Weigh your gear - round up to nearest pound - buy any Monfrotto/Bogen legs & head combo who's maximum weight capacity matches your gear's maximum weight. I like the ball head I got with my 3001BD tripod - current model is the 190XBD - no complaints. I wouldn't recommend a ball head for very heavy gear.
I'm not sure the giant lenses are going to be quick to set up or convenient to carry no matter what you end up with. My tripod works very well with for all my gear DSLR to MF TLR. I don't have any giant lenses though.
Good luck. Elias On Jun 20, 2010, at 12:51 AM, K W Hart wrote:
I'm looking for recomendations for a sturdy, yet portable tripod.Recently, I acquired a Canon FL-mount 1200mm lens. This lens is a giant! The tripod mounting is not really balanced, as this lens is part of a 'kit' of four lenses: 400mm, 600mm, 800mm, and 1200mm. The lens consists of a focusing unit, which has the tripod socket, and a head-end which determines it's focal length. It's well balanced for the two shorter lengths, but not really center-of-gravity for the two longer lengths.I tried mounting the 1200 on my old common tripod: three section tubular legs, about one inch diameter or less; and it just wasn't sturdy enough to support the lens. I mounted the lens on my studio camera stand with a Majestic geared head, and it held it perfectly, I got a great picture of the moon- razor sharp! But it took about a half-hour to drag the camera stand outside and set it up. (The moon picture and story about the shot is on my Facebook Notes page, www.Facebook.com/kwhart1 )What I'm looking for is something in the middle- easy and quick to set up, but very solid. Does such a set of sticks exist?Ken Hart= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ====================================================================== To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,) and unsubscribe from there.
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