Looking for some super telephoto help

[tsjanik]

Beautiful shots Tom! Thank so much that was very helpful information! It that the RRS Long Lens Support system?

Thanks Greg. The lens support is something I cobbled together. Mine has three contact points: the lens barrel, the lens foot, and the camera body.
Although quite rigid, the unaddressed weak point is the ball head around which the entire assembly can rotate (even when tight). This can be solved by the addition of a Manfrotto long lens support which attaches to the portrait lens plate on the Pentax (L bracket needed for other bodies) and a tripod leg Long Lens Support - 359 | Manfrotto Global
Awkward, but effective, makes the 400mm much more attractive.

My Rube Goldberg device:

_IGP1179 by tsjanik47, on Flickr

 

[algrove]

Tom
Quite the rig if I say so. Would not the A-S Cube be about the best support since it does use a ball head?

 

[tsjanik]

Yes Lou, I'm sure a cube would be better, but I don't have one. . Frankly, at this point, I am considering migrating to a smaller system with a lighter, image-stabilized, long lens. I just can't break my fondness for the MF stuff.

 

[algrove]

I know the scenario. Hassy SWC and 503 CW with P45+ then up to IQ3100 and then up some more to IQ4150 down to GFX 50R then up to GFX 100S and now XT-5. Tried some Sony gear in there too as well as Canon 5D3 kit and Pentax Z 645 gear. The one constant Leica M gear and Q1 and Q2.

 

[John_McMaster]

Would not the A-S Cube be about the best support since it does use a ball head?

I find my Cube not to be the best if there is a fair weight a distance from it, too much leverage. I use a Wimberley gimbal head with my long lenses....

john

 

[vjbelle]

I have found my cube to be unstable if weight is not distributed evenly. If front or rear weight bias is there the cube can actually sag. I find an Arca Z ballhead to be more stable.

Victor B.

 

[DNN]

With longer lenses, such as the Pentax 645 600mm EDIF, or Canon "big whites" or Sony GM long lenses or Fuji GF 250/1.4x or other, the on of the best choices has always been a Whimberley head ( https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/404536-REG/Wimberley_WH_200_Gimbal_Type_Tripod_Head.html ). It accepts an arca-style plate and allows perfect balance of weight over the head while allowing full movement on the head. It allows the head to remain untightened, unlike a ball head. And for those that want to support the camera, central lens balancing point and the far end of the long lens you can use the setup show in tsjanik's post since the rail is arca style. I know of none of my other wildlife photographer friends using long lenses that advocate any ball head ( other than the flex-shooter which has the same capabilities as the Whimberley) flexshooter--> https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1623682-REG/flexshooter_fs02011_flexshooter_pro_lever_ballhead.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI:6879&gclid=CjwKCAiA0JKfBhBIEiwAPhZXD5D2bQnbxQp5XpGIUsC0TPIJMNxs17X-LEbcUIRI00BTdtqP1U45_hoCbnoQAvD_BwE. I have several of both types and prefer the Whimberley.

 

[jng]

With longer lenses, such as the Pentax 645 600mm EDIF, or Canon "big whites" or Sony GM long lenses or Fuji GF 250/1.4x or other, the on of the best choices has always been a Whimberley head ( https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/404536-REG/Wimberley_WH_200_Gimbal_Type_Tripod_Head.html ). It accepts an arca-style plate and allows perfect balance of weight over the head while allowing full movement on the head. It allows the head to remain untightened, unlike a ball head. And for those that want to support the camera, central lens balancing point and the far end of the long lens you can use the setup show in tsjanik's post since the rail is arca style. I know of none of my other wildlife photographer friends using long lenses that advocate any ball head ( other than the flex-shooter which has the same capabilities as the Whimberley) flexshooter--> https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1623682-REG/flexshooter_fs02011_flexshooter_pro_lever_ballhead.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI:6879&gclid=CjwKCAiA0JKfBhBIEiwAPhZXD5D2bQnbxQp5XpGIUsC0TPIJMNxs17X-LEbcUIRI00BTdtqP1U45_hoCbnoQAvD_BwE. I have several of both types and prefer the Whimberley.

Interesting suggestion. I know more than a few wildlife photographers who use a Wimberley for their long lens work requiring rapid changes in positioning that typically involve fast shutter speeds, for example to capture birds in flight. Is the Wimberley stable enough for e.g. a 2-minute exposure (critical for my use cases)? Regarding the Cube, as long as the mass of my long lens + camera contraption is more or less centered over the Cube, the support is rock solid (enough for 2-minute exposures using a 490mm lens) with no issues in terms of drift. For landscape work, the precision and stability of the Cube are far superior to what one can attain with a conventional ball head. YMMV, of course. I'm curious how the Wimberley does for long exposure, landscape use cases.

John

 

[DNN]

Interesting suggestion. I know more than a few wildlife photographers who use a Wimberley for their long lens work requiring rapid changes in positioning that typically involve fast shutter speeds, for example to capture birds in flight. Is the Wimberley stable enough for e.g. a 2-minute exposure (critical for my use cases)? Regarding the Cube, as long as the mass of my long lens + camera contraption is more or less centered over the Cube, the support is rock solid (enough for 2-minute exposures using a 490mm lens) with no issues in terms of drift. For landscape work, the precision and stability of the Cube are far superior to what one can attain with a conventional ball head. YMMV, of course. I'm curious how the Wimberley does for long exposure, landscape use cases.

John

Yes it is stable enough - it locks down solidly after you have positioned it - no different that any other head. Its just easier to position than a standard ball head. I have used it in landscape for long distance images and have done it reliably at blue hour with long exposures. (including Canon 800mm and Sony 600mm and GFX100/250mm+1.4 or 645 Pentax 600 lenses). it does not drift if locked down. Of course with any long lens on any tripod head, wind can be a factor.