Manfrotto Head for Canon 400mm?

The lens is hand holdable at higher ISO's although because of the lack of IS, I like to use a monopod.

I have the Manfroto 685B with a Giottos MH1301 - 652 Series II head. The monopod is a very flexible piece of kit because the height can me adjusted instantly. It does come with a free head but it's pretty basic. The Giottos head is a solid item and I find the combination great. It's not the cheapest but imo if you are spending £1200 on a lens without IS, an extra £180 or there abouts is money well spent. Hope this helps:thumbs:


http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-manfrotto-685b-neotec-monopod-with-safety-lock/p1008712

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-giottos-mh1301-652-series-ii-ball-head/p1025890
 
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A gimbal head is a wee bit ott. A ball head for the monopod is a better option and will give all the flexibility you'll need. The lens is not that heavy compared with other 400mm (and above) lenses.
 
BRASH said:
The lens is hand holdable at higher ISO's although because of the lack of IS, I like to use a monopod.

I have the Manfroto 685B with a Giottos MH1301 - 652 Series II head. The monopod is a very flexible piece of kit because the height can me adjusted instantly. It does come with a free head but it's pretty basic. The Giottos head is a solid item and I find the combination great. It's not the cheapest but imo if you are spending £1200 on a lens without IS, an extra £180 or there abouts is money well spent. Hope this helps:thumbs:


http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-manfrotto-685b-neotec-monopod-with-safety-lock/p1008712

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-giottos-mh1301-652-series-ii-ball-head/p1025890
Click to expand...

Like the Head you list here as it has friction screw. I already have a manfrotto monopod too so this might work well. The ball heads I already have are just too loose before tightening. Makes it very floppy.

John
 
Check this one

I haven't bought one but its on the top of my list, an absolutel priority for my next purchase.
They make 5 different versions I think, all just differ on the type of plates it has on the top. I think the version that has MGRC2 is the one I had in mind. They all differ in the last digit, but the main body is the same.
Reading your thread here now brought it back to me that I want this as a priority :).
Not exactly cheap but for the price its really great
 
zulupentax said:
Check this one
Click to expand...

I have that ball head and its absolutely rock solid, no movement at all when locked off with my gripped 7d and 300mm 2.8. But it depends on what the OP wants to shoot, a ball head doesnt suit everyone.
 
Euan said:
I have that ball head and its absolutely rock solid, no movement at all when locked off with my gripped 7d and 300mm 2.8. But it depends on what the OP wants to shoot, a ball head doesnt suit everyone.
Click to expand...

Just the person I can get a direct feedback then :).
I have been toying with the idea of getting this for a little while now. Is this head really as versatile as they say? I do a bit of macro but would like a head that is reasonably versatile. Hate the fact that some heads just will not sit where tight where you want it to be, you tighten the screws and as you release it immediately shifts a fraction. Seems like this head was designed to sort out all those little problems. And the ability to minutely adjust without having to release the whole screw. Almost like a focusing rail.
 
this is the model i have with the long lens plate, you could i suppose use it as a focusing rail to a point. The head has a friction knob as well as a locking knob so your supposed to be able to undo one and it wont just flop but i tend to forget which one im supposed to be using! But its quick to lock and there is no droop at all on mine.

drop me a PM if you want any more info to save the OP's post being hijacked
 
Thanks all for your feedback. Just searched for total weight.

Total Weight of Camera and lens = 1980 g or 2kg if Rounding off. So its the accuracy of the head. In other words one that dosn't drop a little once tightened and the ones you all show seem to prevent this with the friction screw.

BRASH, Zulu, Euan,Tijuana - All Look good thanks.

Regards,

John
 
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Cheap heads can be quite unsatisfactory.

The problem with even the better heads from manfrotto, gitzo etc is that they have their own QR systems, which can be quite unsatisfactory - At work I have a manfrotto setup that uses their RC2 plate system. Whilst it's acceptable for the camcorder and thermal camera (looks like a slightly chunky webcam) that we use it for, I wouldn't want to entrust 2kg of SLR kit to it.

I would recommend looking at a head that gets you into the Arca-swiss plate system. This is the de-facto standard for pro and heavier weight SLR use, and a wide variety of plates are available from different manufacturers, including cheaper chinese copies on ebay (which being simple milled bits of alu are every bit as good as the wimberley/kirk/etc plates that are twice the price).

The redsnapper RSH-12 is a nicely priced arca-swiss compatible head, and there's plenty more for more money. I use a markins M10 which is great, but overkill.
 
I swapped all the qr plates on my manfrotto stuff for arca swiss ones from redsnapper. The 234 took a bit of drilling and filing though! The 468 was no problem to do.
 
I use the manfroto 222 it will easily take the load yours gwh
 
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