Tripod heads, confused.

[SCraig]

If your left hand is over the tripod collar of the lens, as you said, how does your index finger reach down to the large lever without moving your hand off the collar? Maybe you could post a video of that? I may have to switch ball heads!

No, I don't do video. I'm quite sure you can figure it out given time though.

 

[Buckster]

If your left hand is over the tripod collar of the lens, as you said, how does your index finger reach down to the large lever without moving your hand off the collar? Maybe you could post a video of that? I may have to switch ball heads!

No, I don't do video. I'm quite sure you can figure it out given time though.

Maybe if I had the head, I could. But I'm not about to buy it without knowing first. If not video, then just have your assistant take two photos showing the two index finger positions, and that'll do fine.

 

[SCraig]

Maybe if I had the head, I could. But I'm not about to buy it without knowing first. If not video, then just have your assistant take two photos showing the two index finger positions, and that'll do fine.

Nope, no assistant either. I'm solo most of the time. Guess you're just going to have to work this out on your own.

 

[Buckster]

Maybe if I had the head, I could. But I'm not about to buy it without knowing first. If not video, then just have your assistant take two photos showing the two index finger positions, and that'll do fine.

Nope, no assistant either. I'm solo most of the time. Guess you're just going to have to work this out on your own.

Tell you what - I think I already worked it out, and that you can't demonstrate it because you're full of it.

I've played with long lenses on ball heads, which is why I went to gimbals for dealing with them. Unless your finger can bend unnaturally backwards on your hand, there's no way you can hold the collar ABOVE the head AND reach down with your index finger to control the head BELOW the lens - without moving your hand from it's hold on the lens collar.

Prove me wrong if you can, and I'll be happy to concede.

 

[SCraig]

Tell you what - I think I already worked it out, and that you can't demonstrate it because you're full of it.

I've played with long lenses on ball heads, which is why I went to gimbals for dealing with them. Unless your finger can bend unnaturally backwards on your hand, there's no way you can hold the collar ABOVE the head AND reach down with your index finger to control the head BELOW the lens - without moving your hand from it's hold on the lens collar.

Prove me wrong if you can, and I'll be happy to concede.

Whatever makes you feel good, Buckster. I personally don't really give a damn what you believe.

 

[Buckster]

Tell you what - I think I already worked it out, and that you can't demonstrate it because you're full of it.

I've played with long lenses on ball heads, which is why I went to gimbals for dealing with them. Unless your finger can bend unnaturally backwards on your hand, there's no way you can hold the collar ABOVE the head AND reach down with your index finger to control the head BELOW the lens - without moving your hand from it's hold on the lens collar.

Prove me wrong if you can, and I'll be happy to concede.

Whatever makes you feel good, Buckster. I personally don't really give a damn what you believe.

That's fine. I'll take that as confirmation that I'm correct.

 

[pixmedic]

I would show you guys where MY hand goes.... But it wouldnt be appropriate for this section of the forum. :-D

 

[412 Burgh]

Thank you all so much for the useful information. I was at work and came home to a magnitude of helpful insight and information about tripods. I will be looking around and trying to see if some of my photog friends have a tripod head I can test out or borrow for a little while! Thank you so much TPF!

 

[bratkinson]

Hopefully you won't go the route I did...but I got lucky. I bought a cheapo tripod 35 years ago that by todays standards, is quite sturdy. I used it primarily for when I was taking pictures of trains with two cameras, both mounted and ready. I put it all away until I got into digital photography about 10 years ago. I still have that trusty 'ol tripod...3 way tilt/flip/spin with a handle sticking out the back. Works great for the handful of times per year I use it.

About 5 years ago, I got a cheapo monopod, and a cheapo ball head to go with it for my Canon G5 point and shoot with a 550EX flash on top for use at church events. Did the job for the point and shoot. Until after a couple of upgrades to a 60D and L glass. Too heavy. So I upgraded the monopod, still in the lower end, but lightweight. Then I went to an L bracket for the flash, which necessitated a more heavy duty ball head, so I went with a Kirk. And a Kirk clamp now sits atop my tripod, on the same tilt/flip/spin head.

Two basic questions you have to ask yourself...Do you need/want a good strong setup (pricey$$$) or would something mid-range be more suitable. As mentioned above, you don't want several thousand dollars worth of equipment to be on 'shakey legs'. Be especially diligent to the weight maximums shown for tripods and heads. I figure about 10 pounds, or more capacity. No, I don't want to have 10 pounds on it, but a little overkill won't hurt.

Second, do you want to go to a quick-release system? L brackets are surprisingly expensive for what you get ($150-200ish). An L bracket is great for mounting flash and other hardware 'off camera' in addition to its quick landscape/portrait switching capabilities with an appropriate clamp. Or would a simple quick release mount on the bottom of your camera be sufficient? Note that without an L bracket, you're limited to tipping the camera on its side while mounted through the bottom hole with a tripod, regardless of head type. Unless you have a rock-steady tripod, it may become quite unstable due to the shifted center of gravity.

Unfortunately, a fact of life is that good, sturdy tripods and heads are not cheap. And if you buy cheap, you might end up having to buy a good one later on.

 

[emh]

I was only given the option to feel a pistol grip. I don't have a local camera shop in Western PA or I can't find one in Morgantown WV, which is close to my school. However I felt a pistol grip once and it felt really good. Felt like it wouldn't slip or fall due to weight.

One thing to consider about pistol grips is that they limit vertical movement. Because of the handle, you can only angle the camera up a few degrees in landscape orientation. This may or may not be a problem depending on intended usage (and, in some cases, you may be able to rotate the handle and angle up but that's awkward), but something to be aware of.