Tripod and head for use with astronomy and landscapes

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Steve W

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HI,

Can anyone recommend a tripod and head for using for (as title says) landscapes and astronomy? I have a Canon 7D mk2, along with the Canon 15-85 and the Canon 100-400 mk2, I'd like to use the 100-400 for astronomy so the tripod and head needs to cope with the weight.

Thanks

Steve
 
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I can only recommend that you get the better end because
your type of photography, longer exposures, requires it. Stay
away from cheap shaky stuff, it will be of no use.

I use the 3 segment Rapid Elite series from Feisol and their
70 mm ball head for field and location work.
 
If you want to do astronomy with a long lens you need some sort of driven mount, or something that fits on a normal tripod, otherwise you'll get seconds before the stars trail. If you're thinking of the Moon it'll be fine as the exposure will be very short. I have the Manfrotto 190 and a 3 way head (also Manfrotto) which carries my Canon 550D with Sigma 150-600mm happily enough. I use it for solar imaging (daytime astronomy!).I do also use it for landscape but not with that lens............. As Daniel says, you want the better end of the market.
 
Plus one for the 190/055 legs and 410 Junior Geared Head. For the moon, you can generally get away with hand holding, especially with OS/IS/VR etc..
 
Thanks for the replies. Yes your are right with the star trails using the 100 lens, it would be better if I used the 15-85 for longer exposures. I just want something for when I go on holiday as we tend to go to areas with dark skies.

How about the redsnapper tripods I see advertised on here as they are cheaper than manfroto.
 
I recently got a skywatcher tracker and took that on holidays and got great results. I haven't used it with the 100-400 so far but the specs say it can carry 5kgs. The tracker means you can have much longer exposures as it follows the star movement.
 
I am looking to get something that will work and hold the weight of a 7dmk2 and 100-400 combo.

Just looked at the 410 junior head, it's too expensive for me. I guess the standard Manfrotto 3-way head (£44 from Amazon) with either the 190 or 055 legs would be okay. How do these compare with the Redsnapper tripods?
 
troutfisher said:
Manfrotto 190 or 055 with a junior 410 geared head, not light, not cheap but rock solid and will probably outlive you
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Nod said:
Plus one for the 190/055 legs and 410 Junior Geared Head. For the moon, you can generally get away with hand holding, especially with OS/IS/VR etc..
Click to expand...

I bought a 055 earlier this year and it completely fell apart in the field after only 3 months light use, so unless you are not planning on living long I wouldn't bother.
 
I had the 3 way manfrotto and found it quite poor with a camera and large len so upgraded to the 410 geared head.
I have never regretted it since. Its excellent quality and while a bit more expensive worth the money. Don't forget you really need a strudy head and tripod for long exposures imo.

Not sure about astro work though as the head has a limited tilt action but you can buy a collar to raise it on the tripod.
 
I've taken images of the sky with my Tamron 17-50 which show the brighter deep sky objects (the Ring Nebula in Lyra and the globular cluster in Hercules etc) for what they are at about 20s exposure. It's a f2.8 lens and that was at iso 400. I could have used 10s at iso 800 but since I was on a tracking mount and my camera doesn't deal well with noise I opted to reduce the iso rather that exposure. To do that sort of thing you'd need a ball type head as a 3 way won't get you high enough. For solar imaging I have to use the 3 way head backwards to get high enough. Any sort of tracking mount isn't going to come cheap.
 
Okay, so my 7d mk2 with by 15-85 at f3.5 at 15mm should be good enough to start with. You mentioned a ball type head to get the elevation, so I should go for ball head over a 3 way head?
 
Would the ball head work for Macro use as I also have a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens and I would like to use the tripod for this as well.

So usage - Macro, sky, occasional landscapes

I don;t want to buy a tripod and then realise I can't use of for say Macro. I know some have the centre column that can be reversed and some even allow the centre column to sit horizontally, I guess this is for macro work?
 
sirch said:
I bought a 055 earlier this year and it completely fell apart in the field after only 3 months light use, so unless you are not planning on living long I wouldn't bother.
Click to expand...

I bought one from Amazon (4 section), after 5 minutes I packed it back up and sent it back. The leg locks meant I had to almost snap the legs to unlock them and the bottom leg section was that thin that I had no confidence in it.

Used the money to import a Feisol and been very happy with it.

I don't get on with the Manfrotto heads as I prefer Arca Swiss mounting - the 410 geared head does look nice though (if a bit heavy / bulky)
 
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Dave Semmens said:
I bought one from Amazon (4 section), after 5 minutes I packed it back up and sent it back. The leg locks meant I had to almost snap the legs to unlock them and the bottom leg section was that thin that I had no confidence in it.

Used the money to import a Feisol and been very happy with it.

I don't get on with the Manfrotto heads as I prefer Arca Swiss mounting - the 410 geared head does look nice though (if a bit heavy / bulky)
Click to expand...

TBH I've got a cheapy Chinese travel tripod that has all manner of abuse over the last few years and it is going strong but I was after something more solid for heavier camera/lenses that's why I got the 055, three section. I also got the 410 geared head which is solid but a bit of a fiddle to use and doesn't even take a standard Manfrotto plate but I do use it when I need rigidity.
 
Gyles said:
http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-...a36494c06a43e5978495aaf618b56c4&utm_source=aw

For your macro and landscape, not sure about sky. Have a look for and old astrological telescope, many had big sturdy wooden jobs. You may be able to fit a different head on one.
Click to expand...

Thanks, the Vanguard looks good for the price and no bad reviews, also Amazon sell it for £20 less at £129 :-) Thanks for the recommendation.

I have 2 astronomy tripods, EQ-5 and EQ 3-2 and 2 telescopes, however I want something lighter and less bulky to take away with me that does not cost the earth and I can use for Macro and general photography use.
 
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Looking at the Vanguard tripods, I see you can get a 263 or 264 which are 3 and 4 leg section versions.

Are there any disadvantages to a 4 leg section tripod?
 
If you want to take star trail shots or shots of the Milky Way then any decent tripod will do. I've used a RedSnapper (RSF 324 Alloy and RSH 24 Pan head) but also a 50+year old Velbon that has seen better days with no problems.

As mentioned above if you use your 100 - 400 zoom at the top end then the exposure time to get the stars as point sources is going to be miniscule (about 1.5s) and the field of view is going to be fairly small. For either MW shots/stars as points and star trails a wider angle is preferrable.

Dave
 
I guess a 4 section tripod is smaller when folder up, but a bit more fiddly to setup. Seems to be down to user choice rather than clear advantages over a 3 section tripod.
 
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