 Jim Adams |
Tripod for Wildlife Photography I have a collection of fairly inexpensive tripods, less than $100. As I get better with my photography I am encountering serious frustration with my tripods. I have a ball head and two pan and tilt. The frustration comes from my 400mm lense that does not have stabilization. I occasionally use a 1.4 or 2x extender. The shake is unmanageable when trying to manually focus. I understand rock solid will probably not ever happen, but getting close would be a cool goal. I'm ready to invest a bit of money to become more solid. The a lesser concern is portability. Wildlife and scenery is usually not available at the roadside, at least in my neck of the woods. I usually have to carry it on my hikes. Any suggestions?
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Lynn R. Powers |
For about $150 you can get a sturdy Manfroto tripod that weighs about 5 pounds. You already have the ball heads and assuming that they are capable of holding at least 7 pounds they will do the job. Are you using a tripod collar on your 400mm lens? If not get one. Do not raise the center column, it just creates more shake especially if there is a wind. Use a cable release for your scenic shots. For moving subjects use a higher ISO and FAST shutter speeds. Also do this when using your extenders. Unless you have a quality prime 400mm as well as a high quality 2X you will probably end up with blurry photos on a calm day shot at any speed. If the tripod legs have a wider spread capibility use it. This will make the tripod a little lower but considerably more stable. Carbon fiber t-pods are the most stable and lightest for their capacity and also $$$. All of them run between $250-$900. For BIF a Wemberly I hope this is helpful.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Consider a monopod, depending on what type of 400mm you're talking about.
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wildlifetrailphotography.com - Donald R. Curry Contact Donald R. Curry Donald R. Curry's Gallery |
Jim, I have been using the same Manfroto tripod for several years for nature photography. I have been pleased with it.
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Peter K. Burian |
Hi Jim, The Manfrotto 190 series would be the ones I would recommend. The most affordable model is $150 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/479927-REG/Manfrotto_190XPROB_190XPROB_Pro_Aluminum_Tripod.html Use the search feature at that site to find other 190 series models. You would also need a really sturdy tripod head, like one of these http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=manfrotto+ball+head&N=0&InitialSearch=yes Peter www.peterkburian.com
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