tripod - heavy lens - trouble

[stanislaw32]

I am a big fan of night photography.
See e.g. here:
http://www.trekearth.com/members/mkamionka/photos/
I think I learned to produce pretty good pictures having simple camera (EOS300, EOS350d).
my trouble began when I decided to upgrade.
I bought EOS450d and then 17-85mm lens.
The tripod which I used was always the lightest cheapest smallest tripod which worked out perfectly and was great for travel.
I think the new lens is pretty heavy and destabilizing the whole camera.
I performed some tests with same camera using this new lens and some old simple lenses.
The shots with old simple lens (EF 80-200mm II)
are ALL very sharp.
The shots with the new heavy lens (EF-S 17-85mm IS USM) are in most cases not sharp. I took about ten consecutive shots and out of ten 1 or 2 are satisfactory but never as good as with the simple lens.

Now the paradox is that upgrading the lens I get much better pictures in the daylight but much worse at night (which are my favorites).

I am very curious if anybody had a similar case.
Is everybody using heavy tripods?
What are your favorites?
Are there some heavy tripods which are not necessary
very expensive?

Alternatively I think about taking for the night photos the lighter simpler lenses but for the travel I would need to take two versions of each lens.

I would appreciate your advice.

 

[Overread]

yep if your using heavier kit at night when you need longer shutter speeds a light tripod might end up causing you problems. The thing is to get more stability you need a lower centre of gravity - with a light tripod and heavy camera and lens all the weight is at the top - making it unstable - that means you need more weight lower down which can be done 2 ways:

1) Get a better tripod - cheapy tripods are good and light and setup really quick, but they are no good for trusting to freestand I find. A good solid tripod (look at the manfrotto range - the 190 range is a good cheaper solid tripod - though you will need a head - manfrotto 3way head should be good for landscape sorts of work)

2) Hang weights on the tripod - most tripods have a hook where you can hang additional weights off (like your camera bag ) however with the lighter models even this might not be that stable since leg angles are usually fixed and quite close to the middle - meaning that weight is not as spread out and stable.

 

[kundalini]

You didn't mention it but three words of advice as an adjunct to Overread's .....

Remote Shutter Release

 

[Overread]

oh and you reminded me of another - Mirror lockup mode!
check your manual for details on how to set and use this option!

 

[stanislaw32]

Thanks for the advice.
I really appreciate it.

I do use remote control.
In the past cable, now really remote.

I thought about this mirror lockup, and also the other option which is supposed to record the picture for the second time with shutter closed to remove the noise.
However I never did those things before and the pictures were great (in my opinion ).
Also when I tested the light (here means not heavy) lenses the sharpness was really stunning so I figured these settings do not change much.

I think I will try to hang something on my tripod next time just out of curiosity. However I don't know how to do it because there is no hanger provided, but I will think of something.
But if it does not help I will buy something heavier.
The company which you suggested, Manfrotto, has really a big choice and there is a guide how to choose a suitable tripod and head.
Thanks a lot!