[UncleVanya]

Aaarghhh, nooooo! Not more complications with tripod use! All the real experts agree the only way is to spend the price of a secondhand car on some exotic confection which will hold your camera and 800mm so tightly not even a nuclear explosion will disturb it, all the while allowing adjustment between ground level and further than you can reach using stilts.

Use something properly sturdy in both tripod and ballhead departments. Or cast a 1/4" screw end into a cubic yard of concrete – takes an earthquake to wobble it, but not terribly portable without a forklift truck.

Just kidding, I'm going back to bed now.

Not too far off from the Astrophotography telescope folks. I have seen buildings with the floor cut out to permit a concrete pillar to come out of the ground in a foundation of nearly that size.

[southlander]

With larger lenses without their own tripod feet I have used a nodal slide to get the weight of the camera/lens combination balanced on the ball head. Particularly helpful when using a monopod.


In particular, this makes using the M*300/4 a much more pleasant experience.,

[bobbotron]

Aaarghhh, nooooo! Not more complications with tripod use! All the real experts agree the only way is to spend the price of a secondhand car on some exotic confection which will hold your camera and 800mm so tightly not even a nuclear explosion will disturb it, all the while allowing adjustment between ground level and further than you can reach using stilts.

Use something properly sturdy in both tripod and ballhead departments. Or cast a 1/4" screw end into a cubic yard of concrete – takes an earthquake to wobble it, but not terribly portable without a forklift truck.

Just kidding, I'm going back to bed now.

I love this comment.

[gaweidert]

I do own three ball heads but I am not a big fan of them. They are better than nothing. I use a gimbal head for the long lenses and a pan and tilt head for all the rest. I have standardized everything to Arca mounts and I have a few longer mounting plates so I can balance the setup i am using if needed.


Last year I picked up an old Tiltall tripod to give to my son. I had gotten him a nice spotting scope for Christmas that came with an inexpensive tripod but that old beast is just an awesome piece of gear. Rock solid support for the scope.

[parinya-ekparinya]

From my recent astrophotography, I have seen some photographers varied the height of the tripod legs to balance the centre of gravity for their camera and lens. Sometimes, they put tripod legs on different height, higher ground at the front leg. It seemed to me that they were after star trails. However, I'm not sure how much it helps, since I have never tried it myself.

I think it also depends on the situation and your shooting style. In my case, my heaviest lens is DA* 50-135mm, which isn't that heavy. I tend to experiment with the compositions and different lenses quite often so I don't do it. If someone, however, going to leave the setup outdoor in the same position for several hours, such as long exposure photography or star trails, it may be worth doing that.

[UncleVanya]

From my recent astrophotography, I have seen some photographers varied the height of the tripod legs to balance the centre of gravity for their camera and lens. Sometimes, they put tripod legs on different height, higher ground at the front leg. It seemed to me that they were after star trails. However, I'm not sure how much it helps, since I have never tried it myself.

I think it also depends on the situation and your shooting style. In my case, my heaviest lens is DA* 50-135mm, which isn't that heavy. I tend to experiment with the compositions and different lenses quite often so I don't do it. If someone, however, going to leave the setup outdoor in the same position for several hours, such as long exposure photography or star trails, it may be worth doing that.

With a star tracking mount it might help reduce stress on the motor.

[pentax360]

I wish I had a ballhead.

[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

Depends of the day and what I am doing, If I am doing night work I like to use an extension with some of my heavier lenses like 24 1.4 and the 15-30 to place the center mass of the lens and body over the center of the tripod and head, This insures a more stable setup for both photographing, needing to accommodate sag from a unbalanced weight when locking into position and limiting the rig from toppling.

When I can for longer lenses I will also employ the use of a gimble as it more effective in stability and ease of use with the lens and body are correctly balanced on the gimble head and tripod, This aid is how much resistance is needed to lock the lens into position and reduces the need for compensation of lens and body sag after locking the position.

[alvaro_garcia]

I normally don't use a tripod, but in such case I'd certainly balance the camera either with the bubble or with the electronic level through the viewfinder on my K1.

[anemone]

I have two rings which have 12.5 degree faces below my head. So if legs are uneven, I can compensate from zero to 25 degrees and turn them until bubble is in centre and then I lock them. The quick release plate has also long travel so that usually I get horizontal panning and easy tilt. With that heavy tripod the levelling is five seconds job.

But with something light weight, I don't bother.

[pjsaure]

I don't pay particular attention to balance when using wide or normal lenses since I got a Feisol CB50D. It clamps way stronger than needed, I don't even always lock the ball when using fast shutter speeds.
With my previous ballhead, yes, I tried to balance the equipment a bit to avoid droop.

[bienvenueici]

I'm not ready for that !