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02-12-2021, 11:52 AM   #1
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Rough country tripod

Using K-70 in remote areas for wildlife and distant landscapes. Heavy woods, elevations, water, sand, and so on. Think Rockies, swamps, deserts, etc. Need stability for distance and wildlife, but foolishly wishing for light weight (for obvious reasons) of a travel-type tripod. Wishful to stay below $300.00 but best fit more important. Anyone been down this road, their suggestions would be much appreciated.

02-12-2021, 02:10 PM - 2 Likes   #2
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Welcome Dave.

The Sirui T-025SK would fit your needs well. I have an earlier model and it has performed admirably even with heavier setups like the K-1 with DFA15-30 mounted.

By the way, I have moved this thread to the Accessories sub-forum.
02-12-2021, 02:25 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dave K Quote
Wishful to stay below $300.00
Is that for the legs only or legs + head?


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02-12-2021, 02:37 PM   #4
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This recent thread might be of interest...

A new travel tripod option - PentaxForums.com

Several popular travel tripods are discussed.


Steve

02-12-2021, 02:48 PM   #5
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I have the Sirui T-025SK. It does very well in calm to moderate wind conditions with the top section extended up (holds camera), otherwise if there is a clearly more than moderate wind, putting that top piece down to avoid camera shake during longer exposures may be a wise thing to do. It is portable and light, but well built and operates well. I have been using it with my K-3 II and Pentax 16-85 for longer exposures. The ball head is included. Below is a shortcut to the B and H offer for the tripod which also includes a rebate (listed below pricing area).

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1420914-REG/sirui_sut025sk_t_025sk_ca...7&sts=pi&pim=Y

There is also an offer at Amazon, please see below if interested.

https://www.amazon.com/Traveler-Ultralight-T-025SK-Tripod-Height/dp/B07JVCRX...3166702&sr=8-1

Last edited by C_Jones; 02-12-2021 at 03:00 PM.
02-12-2021, 04:13 PM - 1 Like   #6
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I have not needed it but the discontinued Benbo tripod is what I would use in your scenario. (I just take a table top tripod.) Benbo had two sizes (smaller for 35mm ) and two or three heights.
02-12-2021, 06:11 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dave K Quote
Using K-70 in remote areas for wildlife and distant landscapes. Heavy woods, elevations, water, sand, and so on. Think Rockies, swamps, deserts, etc. Need stability for distance and wildlife, but foolishly wishing for light weight (for obvious reasons) of a travel-type tripod. Wishful to stay below $300.00 but best fit more important. Anyone been down this road, their suggestions would be much appreciated.
I think what you're trying to say is that you're concerned about contamination getting inside the legs, so you want some mitigation for that, like the larger-diameter sections being on the bottom, or the legs being easy to disassemble?. But I don't think you'll get useful replies without saying what lens you're going to use and what height you require. For height you probably need to say the kind of head you're going to use, because some (like my ball heads!) lose a lot of height on verticals, while others (some pan heads) don't.

02-12-2021, 06:32 PM   #8
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Problem with recommending tripods is that the manufacturers change the models, so what is being recommended may not be available or is a different version now. So you may not find some of the suggestions but read the specs for tripods. To me one of the most important specs is load capacity. If your camera and lens weighs 10 pounds, you'll want a capacity of at least 20 pounds (in my opinion). And what else do you like? Leg locks, I like the twist type because I've only seen flip type break, someone else will probably have just the opposite experience. Quick Release system, I prefer to use the Arca swiss type, it's the only one that is really a standard and you can get cheaper plates because everyone makes them. A grip on at least one of the legs is nice too if you shoot in cold weather. There are so many good tripods out there, but there are even more bad ones.

