Tall Tripod and head

[Polar01]

Have not looked at the prices in sometime, I most likely purchased mine back in 2012 somewhere about $600.00 CDN from a dealer in British Columbia, Canada. Now I believe they now come out of the U.S. and have they ever gone up in price now $725.00 US from the dealer in the U.S.

Cheers: Allan

[DanK]

they said you need something like that.

I always get skeptical when someone says that I "need" something. When I was shopping for a tripod, I read things saying I "needed" a Gitzo. I didn't need one, although I would be happy if someone were to give me one. (PM me for a shipping address .) What needed was certain features, stability, and light weight, not one of the premier brands.

When I was shopping years ago, it seemed to me that there were three levels, roughly speaking:

1. Cheap stuff that you might as well not try.
2. High-quality intermediate brands, including Sirui--which is where you started, and one that I seriously considered.
3. High-end brands like Gitzo.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but I decided that for my needs, category 2 was fine. Category 3 was in some respects better, but not enough so to warrant paying anywhere from 2 to 4 times as much.

On the other hand, I found out the hard way that the difference between categories 2 and 3 for ball heads is quite noticeable. I bought a category 2 ball head and ended up replacing it with a Markins, which is category 3. If I am not mistaken, I paid more for the Markins than I did for my tripod legs. So for my particular uses, the "you need" stuff was actually on target for ball heads but not for legs. Again, your mileage may vary.

I have on rare occasions missed a shot because my tripod is lightweight, but usually hanging my camera bag from it is sufficient, and usually I don't need to do that. The shot below was a 7 minute exposure (just before midnight), central column up, with the tripod not weighted.

[Manfred M]

Mark - I own five different tripods and use all of them, but my Feisol / RRS combination is my go to setup, unless I have a very specific need. It is not the last one I bought, by the way. I also went through a similar spreadsheet needs requirements analysis like you and Dan

Unfortunately, there is no perfect "one size fits all" tripod and the reason I have that number is a combination of different needs and changes in what and how I shoot. My wife is also a photographer and there are times we shoot side-by-side using different tripods. My tripod needs have evolved; the first one was bought when I had a crop frame sensor camera and did not do shots that ran into multiple minutes and hours. When I progressed to a full-frame camera with heavy "pro" lenses, the smallest tripod was not sturdy enough to use, but it is still fine for use with my mFT mirrorless camera. It is quite small and light weight and fits inside my backpack for travel. It's all I had along when I was trekking in South Asia and working at high altitude. Weight did matter. It was the smallest Benro at the time I bought it.

The second tripod I have is actually my wife's. It's a bit larger and heavier and more suited to her 1.5 crop frame camera, although in a pinch, with a lighter lens, I can and do use it for my full-frame camera when size and weight matter. It's all I had along when we were traveling across South America last year for a month. Again, size and weight plus the fact that I only had one camera and lighter weight lens along. It's a medium size Benro that did not break the bank.

My third tripod is the Feisol / RRS comp. I originally bought it for studio work or work where I would be traveling by car. The initial analysis suggested that aluminum legs would be fine, but I also do a lot of night / golden hour /blue hour work in the winter and aluminum is marginal in those conditions, so I went with carbon fiber instead. The head analysis was much like Dan's. I had a couple of "B" heads with the Benro and I knew the downsides, especially for cold weather work or long exposure work. The Novoflex and Arca-Swiss were out of range price wise, but the RRS and Markins were the final two. Ball diameter and a few other minor issues had me go to the RRS BH-55. I do haul the darn thing all around the world, but it takes more planning and luggage to do so. I will disassemble it so it fits in my back (Allan's is very similar to the one I use, except he has one more segment that collapses; I wanted the larger diameter lower legs for that extra stiffness, versus portability as that tripod was also on my final list).

The other two tripods are specialty ones. I have a small Feisol carbon fibre tabletop tripod for closeup / still life work and an aluminum Libec video tripod with mid-level spreader and fluid head for serious video work.

[slclick]

Feisol. Underrated, tough as nails, economically prices and has a full range of heights and styles. I initially had a 'tall' RRS tripod but returned it since it just wan't tall enough. I got what I wanted, saved hundreds and have used it it many extreme climates and trips. I have done one field strip and it really didn't beed it in 5 years. I'm 6'1" and like my camera level high. Check them out!

