Time lapse two part question

[Bonaireboy]

I've become very interested in time lapse photography. I plan on trying some out when jingo on vacation back to the island I grew up on next year.

So, question one. I've contemplated buying a netbook to shoot tethered so that I don't have to buy a ton of SDHC cards. Has anyone done this? My concern is that the transfer rate. Between the camera and computer may not be as fast as to he card. Before I buy a $300 netbook I'd like to be sure this method is feasible. Please feel free to tell me about your experience doing the same thing as well.

Question two. My Bogen 3021 tripod is a great tool, just a bit long for travel. What do you use when you travel?

Cheers!

 

[PWhite214]

If you are tethering with a USB cable, the communication is very fast, about the same as transferring files using a card reader. The WIFI cards that I have tried are extremely slow,the RAW files are so large. I have given up on them. I just put the tripod in my suitcase for air travel. I did have to remove the ball head. I always carry on my cameras and lenses. As an alternative, I have a clamp type support similar to this: Vanguard Ph 242 Tripod Ball Head Car Window Mount Clamp for Camera Lens | eBay.

Phil

 

[Bonaireboy]

I'll have to see if I've got a suitcase it'll fit in. To be honest, I think it'll be harder to sell my wife on me takin up the luggage space
I've got something like that too. It doesn't come with the ball head, just the window clamp. It might work. It's really windy on the island though. Enough to bounce your car, so I'm not sure it would be practical. I'll take that along anyways though. Never can hurt.
I'm trying to decide now if I just get the cheap netbook with a couple hundred Gb drive, or spend more on one that's got a Pentium or ADR processor so I can take Lightroom with me.

 

[Tailgunner]

I'll have to see if I've got a suitcase it'll fit in. To be honest, I think it'll be harder to sell my wife on me takin up the luggage space
I've got something like that too. It doesn't come with the ball head, just the window clamp. It might work. It's really windy on the island though. Enough to bounce your car, so I'm not sure it would be practical. I'll take that along anyways though. Never can hurt.
I'm trying to decide now if I just get the cheap netbook with a couple hundred Gb drive, or spend more on one that's got a Pentium or ADR processor so I can take Lightroom with me.

We travel a lot and my old aluminum Manfrotto tripod was killing me. It weighs 5lbs and only folded down to around 28 inches. I would have to pull the ball off or pull the center shaft just to fit it diagonally in my suit case. So I started researching travel tripods and came up with the MeFoto CF Globe Trotter. It weights only 3.8lbs and folds down to 16.1" with the ball head attached! It doesn't even take up the bottom length of my suit case. I can lay it either along the bottom or on the side. It's pretty stout as well even being made of Carbon Fiber although I highly recommend hanging the carry bag filled with rocks from the center shaft and lowering it on windy days. You can also pick up some cheap reusable sand bags on amazon for about $8. I shot a time-lapse of a storm with mild winds this way.

cf globe trotter | B&H Photo Video

 

[Bonaireboy]

I'll have to see if I've got a suitcase it'll fit in. To be honest, I think it'll be harder to sell my wife on me takin up the luggage space
I've got something like that too. It doesn't come with the ball head, just the window clamp. It might work. It's really windy on the island though. Enough to bounce your car, so I'm not sure it would be practical. I'll take that along anyways though. Never can hurt.
I'm trying to decide now if I just get the cheap netbook with a couple hundred Gb drive, or spend more on one that's got a Pentium or ADR processor so I can take Lightroom with me.

We travel a lot and my old aluminum Manfrotto tripod was killing me. It weighs 5lbs and only folded down to around 28 inches. I would have to pull the ball off or pull the center shaft just to fit it diagonally in my suit case. So I started researching travel tripods and came up with the MeFoto CF Globe Trotter. It weights only 3.8lbs and folds down to 16.1" with the ball head attached! It doesn't even take up the bottom length of my suit case. I can lay it either along the bottom or on the side. It's pretty stout as well even being made of Carbon Fiber although I highly recommend hanging the carry bag filled with rocks from the center shaft and lowering it on windy days. You can also pick up some cheap reusable sand bags on amazon for about $8. I shot a time-lapse of a storm with mild winds this way.

cf globe trotter | B&H Photo Video

weight isn't the biggest concern, although it's obviously important. The length is. It is a shame. I live the tripod because it's a tank, it's also as portable as one.

 

[astroNikon]

Get a cheap laptop and take Lightroom with you.
You'll end up looking at pictures (if you can) on the netbook and want to do something with them.

I use my laptop all the time if I go on a trip.
But I don't tether, I just import from the SD
Then when I get home I move the photos from the local HD to an external I have for all photos.

Back when the netbooks took the world by storm and the computer makers had laptops at the same price points .. I couldn't figure out why anyone would buy a netbook. Then the cheap laptops disappeared .... but now I have to think .. why get a netbook instead of a tablet ?

 

[KmH]

The more leg sections a tripod has, the less stable the tripod is.

The tripod linked to has 5 leg sections, but as Tailgunner notes, by extending only 3 or 4 of the leg sections and using the weight hook you can regain some of the stability forfeited by extending all 5 leg sections. Raising the center column also diminishes stability.