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Tripod and filters
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I’m fairly new into advancing into photography and even less experienced with scenery shots, so I’d appreciate help in both of these things above.
I have only used a tripod for my telescope (for bird watching) and never used a tripod for photography. I’ve usually sufficed with alternatives (rocks, top of car, etc. for support). However, I plan on doing a driving and hiking tour around North America so would like to get a fairly decent tripod for my canon 650d camera and 70-300 lens, for all the scenery shots I’d like to take. To be honest, I know they are fairly basic, but I’m not sure what I should be looking for. Obviously I’d like something to be as compact and light as possible. I’ve looked into a few and the one that most shops seem to point me towards are one of the Manfrotto brands. Any ideas?
Also, I know filters help to make better scenery shots, but what ones should I be looking for? I tried to ask in the shops but that made me more confused. Any help much appreciated.
Thanks.
I’d be looking at getting something solid rather than light & compact. It should be rock steady & be able to support the weight of your camera and lens (+) without introducing any shake. I know that for travel, light and compact are more convenient, especially if hiking, but if it’s too flimsy to support your gear, it’s not worth carrying with you. Manfrotto, Giottos, Slik and many other manufacturers will have something that will suit. I’d recommend getting one with a pan & tilt head rather than a ball & socket head.
As for filters, a circular polariser & possibly a few neutral density graduated filters are the most popular for scenery.Thanks for that advise Miki. I was thinking of using it for hiking too but, in all fairness, I think I’d end up leaving it in the car for that kind of stuff, as the camera is difficult enough by itself to carry around with me. For the hiking, I could also use rocks, etc. for that. I am looking to spend anything up to about €120, but preferably less. I’ve been searching in some shops and online and it just seems to get me more confusing for me. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever learn. Any specific models you’d recommend? Even though i will probably use this mostly for landscape photography, my main interest is bird photography.
As for the filters, thanks for that advise too.
You will find it very hard to get anything decent for 120.00, I have a entry level Manfrotto and it has served me very well, it is aluminium and while not the lightest of tripods to carry it is not the heaviest, it includes a head (pan and tilt) and I think that is available for about 180 or so.
Tripods made of carbon fibre are way lighter but of course way more expensive! Expect to pay 300 or more for tripod legs and head.Filters as miki said, polariser for cutting down on glare on water or metal, it also enhances colour, these are screw on type so you will need one that fits your lens, if you have more than one lens with different thread sizes then buy for the biggest diameter and then get step rings to fit the smaller ones. ND filters are for cutting down on light to allow for longer shutter speeds, so if you wanted to get silky water effect in bright sun then ND’s allow you to do that. Graduated ND’s are for balancing out the light for instance if the sky were really bright and you wanted to keep the detail in the ground then the darker area would cover the sky leaving the bottom of the frame clear, so you would retain detail in both the sky and ground. These are slot in filters using holders and the filters are square or oblong, Cokin are the cheapest and widely available Lee are top of the range.
Thanks for that great explanation on the filters shutterbug. For once, I am actually starting to understand something. At least I feel some advancement. Thanks.
As for the tripod. To be honest, as I am just beginning to adventure further into photography, I’m a bit reluctant to spend too much on a tripod until I know what I want/need. I also never realised how difficult it was to shop for a tripod. I thought it was going to be more ‘basic’ than this…..but I already find my head muddled.
I appreciate if you, or anyone else, with more experience, could advise me on what would be a fairly decent one to get at entry level. I suppose, if I must, I may be able to up how much I am going to pay. As said, I’ll mostly be using it to experiment with scenery photography and maybe bird photography.
Thanks for any help now or/and after.
You could check out “Adverts.ie” or the “Equipment for sale” section here on PI for any used tripods that might suit your needs.
Yeah I had a search in those places and a few other sites. Taking your advice before, I looked at the three brands you mentioned.
Amongst others that I came across, a Giottos GYTL9213 Silk Road Series (€145) and a Manfrotto 190XPROB (€145) seem to stand out the most. I am not sure why they stood out. I suppose I just don’t know what I should be looking for. Also I noticed a Manfrotto 055XPROB (€150). However, as I kind of don’t want to go too much over €120, another one I liked was a Manfrotto MK294A3-D3RC2 (€124).
This is more difficult than I thought it would be. Would it be worth paying the extra for one of the other ones? The last time I used a tripod was several years ago, but that was only for my telescope, so I am totally lost here.
Both of the Manfrotto you mention the 190 and the 055 would be for legs only and you would then have to buy a head, the basic ball head that Manfrotto do is ok and I think is about €55, both of the legs would be good enough I don’t know how tall you are but they both go to a decent height. I think the 190 comes in a carbon fibre version also, though more expensive of course.
I’m glad you pointed that out. I actually never even noticed that it was only for the legs. I tried to get help off the guy in the shop yesterday but, to be honest, he wasn’t much good at helping me, so I thought I’d ask here. You’ve both been much better help. Thanks. I’m only a wee lad (180cm), so I’m sure any height will satisfy me. What about the Manfrotto MK294A3-D3RC2? It seems to get good reviews and seems to also include the head.
It seems fairly good in the reviews. Everyone will have different views on the suitability of a tripod & it really depends on the type of shooting you do. This one seems to be suitable for landscape shooting.
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