BO__einG From Canada, joined Apr 2000, 2759 posts, RR: 20 Posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 2163 times:
Hello all,
I have a question on Tripods and Camera bags.
Lately, I have started to visit various camera stores to look around for a new tripod and a bag. I would like to get a stronger and higher quality type so I can take pictures at night at telephoto lengths without any shakes or vibrations.
Something sturdy with a non plastic construction, yet easy to use and not so heavy.
My budget is a little limited as I am willing to spend at most 70US dollars for a new tripod+head, and another 30US dollars for a new bag. Total budget of 100 dollars.
From the forums here it seems that many of you people use Lowpro bags and Manfrotto brands. The stores do have em but they are pretty pricey and there are too many kinds of each.
The type of bag I want is a shoulder strap bag large enough to fit a DSLR and a typical telephoto lens. Something simple yet with good cushion to protect my gear. I am kinda stunned that these bags are so expensive with top lines being like $500 for a Backpack.
Heck,My school backpack would be better if I improvise a bit and put in my pillows and a blankey.
Bo
Expanding my global domination one spotter at a time..
Chris78cpr From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2004, 2813 posts, RR: 52 Reply 1, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 2150 times:
You should not compromise on stuff like this. Save up longer until you can afford something better
I personnaly have a lowepro minitreker aw, nova 5aw, road runner aw and will son be ordering a Kata Rucksack as they are they high quality and protect my kit well.
For tripods, i have a manfrotto carbon fibre one with a heavy duty manfrotto ballhead. Again these are not cheap items but they can support my 1dii and 100-400 and i will not get any camera shake.
It's worth waiting to get the best so you only buy once!
Chris
5D2/7D/1D2(soon to be a 1Dx) 17-40L/24-105L/70-200F2.8L/100-400L/24F1.4LII/50F1.2L/85F1.2LII
AirSpare From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 589 posts, RR: 5 Reply 2, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 2141 times:
How much weight do you need to support? That is your first question then check out the manufactures sites.
Also, use your mirror lock up (if equiped) and a cable switch. There is some good info at RRS. But a decent ballhead and a sturdy tripod are not going to come cheap.
WhyWhyZed From Canada, joined Jan 2005, 914 posts, RR: 18 Reply 5, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 2126 times:
Quoting Aero145 (Reply 4): Could anybody tell me what mirror lock-up is??
When taking a photo, the mirror shooting up is what usually causes vibrations. When taking a longer exposure, you don't wany vibrations, so you can therefore lock up the mirror, which only exposes the shutter and the sensor behind that. Therefore, when taking the photo... only the shutter is moving. Something like that, anyways...
Manc From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2005, 339 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 2120 times:
I've just got a Crumpler called the "Farmers Double" photo bag. Great bag there are smaller versions, but give them a look up. Its got a lower compartment for camera bits, hold my 350D with grip attached and 70-300, my 24-70mm F2.8, 18-55, rocket blower and its still not full.
WhyWhyZed From Canada, joined Jan 2005, 914 posts, RR: 18 Reply 9, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 2116 times:
Quoting Aero145 (Reply 6): When I'm night shooting in the winter, should I go to Custom Functions and apply "Mirror Lockup"?
I just use the Canon RC-1 remote. It was about $20 and is great for other uses as well.
However, back on to the topic...
I personally use the Lowepro Mini Trekker AW as my camera bag. I have an Optex T5 monopod, and an Optex T465 tripod which I absolutely regret buying. The thing is sturdy and durable, but after carrying it for awhile, it really gets awkward and weighs you down.
StealthZ From Australia, joined Feb 2005, 5434 posts, RR: 49 Reply 10, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 2114 times:
From experience..
There is a compromise to made with tripods.
Ideally the most sturdy and strongest you can possibly afford is a good thing, but the sturdiest tripod in the world is absolutely useless if it is so heavy and clumsy you leave it at home...
To some extent the same applies to camera bags
To spend thousands of dollars on lenses and cameras and restrict your self to $100 for bag and tripod may be false economy.
Cheers
Chris
If your camera sends text messages, that could explain why your photos are rubbish!
