07-12-2016, 08:16 AM
How about a 2-way head?
I bought and still have a Benro Gimbal which I used fot the 150-600 Sports.
But.
It needs a couple of solid legs (Gitzo Systematic 4 with levelling base was good). And the Sports version already has a longer foot which I exchanged against the even longer TS-81 tripod foot. After levelling it worked pretty weel and was stable enough for moon shots. Downsides were the weight of Gimbal and legs, the transport in different bags, added to the alreday big backpack and I missed a damping possibility for horizontal turns.
At the time I had the Sports I was thinking about a 2-way head like a Gitzo GH 2720QR or something else with a damping hydraulic and a weight balancer or another type of adjustable friction. But the good ones are opposite of cheap and I would still have the "problem" to adjust the weight balancer every time I zoomed. This was necessary with the heavy Sports version because the front lens gives something to be balanced. Manfrotto also could have a good choice, like the Manfrotto MVH502AH. I once had Manfrotto 055 MAG PHOTO-MOVIE HEAD Q5, but that one is really only bluffing, neither really usable for photo or video and you would see the same effect of moving frame after adjusting.
To be really sure nothing moves after choosing the frame, I think a geared head would be the way to go, just because it always is tightened. It just has the disadvantage to be not fast enough to turn or tilt. I could use the Arca d4, but ompared to a Manfrotto MA 405 or MA 400 it is far too fragile. The Manfrotto MHXPRO-3WG could also work, but it's springs are not strong enough for long lenses. It is a wobbly geared head, but if you don't use long shutter speeds, that doesn't matter much. And to me, long shutter speeds AND long focal lengths are sort of contradictory.
I also used a tripod with a Arca Monoball which I tightened to "nearly fixed", but I found that awkward. As long as you have a place to put your equipment on and soemthing ese to lean the camera/lens/monopod against, okay.
I bought and still have a Benro Gimbal which I used fot the 150-600 Sports.
But.
It needs a couple of solid legs (Gitzo Systematic 4 with levelling base was good). And the Sports version already has a longer foot which I exchanged against the even longer TS-81 tripod foot. After levelling it worked pretty weel and was stable enough for moon shots. Downsides were the weight of Gimbal and legs, the transport in different bags, added to the alreday big backpack and I missed a damping possibility for horizontal turns.
At the time I had the Sports I was thinking about a 2-way head like a Gitzo GH 2720QR or something else with a damping hydraulic and a weight balancer or another type of adjustable friction. But the good ones are opposite of cheap and I would still have the "problem" to adjust the weight balancer every time I zoomed. This was necessary with the heavy Sports version because the front lens gives something to be balanced. Manfrotto also could have a good choice, like the Manfrotto MVH502AH. I once had Manfrotto 055 MAG PHOTO-MOVIE HEAD Q5, but that one is really only bluffing, neither really usable for photo or video and you would see the same effect of moving frame after adjusting.
To be really sure nothing moves after choosing the frame, I think a geared head would be the way to go, just because it always is tightened. It just has the disadvantage to be not fast enough to turn or tilt. I could use the Arca d4, but ompared to a Manfrotto MA 405 or MA 400 it is far too fragile. The Manfrotto MHXPRO-3WG could also work, but it's springs are not strong enough for long lenses. It is a wobbly geared head, but if you don't use long shutter speeds, that doesn't matter much. And to me, long shutter speeds AND long focal lengths are sort of contradictory.
I also used a tripod with a Arca Monoball which I tightened to "nearly fixed", but I found that awkward. As long as you have a place to put your equipment on and soemthing ese to lean the camera/lens/monopod against, okay.