Purchasing New Tripod, Head & Bag for 5D Mrk II! + Lenses - Advice Needed!?

Cezare

Cezare

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Hello all.

I'm in much dire need of a New Tripod that can carry the weight of my new equipment, I'm not sure what's best for my needs below, as there seems to be alot about! any help or advice would be gratefully received :)

My Equipment:

Canon 5D Mrk II
Sigma 120-300mm F/2.8
Canon 70-200mm F/2.8 IS
Canon 16-35mm F/2.8
Canon 100mm F/2.8

To be used for:
Motorsports, Wildlife, Landscape, Panoramics, Macro & HD Video.

I do need it to be able to take the weight of the Sigma 120-300 with a 2x converter on, and still be smooth, easy to manoeuvre and light.

Tripod would be also used on Shoots abroad so needs to be light enough to carry but heavy enough to be stable.

I'm looking at two brands for the tripod:
Manfrotto
Gitzo

for the Head:
I want a ball head. (think it's best for me) not sure what would be the best to get though?

Budget: Around £200-300 in total for tripod & Head

Bag:

I'm after a lowerpro Bag, but again there's many different ones and need it to fit most of my equipment, easy enough to carry on planes as hand luggage, but also for long walks, Motorsport, Wildlife days out.

so not huge! but again not small.

Budget:
Around £100-150 for the bag.

I've checked Manfrotto's tool, and Gitzo's site for building a set up.
but I'd rather ask to see if anyone using the same equipment or has a nice tripod, bag, or head they would recommend for the budget?

many thanks,
Cezare
 
Hello Cezar,
A Gitzo three series tripod would suit your needs well but you are going to struggle on your budget. You might want to consider spending more on the tripod and perhaps less on the bag. I saw Teamwork had a new Gitzo aluminium three series at around £300, good value against £600+ for the carbon one!
Tripod heads are more a case of personal preference so really you need to go to a pro dealer and try some out.
Don’t really know the Lowe pro bag range so I can’t help you with that.

All the best
 
Hi,

Thanks for the advice,
Those Gitzo's look nice, but I don't know if I could spend that amount just on the tripod, depends how much I would actually use it in the year,

What are the + on the Gitzo's that are different to the Manfrotto's?

I'll see if there are any pro dealers with heads that I can try.
but still would like to get it cheap as possible but not taking anything away from my needs.

cheers
 
Hard to offer advice. You're clear on what you want and have picked the best brands. You really need to go and try stuff for yourself.

Only thing I would say is ditch the Sigma and get a 1.4x extender for the 70-200mm instead. Kenko Pro 1.4x is almost as good as the Canon, and also fits your 100mm macro (I use that combo).

You can then get a smaller bag which might be within the official cabin luggage dimensions. Have you checked them?
 
honestly... I love the sigma!

its huge, weights alot but its really good at F/2.8!
cannot wait to use it this year with motorsport.

I'll just get a 1.extender at some point, but just been using the 2x converter on the sigma to shoot the moon. and its superb!

I've not checked luggage dimensions, I can get away with alot working for Thomas Cook.

but I'm still not clear on what is the difference between some models on the tripods, heads and bags. there's so many to choose from!
 
Cezare said:
honestly... I love the sigma!

its huge, weights alot but its really good at F/2.8!
cannot wait to use it this year with motorsport.

I'll just get a 1.extender at some point, but just been using the 2x converter on the sigma to shoot the moon. and its superb!

I've not checked luggage dimensions, I can get away with alot working for Thomas Cook.

but I'm still not clear on what is the difference between some models on the tripods, heads and bags. there's so many to choose from!
Click to expand...

Thomas Cook! Are you in Peterborough? Do you know Heather Sharpe in finance? Tell her Hoppy says hello!

You obviously love the Sigma, and that's a pretty good reason. Fabulous moon tonight, thought about it myself :)

Choosing a tripod isn't usually difficult. What you see is what you get. Weight is good, but not for carrying, so there's always a compromise to be made there. And do you need it to get down low for macro?

