[Anvh]

You don't say what the application is

Second sentance

[timbo]

You can fit an head ontop of that i believe.

looks nice but not sure about it for macro though.

If I'm only spending that much on a quality tripod at the moment, I have no problems getting a separate one for macro when I get into that a bit more.

Do you think performance would suffer if I added a head to it? Not even sure if I'll want to, to be honest, but it would be good to know.

[dms]

My point about the application is really under what conditions--on concrete floor versus on sand/ground; macro where adjustments are very fine (you mention this in future as I recall) versus for stuff at infinity basically where careful/precise adjustments are less critical; plenty of time to set up vs. I want to get this shot and I have no time; and so on and on and on.

[timbo]

My point about the application is really under what conditions--on concrete floor versus on sand/ground; macro where adjustments are very fine (you mention this in future as I recall) versus for stuff at infinity basically where careful/precise adjustments are less critical; plenty of time to set up vs. I want to get this shot and I have no time; and so on and on and on.

Conditions - I don't expect to be too rough on it, but I would like to use it on dirt, sand, most things. Probably not game enough to use it in water yet though.

As for setting up, so far, I've enjoyed taking shots of things where I have time to compose, so speed isn't a huge issue.

[Louicio]

Some tripods have the ability to hang a bag of rocks/sand/your other gear underneath it adding weight and stability without carrying it around all day with the tripod.

[Anvh]

a head will have a negative effect but if you want to do more then shoot a single photo horizontal you will need it.
Think about ponarama for example and macro.

[halfspin]

The only thing I don't like about the Berlebach is the mounting screw knob. It's a pain in the ass to get a good grip on it to tighten or loosen. Direct camera mounting is by no means speedy. I have a pano head that I've used on it and once you get it locked tight (I used channel lock plyers) it's rock solid. I imagine if you get a quick release system attached to it you'd only have to worry about messing with it once. Another cool aspect of this tripod is the ability to turn it into a stylish floor lamp.

[Ben_Edict]

Thanks for the advice! Currently looking at the Berlebach 3032. It's pretty much what I had in mind.

Good choice. The Berlebachs have great reputation and are right in the tradition of old cinematography tripods. Anything that is good for film makes easy game out of photography.

And I don't share the opinion, that longer expsoure times would reduce the influence of vibrations. It doesn't even the short mirror slap at the beginning of an expsoure can be very clearly spotted in a photograph, depending on the subject. If you have for instance bright spots (stars, street lights etc.) within your field of view, the vibration might be very obvious.

Ben

[Anvh]

I indeed forgot about lights in the long exposure but for the rest the theorie and practice is sound.
Good thing is that you can use 2 second delay so you only have vibration of the shutter or use MLU

[Ben_Edict]

I indeed forgot about lights in the long exposure but for the rest the theorie and practice is sound.
Good thing is that you can use 2 second delay so you only have vibration of the shutter or use MLU

Shutter delay is certainly a good idea for long expsoures. But you shouldn't underestimate the time it takes for vibrations to roll off. It is of course totally dependent on the tripod/head combination and the load on top. With a longer lens, especially when unbalanced, like anything longer without its own tripod collar, the vibration might persist for 1/2 a second. Clearly the amplitude goes down, but it can visibly degrade the image.

For really long expsoures of several seconds the time-proven "hat trick" works wonders: Use "B", open the shutter, but hold a black objekt (the "hat") over the lens, without touching it, wait for three seconds or so, take the hat aside, count the seconds you need for the real expsoure and hold the hat again over the lens. Then you can close the shutter and have achieved the smoothest possible exposure. This is very helpful with long lenses, especially or whacky tripods.

Ben

[Anvh]

Something don't add up, you talk about 1/2 second that vibration might exist but the delay is 2 seconds before it takes an exposur more then enough time for any vibration to roll off according to your own words.
So... against what are you arguing?

[John Poirier]

If you want something sturdy, not cheap but not outrageously expensive, consider the Manfrotto 055 aluminum version. I've used 055s since the early 80s, and they have stood up extremely well in very bad conditions. Worst was probably shooting with a 4x5 studio camera in the Arctic in mid-winter. Temp colder than -35- not sure how much colder. No problem.

I'm partial to the basic pan/tilt head, although there are many other options. Was quite impressed with the joystick head in a brief trial.

For me one key thing about Manfrottos is the lever locks on the legs, which I find much easier to use than twist locks in bad weather. Lock tension is user adjustable.

[Ben_Edict]

Something don't add up, you talk about 1/2 second that vibration might exist but the delay is 2 seconds before it takes an exposur more then enough time for any vibration to roll off according to your own words.
So... against what are you arguing?

The 1/2s is just a medium length of time. The time for vibration dying out is different for any combination of tripod legs, head and camera kit on top. It can be anything... And in all honesty, the 2s delay of the Pentax DSLRs is too short, when using long lenses. I always preferred the old method of simply fixing the mirror in its upward position (MLU), as the LX or several Nikons offered. That is the best solution, in my eyes at least.

By the way, I am not argueing against you or anything you wrote, I am just emphasizing, that the approach Pentax nowadays offers is short of what would be very useful for long exposures.

Another point is wind. Even if wind is nothing nowhere near a storm, which would topple over a tripod (I have had that, even with a heavy tripod), it will introduce vibration. This induced vibration can of course not be eleminated bei shutter delay or the "hat trick". It can only be minimized by a very solid tripod/head-combination and a nicely balanced camera on top (to counter excessive torque).

Ben

[wombat2go]

My old light weight tripod broke last week, luckily it collapsed before the camera was on.
A little reading indicated that die cast aluminum has low fatigue resistance particularly if there is porosity in the metal and holes and sharp edges.
The broken metal shows both porosity and stress concentrators, also I was surprised by the thin cast section around the leg pivots.
The tripod had had a lot of use before I got it, and then I had overloaded it occasionally with MF camera before I bought a heavy duty one.

[Anvh]

The 1/2s is just a medium length of time. The time for vibration dying out is different for any combination of tripod legs, head and camera kit on top. It can be anything... And in all honesty, the 2s delay of the Pentax DSLRs is too short, when using long lenses. I always preferred the old method of simply fixing the mirror in its upward position (MLU), as the LX or several Nikons offered. That is the best solution, in my eyes at least.

By the way, I am not argueing against you or anything you wrote, I am just emphasizing, that the approach Pentax nowadays offers is short of what would be very useful for long exposures.

Sorry misunderstood you then.

Pentax offers MLU in the 645D and in the K7, K5, K5 mkII