BO__einG From Canada, joined Apr 2000, 2759 posts, RR: 20 Reply 11, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 2093 times:
Thanks guys,
So far I am liking the read. So I should up my budget a little more then? How about 150 total budget? I can lean a little more towards the bag as my night shooting will only take place once or twice every few months. I dont spot during the night but figured having a tripod in handy would be useful incase I have to make a trip someday.
Doesn't the camera and the lens have their own protective bags and cover. I could use those along with the cheaper camera bag for extra protection.
I will look a little more into the Manfrotto and Lowpro since they are the most popular and seems to be the most affordable, despite what they are being listed for.
A Ball head interests me as well as it looks much easier to use and clutter free.
Expanding my global domination one spotter at a time..
AirSpare From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 589 posts, RR: 5 Reply 12, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 2086 times:
Quoting BO__einG (Reply 11): A Ball head interests me as well as it looks much easier to use and clutter free.
You will like a BH much better then a pan/tilt, but looking at Acratech, Arca Swiss, RRS, you are going to see they all will destroy your budget before you put it on a tripod.
Regarding using your mirrow lock up (MLU) (especially for long exposures towards infinity) at night. I experimented with MLU one night shooting bulb (shutter is open until I release the electronic shutter release is released). It was with a 6x4.5 cm camera (the negative is about 2.7 times larger the 35mm). On a tripod, I remotely tripped the shutter, both with and without using MLU, at a boat passing by under a bridge in Biscayne Bay. Without using MLU, the light trail was oscillating from the mirror slap/camera shaking, and continued oscillating and damping as the light trail conintued for about a 75 meters of boat travel. It blew me away the amount of movement it showed.
As another boat passed by, tried it again using the MLU. The navigation light oscillated about 5% of the amplitude (practily nill) compared to the first shot. The only thing shaking the camera was the shutter.
Keep in mind, locking up your mirror on tripod shots is a good practice during the day, ESPECIALLY with long lenses and slower shutter speed. IS is nice to have, but if you don't have IS glass, you can compensate with better technique.
This is not OT, it serves no purpose to buy a tripod if your technique is "shakey". The camera was a Contax 645, 400ISO Kodak UC film, lens was a Carl Zeiss 120mm APO Makro (about 85mm in 35 mm format).
The nice thing about digital, is practicing is pretty cheap, that experiment cost me 20 bucks in film and processing. Have fun~
B737200 From Malta, joined Feb 2005, 224 posts, RR: 2 Reply 13, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 2051 times:
I use a Lowepro Mini Trekker Aw, it wasn't particularily cheap but everyone seemed to be happy with Lowepro so I saved up and ordered one from B and H (everyone seemed rather pleased with B and H as well) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home/.
It hasn't failed yet and seems very sturdy. I usually have no problems fitting an SLR and an 80-200mm lens.
If you want cheaper my friend said he found a relatively cheap Canon haversack, he didn't order it yet so I can't comment about its quality but being Canon it shouldn't be bad.
BO__einG From Canada, joined Apr 2000, 2759 posts, RR: 20 Reply 14, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 13 hours ago) and read 2028 times:
Thanks.
I am still in the hoop for what kind of bag and Tripod I want.
So far Lowpro and Menfrotto are the brands which I am fucusing on but those two have so many different types of products I don't know which to choose.
I don't want to spend too much on these but if I have to, I want to make sure that I am not wasting my money.
For the tripod, I will not be using it all the time but maybe once or twice every few months I might make a night trip out and would want to do long exposure shots. I have to rethink on that because spending $150 bucks or more and only using it a few times isn't the best use of my money.
For the camera bag, I am stuck between a shoulder strap and a backpack. Many spotters use both and I don't know which is better or whether it is all on personal preference. does one type offer better protection from the other, is the camera stable and secure so they wont bounce around? Will storing a camera with a large telephoto lens like a 70-200 or 80-400 create any kind of stress or strain while in the bag, especially if you are running or driving on bumpy roads. Anything causing sudden shakes to the bag.
Expanding my global domination one spotter at a time..
B737200 From Malta, joined Feb 2005, 224 posts, RR: 2 Reply 15, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 7 hours ago) and read 2013 times:
I don't think the type of bag (shoulder strap or backpak) really makes a difference in the security of the equipment. I prefer the backpack since I find it more stable and comfortable on my shoulders when I'm walking around the airport (I don't drive and none of my friends do so our spotting trips are usually sort of marathons). I do however find that when the backpack is full or near that everything does stay in place more. When equipment moves around however it really isn't a big deal since the backpacks, at least mine, are well padded.