Most people are happy with something like a Manfrotto 190XProB, or the slightly bigger 055XProB, and a decent ball & socket head, eg 488RC2. Redsnapper also seem to be very good value, but I've not used one. Gitzo are quality.

My personal favourite is Manfrotto Neotec with clever 322RC2 action grip head. Pricey though. For motorsport, I use a monopod with that ball & socket head.

Bags, well, very personal choice and you've got a couple of big lenses to fit in there. Maybe a back-pack? Have you checked out the Lowepro site? Short of trying the bags yourself, it's very descriptive.

Best regards,

Richard.
 
Another shout for the Manfrotto 055Pro or whatever the latest version is. Not the lightest but very solid & stable.

I use an R322 trigger grip but it does struggle with my 100-400 & 50-500 when they are full extension, it can slip with the weight.
 
Cathus said:
Another shout for the Manfrotto 055Pro or whatever the latest version is. Not the lightest but very solid & stable.

I use an R322 trigger grip but it does struggle with my 100-400 & 50-500 when they are full extension, it can slip with the weight.
Click to expand...

Got to agree on reflection. I use the 322 trigger grip with the Canon 100-400mm L and it's pushing it a bit if the lens is off balance. Underneath it's only a medium sized ball head, and Cezare has a couple of big lenses. You can whack up the friction setting, and I still use it as it's so fast, but not ideal.

Gimball? :eek:
 
For a bag, I'd recommend the Lowepro Minitrekker AW, I've taken it abroad as hand luggage with no problems and it has a great capacity too
 
Nice set up you have there! ;)

Erm, I personally wouldn't scrimp on quality given what you've invested in.

As mentioned above, a 3 series tripod with decent tripod will be just the job...

I went for a Really Right Stuff BH55 ballhead from the US, having said that the exchange rate was a lot more generous (£262 IIRC including duty and tax), more likely to be £300/350 right now :(

They're excellent quality, as are Markins, Kirk and several others which I can't remember at the moment. Still very early in the morning for me :lol:
 
thanks guys for the help :)

going to have a google on those names see what there like.
see if there is any youtube vids also.

and yes Hoppy! I work in Thomas Cook in Peterborough, over in publishing so I don't know Heather, there's quite a few people there ;)

I was shooting in work today, hand held with the sigma 120-300mm and bloody hell that thing is going to build my left arm muscles.

that or it fall off!

still difficult without a IS in there, but looking forward to using that in the summer mostly with motorsports.

cheers guys for the help.
 
Cezare said:
Hello all.

...
To be used for:
Motorsports, Wildlife, Landscape, Panoramics, Macro & HD Video.

I do need it to be able to take the weight of the Sigma 120-300 with a 2x converter on, and still be smooth, easy to manoeuvre and light.

Tripod would be also used on Shoots abroad so needs to be light enough to carry but heavy enough to be stable.

I'm looking at two brands for the tripod:
Manfrotto
Gitzo

for the Head:
I want a ball head. (think it's best for me) not sure what would be the best to get though?

Budget: Around £200-300 in total for tripod & Head

Bag:

I'm after a lowerpro Bag, but again there's many different ones and need it to fit most of my equipment, easy enough to carry on planes as hand luggage, but also for long walks, Motorsport, Wildlife days out.

so not huge! but again not small.

Budget:
Around £100-150 for the bag.
Click to expand...

With all this requirements in mind and considering the budget I'd advise you to get a Redsnapper Carbon legs (TRI-283C) and their TB-12 ballhead - this will be within your budget (just) and will cope with all the requirements that you have stated. The quality of the products Joe (Redsnapper) provides is second to none for the price and you'd be pushed to find that quality in known brands with twice the price.

The bags - have a look at Redsnapper bags choice on website as well as on these forums. If nothing appeals from what is advertised, have a chat with Joe directly, a lot of bags are not on his website yet he can provide more information. I ended up getting 2 camera backpacks and again find that it will be very difficult to match the quality in the well known brands with twice the price.

Redsnapper site: http://www.redsnapperuk.com/
 
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