, but I can tell you that the 488 ball head has a separate pan control so I would imagine it would be perfectly suitable.
 
There are of course. specialist panoramic heads which ensure that the lens turns around it's nodal point as you pan round. These heads should ensure more accurate alignment of images when stitching later on although I can't say I've ever used one. Not cheap - but it depends how important this is to you.

CLICK
 
CT thanks. I don't think I need that level of sophistication. CS4 is really pretty god at stitching - it just helps to have the horizontal alignment more or less in sync.

I've something fairly useful t go on now - have been checking out the 3 and 4 leg versions of the 055. I guess the 4 section would be best for me for portability etc. Anyhow I'm going to let the ideas cool off for a day or two before making the actual purchase.

Thanks for all you help
 
It doesn't matter what head you get for panoramas if there is no close foreground in shot. The difficulty is making sure that the tripod base itself is level. If it isn't, when you pan round the horizon will not be straight and you have to level it again, losing part of the image when stitching. I bought a Gitzo with built in leveling base, but Manfrotto do a leveling base of their own http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=11058
 
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