[whited3]

Thanks slclick, I did check them out and they look great but here in the land of fires and denial they'd be >AUD$1,000 which is more than I can part with.

Feisol. Underrated, tough as nails, economically prices and has a full range of heights and styles. I initially had a 'tall' RRS tripod but returned it since it just wan't tall enough. I got what I wanted, saved hundreds and have used it it many extreme climates and trips. I have done one field strip and it really didn't beed it in 5 years. I'm 6'1" and like my camera level high. Check them out!

[whited3]

Thank you all for your input and suggestions.

Fit for purpose, quality, price are all considerations and in the end I went with the Surui W2204 tripod and Sunwayfoto GH-Pro II.

https://sirui-photo.com.au/product/s...rproof-tripod/
https://sunwayfoto.com.au/product/su...-2019-version/

[Manfred M]

I'm a little surprised that you went for a geared head.

That type of head tends to be used for still life and architectural photography.

[whited3]

I'm a little surprised that you went for a geared head.

That type of head tends to be used for still life and architectural photography.

Last year I spent some time with a professional landscape photographer who used the earlier version of this head. I was very impressed then and this new version looks better. Thinking about my on site work flow..............once the tripod is placed I may not move from there for some time. Fine tuning shots, panning and vertical tilt is about it.

[Manfred M]

Last year I spent some time with a professional landscape photographer who used the earlier version of this head. I was very impressed then and this new version looks better. Thinking about my on site work flow..............once the tripod is placed I may not move from there for some time. Fine tuning shots, panning and vertical tilt is about it.

Thanks - the main reason for my question is that this head is a significant departure from the FLM ball head you initially asked about and is a bit unusual a the primary head. I do own a geared head (a Benro GD3WH), but that is something I bought fairly recently primarily for still-life work.

[DanK]

Interesting. B&H doesn't stock this at this time.

The site doesn't seem to give the weight of the head. Do you know how much it weighs? My geared head, and old Manfrotto junior, weighed 1.22 kg before I converted the clamp to arca-swiss--probably a bit more now--and is massive. Manfred's Benro, which I think is what I would buy if I were doing it over, appears to be somewhat smaller and is much lighter: 870g. The Sunway looks like it might be in that range, just because it is quite compact. The Markins I use when I am out and about weighs about 500g.

I use mine entirely for macro work, where a difference of even 1 degree can ruin framing.

[whited3]

841g

https://sunwayfoto.com.au/product/su...-2019-version/

Interesting. B&H doesn't stock this at this time.

The site doesn't seem to give the weight of the head. Do you know how much it weighs? My geared head, and old Manfrotto junior, weighed 1.22 kg before I converted the clamp to arca-swiss--probably a bit more now--and is massive. Manfred's Benro, which I think is what I would buy if I were doing it over, appears to be somewhat smaller and is much lighter: 870g. The Sunway looks like it might be in that range, just because it is quite compact. The Markins I use when I am out and about weighs about 500g.

I use mine entirely for macro work, where a difference of even 1 degree can ruin framing.

[Manfred M]

Looks like my Benro head is a touch lighter (740 g) and has a higher capacity (6 kg).

I own the Sunwayfoto panning head that comes with the unit and use it for panos (with a long focus rail). My only negative comment is that some of the lubricating grease has seeped out of it between the factory and getting into my hands, so I had a bit of a cleanup job before I could use it. I was a bit concerned that the head might be too stiff to use in winter conditions (-25C and lower), but it ended up working quite well. Good value for what I paid for it.

[whited3]

Manfred,

My understanding is that the same grease issue is why the previous model of the gear head was taken off sale. This new one addresses that issue.

Looks like my Benro head is a touch lighter (740 g) and has a higher capacity (6 kg).

I own the Sunwayfoto panning head that comes with the unit and use it for panos (with a long focus rail). My only negative comment is that some of the lubricating grease has seeped out of it between the factory and getting into my hands, so I had a bit of a cleanup job before I could use it. I was a bit concerned that the head might be too stiff to use in winter conditions (-25C and lower), but it ended up working quite well. Good value for what I paid for it.