In my opinion though, the shoulder strap does make more of the equipment available at once, with the backpack you might have to dig deeper for certain stuff.
As for what equipment can be stored,I usually have no problems carrying my D70 with an 80-200mm lens attached, a 35-70mm and 18-70mm in storage in my backpack. with this configuration I can at least also fit in a Nikon F4 (which is rather large). I used to be able to fit the same with shoulder strap bags, actually a tiny bit less if you are going to need to keep a rain jacket in the bag since the backpacks usually have another smaller compartment where you can keep stuff like garments, etc.
I think the question here is personal preference, both will protect you equipment.
Fergulmcc From Ireland, joined Oct 2004, 1916 posts, RR: 54 Reply 16, posted (6 years 10 months 2 weeks 6 hours ago) and read 2008 times:
Quoting Chris78cpr (Reply 1): You should not compromise on stuff like this. Save up longer until you can afford something better
Quoting Chris78cpr (Reply 1): It's worth waiting to get the best so you only buy once!
I agree with Chris on this one, I recently bought myself a Giottos MT8180 Carbon fibre tripod and am very happy with it, it will let you get by with out a head as it has a limited 3 way movement. It aslo allows you to open the legs in three positions, in other words you can open them almost flat allowing you get get very low to the ground, I think Manfrotto have a similar one. Later on I bought a Manfrotto ball head, 488 as it can ahndle the weight of my lenses.
Camera bag??, well there is a lot out there so pick one that is going to last and protect your gear, Lowepro is just one make, there are many more that are just as good, but the moral of the story here is save up and get yourself a good one, it will last longer! Just for your info I have a Lowepro Photo Trekker Classic, its a big bag bag but then I have a lot of lenses.
BO__einG From Canada, joined Apr 2000, 2759 posts, RR: 20 Reply 17, posted (6 years 10 months 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 1944 times:
Update.
It has been over a week since the last post but I think I have finally made a decision. I already bought a tripod and will about to do the same with the camera bag.
For the tripod I bought a Manfrotto 725B Digital Tripod model which has a ball head included in its assembly. It was about $150 dollars with tax, but it does at least meet the minimums to shoot at night for long exposures. The manual says that it can support a weight up to 12lbs and a DSLR camera with a long telephoto lens. Of course my equipment is nowhere near 12lbs so despite a tele lens going on it, I should be okay. Its legs can only spread out a certain amount and there is limited control over how high or how low I want to position the tripod but that is okay as an entry level like this one will do fine.
For the camera bag I looked at some of the types that you guys use and I think I am going to go for the Lowpro Nova5AW Shoulder bag. I went to the store and the dealer showed it to me how a camera with a tele lens can be loaded and it looks promising. The length of the bag around 32" is quite nice. Some of you guys have this one and I'm guessing the bag is working out well for them. The rain cover included is also nice. Price is well, it is not too bad (affordable) I think it will be a good bag to start things off with.
I think I will buy it as early as tomorrow then I will be fully ready to shoot.
Thanks for all your help guys. I wouldnt of even known the NOVA series if it wasnt for a few of you who mentioned it.
Cheers,
BO
Expanding my global domination one spotter at a time..
Photopilot From Cuba, joined Jul 2002, 2439 posts, RR: 20 Reply 19, posted (6 years 10 months 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 1929 times:
Now that you've got your tripod you need to learn how to make it as sturdy as possible during use. You have to learn how to "cheat" it to behave like a larger/heavier tripod. It's all in technique.
While locking up the mirror is great, here's another little trick that will greatly improve stability and lessen vibrations.
Simply hang your camera bag from the tripod so it hangs down between the three legs but doesn't touch the ground. This extra weight will greatly increase the "damping" of any tiny vibrations or shake or wind. And best of all, this technique costs you nothing.
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Some of you guys have this one and I'm guessing the bag is working out well for them. The rain cover included is also nice. Price is well, it is not too bad (affordable) I think it will be a good bag to start things off with.
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