Best Tripod and what head should I use?

[Cage]

do you have any images posted with that combo.either on AP or elsewhere...if so could you post a link..im interested to ave a look mate

Have a look at my threads in our 'Bird' forum. http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...y.php?69-Birds

[Tommo1965]

thanks Kev..had a look through some of your more recent posts with the 300F4 attached..it looks great..also looks pretty darn good with the 1.4 TC ...have you had chance to use any other TC with the lens ?..ive a 1.7.. that's why I ask

[Cage]

Sorry Steve, only have the 1.4X and not really thinking of anything stronger.

[arthurking83]

Hi Tommo

Yes Mate, got the 300 f4 and the TC-14EII, and can't speak highly enough of either of them.

And re the above, just go to Live View, crank up the magnification, and see how much the camera vibrates when you just touch it, let alone activating the shutter.

Kev, haven't followed your 300/4 exploits in much detail(sorry) ..

But did you know that this lens is notorious as having the worst tripod collar of any Nikon lens.

There's much in the way of literature on the net about this issue, and a few good homemade bodge jobs exist in the form of helping to minimize camera shake to a degree.

One of the most popular, cheapest and quickest solutions is to wedge something between the tripod foot and the lens body.

Give that a go as a quickstop solution to see if it helps you in any way.

Better long term solutions are re-engineering the device with strategically placed reinforcements or total replacement of the tripod collar from a well known thirdparty manufacturer(such as Kirk).

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...... using a laser pointer fixed to my telephoto lens with a spot of removable wall putty and rubber bands, .....

The only problem with this method is, how do you know how much of the vibration is caused by the tripod/head or the connection of the laser pointer to the lens?

if the interface between laser pointer and lens is flexing, then even a totally rigid support system will still show some flex/vibration as connection between the laser pointer and lens could be flexing.


Each piece of gear is going to have an impact on the rigidity of the support system, and even the things you don't normally associate with camera support can impact on the outcome of a rigid vibration free image.

Something as simple as the flooring compositions .. ie. carpet, timber floor, solid concrete slab etc ... all impact on vibration in the total system.

I have a pretty old timber flooring system in my house and for undiluted testing of support systems, I usually operate the camera remotely from another room.
Sometimes I get the situation whereby just moving from one leg to another warps the floorboards enough to move the tripod and hence slightly move the framing. Granted this can only be seen in high magnification situations ... there lies the major point.

Judge the effectiveness of your gear based on the need to suitably support a specific camera/lens requirement.

[Cage]

[QUOTE=arthurking83;1127371]Kev, haven't followed your 300/4 exploits in much detail(sorry) ..

But did you know that this lens is notorious as having the worst tripod collar of any Nikon lens.

There's much in the way of literature on the net about this issue, and a few good homemade bodge jobs exist in the form of helping to minimize camera shake to a degree.

One of the most popular, cheapest and quickest solutions is to wedge something between the tripod foot and the lens body.
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Cheers Arthur.

I was aware of this problem before I bought the lens. However there is a consensus on a lot of forums that Nikon have addressed the problem, possibly by using a stiffer metal in the lens foot. I certainly haven't seen any evidence of vibration.

This is a shot I posted recently, about an 85% crop. I don't think the detail would be available if the lens mount was not firm.

This was shot with the bare 300mm off my Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 tripod and Markins Q10 head, using a cable remote.

[arthurking83]

[QUOTE=trublubiker;1127386]

......

I was aware of this problem before I bought the lens. However there is a consensus on a lot of forums that Nikon have addressed the problem, possibly by using a stiffer metal in the lens foot. I certainly haven't seen any evidence of vibration.

.......

I don't have this lens, and if I did I'd try this test for 'ya.

But apparently there is a critical shutter speed range where the issue is notable.

Try to do some shots in the 1/10 - 1/30s range using mirror lockup or exposure delay or even liveview as a reference point.

At higher shutter speeds(1/640s) you won't notice the issue. Just because you don't see the issue doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
But in saying that too, just because an issue exists doesn't necessarily mean it's a problem either. Your shooting style will dictate this.