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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
03-30-2018, 02:58 PM
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Look at the Tiltall carbon fiber tripod legs, which B&H sell for $289.
Tiltall Tripod TC-224 Carbon Fiber Tripod TC-224 B&H Photo Video
These are reasonably stiff and of decent quality. With a four-section leg, it should gold up pretty small, and it only weighs 2 pounds for the legs. You also unscrew one leg and use it as a monopod.
Then, choose any three-way pan-tilt head, which will be stiff per dollar than ball heads. Not as compact, but there are good choices well under $100. Don't get a cheap ball-head.
The ThinkTank bag I pictured was about $130 or something like that, but it's certainly not the least expensive alternative, nor is it the most.
Rick "don't extend the center column in use" Denney
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
03-27-2018, 10:06 AM
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To be honest, you are presenting a difficult set of requirements, and when you throw a budget price in there, then you will leave some requirements unfulfilled.
For $100--150, you might find an old set of Manfrotto/Bogen legs like the 3050 with the three-way 3047 head, and that would be more than sturdy enough for long-exposure night shots. But it is heavy, too long when folded for most checked bags (though I've put one in a duffle bag), and a beast to carry. I have three of them for large-format cameras.
You might find preowned a similarly priced Manfrotto/Bogen 3221 with a head on it, and it will be small enough for your bag and not too heavy, but it will not hold your camera still for a time exposure unless you are very lucky.
The best hundred-dollar tripod will probably be something like a pre-owned Tiltall, if you can find one. They don't fold up that small, but they are reasonably light and reasonably stiff. That would be the minimum tripod for a time exposure with a 645 camera.
If you can spend more, a Manfrotto 055 is probably a reasonable compromise. I have an 055CXPro with carbon legs that is fine for general stuff but it is inadequate for my 67 by itself, and I usually damp it with my hand to weight it down, and avoid certain shutter speeds. Those tricks don't work with time exposures. The 645z is a bit lighter and certainly with better damping, but we look at the image enlarged 42 times on our screens, too. That tripod is about the same size folded as the Gitzo, but it isn't anywhere near as stiff, nor is as light. B&H sells it with a Manfrotto ball-head (with which I have no experience) for a little over $400.
I would find a local camera store that sells pre-owned stuff, or shop ebay. I paid about half price for those Gitzo legs, and about $200 for the Arca Monoball by purchasing them pre-owned.
I would also invest in a remote release.
Rick "Compact, light, stiff, cheap--pick any three" Denney
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
03-20-2018, 07:03 PM
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That is an international weight limit that never in my experience has been checked My briefcase weighs every bit of 25 pounds (13Kg) and I've flown over a million miles, domestic and international, while carrying it as my personal item. My carry-on suitcase is a rolling bag identical to the aluminum-framed bags used by many pilots, and it weighs 15 pounds empty. I've carried three reams of paper in various notebooks in that, plus clothes and essentials. No problem with it in London, Geneva, Dubai, Sao Paolo, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Auckland, Cairns, Toronto, Montreal, and every major US city plus a good many minor ones.
But I try hard to avoid making it look heavy when I handle it. :)
Rick "whose luggage provides a fairly frequent upper-body workout" Denney
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
03-20-2018, 04:04 PM
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This ThinkTank Streetwalker Pro (closely enough) meets United’s “personal item” size requirements, and will hold a 645z, 3 lenses (plus a long lens—400 in this pic—on the camera), and a flash:
(An NII is posing as not-yet-arrived 645z.)
The other lenses will be wrapped in clothes and put in my rolling bag along with essentials. Remaining clothes and tripod will go in a checked bag.
The tripod is a Gitzo Mountaineer 3532, which packs compactly in a checked bag. The Arca Monoball is heavy but stable and compact. I remove the head and pack it separately, if necessary. You can also use it as a gimbal head.
It’s expensive, but has the highest stability/weight ratio I’ve ever experienced. I replaced the feet with those that have spikes exposed by screwing in the rubber feet.
For long lenses, stick with a high shutter speed and adjust ISO as needed. That’s one of the great advantages of the 645z.
This is all part of a kit I will take to Alaska this year.
For traveling with a 6x7, I use a Lowepro Photo Trekker classic as my main carry-on, plus a briefcase (no briefcase going to Alaska). Again, the tripod goes in a checked bag.
Rick “who seems to have a different bag for every travel situation” Denney
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