boBQuincy
<font color=green>I am not carrying three pods<br>
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2002
- Messages
- 5,083
After chasing many a tripod problem, and reading that others are doing the same, maybe this will help.
We know that cheap tripods are usually either heavy or not sturdy, and that good tripods can be light and sturdy. But is it that simple, buy a good tripod and we are done? Not yet, there is still the interface between the camera and the tripod to consider.
Many camera mounting plates include a piece of rubber/cork between the metal plate and the camera. At first this seems like a good idea, cushion the camera and protect the finish. The problem is if the rubber is doing any good in that regard it is also providing a flexible interface between the camera and the tripod. This can, and does, allow movement of the camera. The energy that moves the mirror up and down has to go somewhere and this compressible interface is it's first stop.
Portrait orientation makes things much worse, the only thing holding the camera in position is the friction between the clamp, the rubber, and the camera. It doesn't take much before the camera starts to move downwards on it's own. Finally, how the plate mounts to the head is not always the best and many manufacturers have their own style.
V****n's small clamp is pretty bad so I modified one of their ballheads to take a Really Right Stuff clamp, much improved over the original clamp. The popular M*******o clamp is better but still has a very small area of engagement with the head, and also still has the dreaded rubber/cork piece. For portrait orientation neither of these are much good at all.
Screws/bolts are for clamping, not positioning, and indeed good camera plates do not rely on the 1/4-20 bolt to position the camera, only to hold the plate to the camera. Good camera plates can also cost as much as decent small tripods, no wonder so few use them. We already spent $300 on a set of legs, another $200 on a ballhead, and now you tell me I need to spend another $50-$125 for a camera plate?
Yes, if we want sharp photos. This doesn't mean we can't get sharp photos without all this, just that our success rate will be lower, *especially in portrait orientation* or with long lenses. Some camera plates come in the "L" style which makes it easy and secure to shift the camera to portrait mode. Some long lenses have a collar on which to mount a plate for better balance of the camera/lens assembly. It ain't easy and it ain't cheap!
But if we can't have it all then what is better, a cheap tripod with a good clamp & camera plate or a good tripod with a cheap clamp & plate? I tried the cheap plate route, a V****n with a small generic plate. It barely held the camera steady in landscape mode, portrait mode was a real challenge. Tightening the screw enough to hold the camera steady was difficult and scary. Then after a minute the cork/rubber piece compressed a bit more and the whole thing started to move again. Forced to make a choice I would go with the good clamp & plate first.
So yes, I (sometimes) use a $300 ballhead/clamp on a $100 tripod, but I don't put the ballhead in my checked luggage!
We know that cheap tripods are usually either heavy or not sturdy, and that good tripods can be light and sturdy. But is it that simple, buy a good tripod and we are done? Not yet, there is still the interface between the camera and the tripod to consider.
Many camera mounting plates include a piece of rubber/cork between the metal plate and the camera. At first this seems like a good idea, cushion the camera and protect the finish. The problem is if the rubber is doing any good in that regard it is also providing a flexible interface between the camera and the tripod. This can, and does, allow movement of the camera. The energy that moves the mirror up and down has to go somewhere and this compressible interface is it's first stop.
Portrait orientation makes things much worse, the only thing holding the camera in position is the friction between the clamp, the rubber, and the camera. It doesn't take much before the camera starts to move downwards on it's own. Finally, how the plate mounts to the head is not always the best and many manufacturers have their own style.
V****n's small clamp is pretty bad so I modified one of their ballheads to take a Really Right Stuff clamp, much improved over the original clamp. The popular M*******o clamp is better but still has a very small area of engagement with the head, and also still has the dreaded rubber/cork piece. For portrait orientation neither of these are much good at all.
Screws/bolts are for clamping, not positioning, and indeed good camera plates do not rely on the 1/4-20 bolt to position the camera, only to hold the plate to the camera. Good camera plates can also cost as much as decent small tripods, no wonder so few use them. We already spent $300 on a set of legs, another $200 on a ballhead, and now you tell me I need to spend another $50-$125 for a camera plate?
Yes, if we want sharp photos. This doesn't mean we can't get sharp photos without all this, just that our success rate will be lower, *especially in portrait orientation* or with long lenses. Some camera plates come in the "L" style which makes it easy and secure to shift the camera to portrait mode. Some long lenses have a collar on which to mount a plate for better balance of the camera/lens assembly. It ain't easy and it ain't cheap!
But if we can't have it all then what is better, a cheap tripod with a good clamp & camera plate or a good tripod with a cheap clamp & plate? I tried the cheap plate route, a V****n with a small generic plate. It barely held the camera steady in landscape mode, portrait mode was a real challenge. Tightening the screw enough to hold the camera steady was difficult and scary. Then after a minute the cork/rubber piece compressed a bit more and the whole thing started to move again. Forced to make a choice I would go with the good clamp & plate first.
So yes, I (sometimes) use a $300 ballhead/clamp on a $100 tripod, but I don't put the ballhead in my checked luggage!
i have a good but heavy tripod( imo cheap means cheaply made, so doesn't really mean cost, you have to pick what you want ease of carrying=good but expensive or sturdy but heavy to carry which doesn't affect the camera stability= good but less expensive... which is how i afforded a good tripod, it makes it hard on the user but still does the job
), a decent ball head (hmm heavy again) but do see the reasoning behind the clamp as well. the only thing i wonder about that is how does it attach? to the ball head?( don't remember from the link you posted in the tread about my camera/ lens deficiencies, which i still haven't tested due to "way to cold outside" factor ) my tripod has a panning head built in but i never use it due to the lack of vertical movement so unless it's straight ahead or far enough away it just doesn't point where i want it to.( i should read the directions again since i probably forget how to use it or something