Last year I got a Sirui T-1004SK T-S (aluminum) and also the Sirui C-10S Ball Head, both are capacity rated over 25 pounds. I have not used it a lot, but it is well built, light and sturdy, and came with a short center column, which helps to get really low. I would have liked a little bigger knobs on the ball head. I think these legs are now discontinued, since I bought them on a B&H Deal Zone deal. Watch for those deals when they are ready to put new models out.
02-12-2021, 08:19 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dave K Quote
Think Rockies, swamps, deserts, etc. Need stability for distance and wildlife, but foolishly wishing for light weight (for obvious reasons) of a travel-type tripod. Wishful to stay below $300.00 but best fit more important.
My wife and I use this INNOREL RT-85C with 44mm ballhead. We have 2 and use them with Sigma 50-500 lenses when we travel . They're rock steady (holds 55#) and weigh 5# each. Not multi day backpack weight, but easy to carry and pack for travel.
02-12-2021, 08:36 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by tibbitts Quote
I think what you're trying to say is that you're concerned about contamination getting inside the legs, so you want some mitigation for that, like the larger-diameter sections being on the bottom, or the legs being easy to disassemble?
In my region, it is not unusual for photographers to go wading to get waterfall or tumbling stream shots. As a result, old school hollow aluminum tripods with clamped leg sections are quite popular. Yes, I mean like the Bogen 3021/3020. Drape sand bags on the spider to dampen things a bit and you have a rough country monster. I had a chance to get one for about $35 dollars with head several years ago, but bought the head separate from the legs for $25. Silly, silly me...should have grabbed the pair for that price. They have become rather popular as of late and prices have risen, but something to consider if you see one back in the used gear section of a store.
Bogen 3021 at KEH

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/reviews/bogtri.html
Steve

Last edited by stevebrot; 02-12-2021 at 08:49 PM.
02-12-2021, 08:37 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dave K Quote
...Need stability for distance and wildlife...
Welcome to the forum, Dave. Which telephoto lens do you plan to use? Very long focal lengths need more stability (and more expensive tripods) than wider angle lenses.

I saw your "Hello" thread where you mentioned being away from photography and recently getting back with a K-70. Depending on how new you are in this return to photography, you may or may not be aware that the K-70 does well at high ISO. It might be feasible to increase ISO to get a fast enough shutter speed for handheld wildlife photos. If you are photographing wildlife in such dim light that ISO can't help enough, the tripod will let you take longer exposures, but the wildlife might move during that longer exposure.

Tripods can still be a useful tool, though. My tripods are used for night photography, plus daytime long exposures with a neutral density filter. In general, I can recommend Sirui for small travel tripods, and Manfrotto for larger tripods, because that's what I have experience with. They've held up well.
02-13-2021, 01:52 AM   #12
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I’d suggest whichever you settle on has an option for fitting spikes to the feet.
02-13-2021, 06:24 AM   #13
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I am going to offer a suggestion outside the box here.

If you are going to use a tripod, you have time to set up, you are not shooting spur of the moment.

So, what is the biggest issue on all tripods. Vibration, right. So as opposed to looking for a well built super light weight, stiff tripod, with the needs to work in really dirty conditions etc. Forget all that. Look at tripods that are easy to rig up to support weight from the center column. Then, either with a bean bag, or a small cloth/ net with corner attachments, fill it with rocks at the location and hang it from the center column. In a pinch, you could even hang your backpack from the column. Many tripod issues are resolved by simply adding weight to keep it stable.

Note, this is not necessarily a solution for super tele lenses, like the DA560, where the mass of the lens and camera lead to vibration or flexing of the head itself. Case in point, many gimbal heads have sufficient flex in the swing arm to induce vibration under the combined camera plus lens mass i the range of 5 kilos
02-13-2021, 10:41 AM   #14
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you may want to look at this part of the forums for information and reviews about tripods

Tripods and Rigging - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database
02-13-2021, 01:01 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
In my region, it is not unusual for photographers to go wading to get waterfall or tumbling stream shots. As a result, old school hollow aluminum tripods with clamped leg sections are quite popular. Yes, I mean like the Bogen 3021/3020. Drape sand bags on the spider to dampen things a bit and you have a rough country monster. I had a chance to get one for about $35 dollars with head several years ago, but bought the head separate from the legs for $25. Silly, silly me...should have grabbed the pair for that price. They have become rather popular as of late and prices have risen, but something to consider if you see one back in the used gear section of a store.
Bogen 3021 at KEH

Bogen Tripods - 3001, 3021, 3051, 3221 - Bob Atkins Photography
Steve
I'm surprised that those Bogens are popular for bad conditions; I think that at least some generations of 3021s use the same flip lock design as my 3036 and I'm not seeing that as especially good or bad for "rough country" use, unless you mean people are somewhat treating them as disposable tripods due to their age. I've done that with a couple of older tripods now that have suffered from salt water exposure. Unless you meticulously disassemble and clean most tripods after every use in salt water, they're going to deteriorate.
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