Tripods for Pentaxians, Nightaxians, night, landscape: Episode 10 of the Nightaxians!

[KenElevenShadows]

 

 

Tripods for Pentaxians - The Nightaxians Episode 10

 

There's no such thing as the perfect tripod but there may be the perfect tripod for you. In this episode, we talk about the tripods we're using to help support the mighty Pentax K1 and the 15-30 lens during our long exposure shoots.

 

 

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

It was a good video!  I watched it last week.

 

I have an Induro CF tripod which folks on the P.O.T.N. forum were raving about a few years ago.  And a Kirk ball head.  I also have a couple old broken aluminum Bogen/Manfrotto tripods in the closet (which isn't unusual).

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, Lou Gehrig said:

It was a good video!  I watched it last week.

 

I have an Induro CF tripod which folks on the P.O.T.N. forum were raving about a few years ago.  And a Kirk ball head.  I also have a couple old broken aluminum Bogen/Manfrotto tripods in the closet (which isn't unusual).

My best (almost only) tripod is a well used and soundly battered Gitzo that I found at Goodwill for $15. 

It's not perfect but once you get it set it stays there. Kinda heavy, would not want to hike far with it. 

 

I've always had at least a pretty good heavy duty tripod, there are many photographs that cannot be successfully taken without one. 

That said, I used to shoot dance and unless you can control all aspects a tripod is your worst enemy. 

[KenElevenShadows]

8 hours ago, Lou Gehrig said:

It was a good video!  I watched it last week.

 

I have an Induro CF tripod which folks on the P.O.T.N. forum were raving about a few years ago.  And a Kirk ball head.  I also have a couple old broken aluminum Bogen/Manfrotto tripods in the closet (which isn't unusual).

 

I've heard good things about Induro. Early on, they featured some of my photos on their website. These were some long exposure photos I did about ten years ago when I was first starting out and hadn't really done night photography yet but was already dabbling in long exposure. They were super nice, and I was surprised that they wanted to feature my stuff even though I didn't even use Induro. At the time, I only had a Joby Gorillapod.

 

Anyway, that and Kirk should be a great combination. Tripods are one of those things which are better to purchase once and just be done with it, getting a good one instead of cheap ones that keep breaking or don't do what they should. That said, there's more and far better inexpensive tripods than there were ten years ago.

6 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

My best (almost only) tripod is a well used and soundly battered Gitzo that I found at Goodwill for $15. 

It's not perfect but once you get it set it stays there. Kinda heavy, would not want to hike far with it. 

 

I've always had at least a pretty good heavy duty tripod, there are many photographs that cannot be successfully taken without one. 

That said, I used to shoot dance and unless you can control all aspects a tripod is your worst enemy. 

 

SCORE!!!!!

 

There certainly are some photos that are impossible or at least far more challenging to create without a good heavy-duty tripod.

[KuruPrionz]

Just now, KenElevenShadows said:

 

I've heard good things about Induro. Early on, they featured some of my photos on their website. These were some long exposure photos I did about ten years ago when I was first starting out and hadn't really done night photography yet but was already dabbling in long exposure. They were super nice, and I was surprised that they wanted to feature my stuff even though I didn't even use Induro. At the time, I only had a Joby Gorillapod.

 

Anyway, that and Kirk should be a great combination. Tripods are one of those things which are better to purchase once and just be done with it, getting a good one instead of cheap ones that keep breaking or don't do what they should. That said, there's more and far better inexpensive tripods than there were ten years ago.

 

SCORE!!!!!

 

There certainly are some photos that are impossible or at least far more challenging to create without a good heavy-duty tripod.

Yep, as soon as I saw it I put it in my cart. Then I took a better look at it, nothing broken, all the legs and head adjustments loosen and tighten. 

It's been through war but it survived and that says a lot. 

 

I think after camera and lens, tripod is your most important purchase for photography. I've used some less than wonderful ones, done with that. 

I've had some pretty good ones, the Bogen-Manfrotto tripods that DON'T have the old fashioned style twist to tighten and loosen the legs dealies are pretty decent, the ones with the plastic "wing nuts" not so much. Not a fan of camera plates either, I probably just never used a really good one. The Gitzo is a "screw your camera firmly to the tripod base" type, once it's on there it's not going anywhere. 

 

I also shoot action and a tripod will interfere with progress there. Different world. 

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

7 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

....the Bogen-Manfrotto tripods that DON'T have the old fashioned style twist to tighten and loosen the legs dealies are pretty decent, the ones with the plastic "wing nuts" not so much.

Yep, the leg clamps and locks are their weak points.  Partly my fault; I probably shouldn't leave it in my car when it is ten below zero at night.  It's never a good feeling when you're setting up the tripod and one of the leg sections falls out and lands on the ground.  Apparently aluminum and plastic get brittle in the cold!

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, Lou Gehrig said:

Yep, the leg clamps and locks are their weak points.  Partly my fault; I probably shouldn't leave it in my car when it is ten below zero at night.  It's never a good feeling when you're setting up the tripod and one of the leg sections falls out and lands on the ground.  Apparently aluminum and plastic get brittle in the cold!

Yes and they both change size at different ratios. Aluminum can change dimensions considerably based on temperature, it shrinks when cold and expands when warm. Plastics may or may not do the same thing but not by the same amount and since the aluminum is tubing with thin walls and the plastic is otherwise, that's a factor too. 

 

I've also heard good things about the Enduro gear and the Kirk gear. Not in my budget right now, I'll be fine with the Gitzo, beat up though it is. In a way, that is testimony to durability, it's been to Hell and back and still works as it should. Most tripods would be long since in the dump. 

[KenElevenShadows]

13 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

Yep, as soon as I saw it I put it in my cart. Then I took a better look at it, nothing broken, all the legs and head adjustments loosen and tighten. 

It's been through war but it survived and that says a lot. 

 

I think after camera and lens, tripod is your most important purchase for photography. I've used some less than wonderful ones, done with that. 

I've had some pretty good ones, the Bogen-Manfrotto tripods that DON'T have the old fashioned style twist to tighten and loosen the legs dealies are pretty decent, the ones with the plastic "wing nuts" not so much. Not a fan of camera plates either, I probably just never used a really good one. The Gitzo is a "screw your camera firmly to the tripod base" type, once it's on there it's not going anywhere. 

 

I also shoot action and a tripod will interfere with progress there. Different world. 

 

I have an L-Bracket on my camera. It's a plate, yes, but it's a very useful one. I can switch from landscape to portrait orientation instantly without having to move and re-align the ball head or throw my tripod/ball head out of balance.

3 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

Yes and they both change size at different ratios. Aluminum can change dimensions considerably based on temperature, it shrinks when cold and expands when warm. Plastics may or may not do the same thing but not by the same amount and since the aluminum is tubing with thin walls and the plastic is otherwise, that's a factor too. 

 

I've also heard good things about the Enduro gear and the Kirk gear. Not in my budget right now, I'll be fine with the Gitzo, beat up though it is. In a way, that is testimony to durability, it's been to Hell and back and still works as it should. Most tripods would be long since in the dump. 

 

Well, Gitzo is not exactly "settling for something". They make good stuff.