David wrote:
> I ordered my FA* 600 4.0 today & doing research on tripod/head combination to use
> with it. The largest tripod/head combination I now have is the Manfrotto 075/268
> (Bogen 3036/3038) which I know will not be adequate for this lens.
You're on the right track. I have used the 268 head with that lens and its not
adequate. Mind you, the 268 is as sturdy as any ball head out there so you should look
at other types of heads. I own the 229 pan/tilt head and a heavy duty Gitzo pan/tilt
head. However, pan tilt head are hopeless with such a front heavy lens. I've been
through the frustrating process of finding tripod/head combination that can really
support this lens. I'm using a Gitzo 505 tripod, which is adequate, but I hate Gitzo
tripods; they are ergonomic nightmares and don't hold up well for field use. I'm very
pleased with my Berlebach report tripod and plan to replace my Gitzo with either a
Berlebach UNI 6 or UNI 16.
It is a bit weird: in north America you'll find photographer touting ball heads or
gimbal heads for 600/4 lenses. However, you won't find them anywhere else. In Europe,
common wisdom says a ball head is useless for anything longer than 300mm and almost
every professional nature photgrapher in Europe use a fluid (video) head for a 600/4.
This is pretty much my experience as well and also in agreement by the law of physics.
The deciding parameter for a tripod system is mass coupling. Mass coupling is always
less than optimal for a long telephoto lens. A super telephoto has lot of mass
unevenly distributed along a certain lenght. Lots of this mass will be unsuported and
create problems regardless of head/tripod. The idea is to minimize those problems. A
Gimbal head like the Wimberly let 100% of the mass of the lens and camera hang under
the weight of gravity off-centre of the axis holding the head. A ball head try to keep
the whole thing up by a thin stem. A big fluid head will give you a large area of
support. In addition, they provide a handle that can be rotated and jammed underneath
the camera body. Apart from offering another point of support, this also jams and
locks all play in the bayonet mount and play between lens and converter, all this
while maintaining full mobility in stark contrast to those support arms. Another great
thing about fluid heads is that they won't flop. The better heads offers
counterbalancers so that the lens feels weightless and may even return to the central
position. A fluid head is mare steady loosened than other head locked. Needless to
say, a fluid head offer butter smooth panning in all directions.
Fritz Pølking in his "nature Photography" book says something like a Gitzo 400 or
bigger and a Manfrotto 116MKIII heavy duty fluid head are minimum requrements for a
600/4. I use the Manfrotto 503 fluid head which is a steal for what it offers. Its
borderline for whats usable with this lens but can be recommended if on a budget.
Niall Benvie in his book also strongly recommend fluid heads for longer telephotos.
If you choose a fluid head or a Gimbal head you should invest in a tripod with bowl so
that they are easy to level. Again I will recommend Berlebach UNI 6 or 16 (I haven't
seen or used them but I'll buy one anyway due to my very positive experience with
Berlebach; they way surpasses Manfrotto and Gitzo in all respects). Forget carbon
fiber tripods. They are mostly fashion items and anything but the heaviest of them
will be adequate. Nothing offers better strenth/weight/price ratio for tripods than
wooden ones. Again the Berlebach come into their own right.
Pål
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