is this a good tripod combo

[kalster]

I dont use the tripod a whole lot , mostly coz i have a really generic one that I dont like.

Looking at this combo
Text

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: kalster
I dont use the tripod a whole lot , mostly coz i have a really generic one that I dont like.

Looking at this combo
Text

The 488RC2 will get you a panning thingy. I don't the 486RC2 does. Just keep that in mind. They are both excellent ballheads.

 

[Brainonska511]

I have that combination and it works well.

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: kalster
I dont use the tripod a whole lot , mostly coz i have a really generic one that I dont like.

Looking at this combo
Text

The 488RC2 will get you a panning thingy. I don't the 486RC2 does. Just keep that in mind. They are both excellent ballheads.

correct. I have that exact combo (190XPROB + 486RC2), and it works very well. the 486RC2 will just barely hold a 400mm f/2.8 and pro body at some very odd angles.

I'm thinking of getting a pan-tilt head for when I need precise single-axis adjustments, instead of the fast-adjusting 486 ball head, though I'll keep both.

Bogen-Manfrotto products are built very solidly. you do get what you pay for: they've got the build quality to match all the pro lenses and bodies from Nikon/Canon.

 

[jamesbond007]

Nice thread! When I was shooting the lunar eclipse, the handle used to move the head around on my cheapie tripod broke.

I bookmarked this to buy for later! I have some heavier glass and with this, shooting the moon and stars should give me a more reliable and stable tripod to work with. I currently have some kind of crappy Sunpak Pro $100 tripod - I don't use it much, but when you need one, they're very nice to have. There's nothing like having 5 figures of camera equipment stacked on top of a piece of crap!

~Travis

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
Nice thread! When I was shooting the lunar eclipse, the handle used to move the head around on my cheapie tripod broke.

I bookmarked this to buy for later! I have some heavier glass and with this, shooting the moon and stars should give me a more reliable and stable tripod to work with. I currently have some kind of crappy Sunpak Pro $100 tripod - I don't use it much, but when you need one, they're very nice to have. There's nothing like having 5 figures of camera equipment stacked on top of a piece of crap!

~Travis

If you're balancing extremely heavy glass on top (say a 400mm f/2.8 and 2xTC as I do) for astrophotography, I would get a pan/tilt head. The ball is just too unstable to adjust finely with that much weight balanced on top of it. It'll work (I do all that with a 486RC2), but a pan/tilt would only unlock one axis at a time.

 

[OdiN]

For a ballhead - I love this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/...p_Action_Ballhead.html

 

[PHiuR]

I have the 488RC2 and it's a great ball head. But after seeing a friend of mine with the grip ball head that Odin linked, I wouldn't mind owning that instead. It makes adjusting the camera slightly easier.

My tripod is a 3021BPRO and they're great legs for the price. Ofcourse, a Gitzo Carbon Fiber would be way cooler and lighter, but it's also several times the price of my current legs.

If you're looking for a monopod, I highly suggest the 682B, which I own as well, it's a great monopod, but on the heavy side. The cool thing about this stick is that it has a stand legs that unscrew out of the bottom and can turn the monopod into a light stand! (sb800/580ex/Q-flash, etc, not huge strobe heads).