Tripod head for NEX3 and hum a 300mm 2.8

[edodo]

Hi there folks!
Having a crush for takumars and ltm glasses I now have accumulated too much gear :bang:, mostly glass. And when I should have not, an incredible affair is passing by and..
I overdone it again, and I bought a 300mm 2.8 tokina manual focus only 😀. I want to tackle some astrophotography when funds allow and also some wild life. So I got to get the lens!
Thought I would use it with my newly acquired nex3 (cheap as hell). I have a nex 7 planned in some times.

What I love most about the nex is that it can use all the other makers! I haven't followed it but it must have been talked over and over again. All I have is an old pentax DS and I hate reflex-type cams, because I was traumatized by a canon eos 5 (film not 5D!).

So I am now in search for a good tripod head for that baby, my old manfrotto 190b which looks awesome is just not stable at all and heavy de plus. So I bought my first real tripod, a big carbon tripod, a bigo ballhead and that's where I misjudged the handling. A ball is not ideal, it is ok.. But when you have a smooth rotation it falls to the front or on the sides. And when you set it steady it is not smooth anymore! Or when you set it just smoothly right then your horizon is falling off as you move your frame!

I read much about gimbals head and I am keen to hear other nex users who played with one. But I fear that the manual focus, plus the gimbal gears, plus the shutter release all together make an impossible trio.

I was fancying the idea of using a panoramic gimbal set made of arca type plates and pan clamps but it seems not sturdy enough for field. Any idea? Those looks sexy but not solid enough and mostly expensive: (mounted on my ballhead would act as leveling base).

the 300mm 2.8 is only 2.8kg, so it's not the caliber of the 400mm 2.8 or the 600mm 4. In my eye a full gimbal set would be overkill, and is limited for my use and is really expensive.
I now wonder if this type of plate montage would hold my 300mm plus kenko TCs and nex all together at roughly 3.3kg. It could also act as a panorama head for my wide lenses and as a video head maybe. I have no experience with gimbals and the money.. Well, must be well spent so please inform newby me 🙂!

 

[Nokton48]

I just bought a Manfrotto Super Monoball Ballhead (for $100) last weekend, and sofar I like it. I can use it with my new 400mm F5.6 Apo Rokkor-X and 2X Apo Rokkor Converter. It works very well with this combo. And it also fits on my Nex-3 (effective 1200mm). It's quite smooth and completely sturdy, as well as being moderately adjustable.

 

[edodo]

What tripod do you use? Glad you are happy with your ballhead and nice lens! With my takumar 300mm 6.3 which is light but really really sloooow I couldn't get decent sharp shots with tc and old tripod. I am waiting for delivery of tripod but I already got the ballhead, it makes a world of differences from my kit tilt pan head, very sturdy! But not smooth for long telephoto lenses imho!

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

With a 300mm f/2.8, especially on your APS-sensor camera, the best would be a gimbal head. Wimberly is great but expensive. Adorama Flashpoint has one with good reviews.

 

[Nokton48]

What tripod do you use?

I am using a Manfrotto #3040 Tripod.

The Ballhead is a Manfrotto #3038.

And here is my new lens, so you can compare the size with yours:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280819056957?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[j j]

I struggle to see the point of a gimbal without autofocus. There are amazing things for following fast-moving targets, but with manual focus I would go for a sturdy ball head (just like in the old days pre-autofocus and pre-gimbal).

 

[edodo]

Thanks for the imput so far, I definetely would love to hear someone with a gimbal and a nex and how he's enjoying them together!

That is one big tripod Nokton48! Your lens is only 1.4Kg, it looks fairly small and the weight looks divided along the length of the lens, while my tokina 300mm 2.8 weight 2.8Kg, and the heavier part of the lens is the front with a big low dispersion element, that's a big piece of glass that front lens alone (112mm diameter):

One of the beauty of this lens is the internal focusing, making it extremely easy to manual focus, unlike any other tele I have used (manual focus legacy teles mostly) All it needs is a third of a turn to focus from 2.4m to infinity with barely one finger.

Focusing and the gimbal together seems challenging but as I am completely newbie with gimbal and never used one, I am still hoping someone been there, done that..

Here is my lens, it looks like this one:

 

[Nokton48]

I did examine firsthand the Wimberly Gimbal, at Midwest Photo Exchange last weekend. I liked it, but I did not like the price! (Nothing Against Midwest). $699 there, and add to that Arca-Swiss mounting plate, and you are up close to $800US. A Heavy tripod is best for really long lenses. My setup has no vibration at all, even when the head is loosened and aiming the camera/lens. So I am pleased so far.

So I went with the Manfrotto Superball for $100, and I already had the #3040 legs. Since I don't have autofocus, I wonder how fast and easy focusing would be (using the Wimberly), while tracking a moving object, like a bird. Have no experience with that. My lens also has internal focusing, and really solid and smooth.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-W...462?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19cd5fe9d6

 

[edodo]

Thanks for the link but I would rather buy used or third party for the gimbal because I don't see how am I going to finance a 600mm 4 anytime soon, this wonderfull gimbal need heavy glasses on it and my little 300mm 2.8 won't justify such an investment. So I may orientate myself towards sidekicks alikes. Really I feel that all the lenses are well on a ballhead until you go super tele!
I think I have a solution to a sidekick substitute, I would use a 8 inch arca plate with a pan base mounted on the top side supporting the lens collar that rotates. The 8" plate is held vertically by my ballhead.
This should do and will report of the final montage!

The superball is a nice piece of kit, I myself went for a mega sized ballhead, a benro B4. The size of this thing is huge just for the peace of mind, as I remembered reading what looks like a sound advice: buy the sturdier you can afford for your tripod!
Your tripod is sure looking very sturdy no worries I believe you, the mighty manfrottos are very much appreciated throughout the world for their performance. My old 190b was an entry level tripod even at the time, it was the just limit of the acceptable that means, it weights 1.5kg so yes for an alu it's very light even tiny! The tripod I chose is a 1.8Kg carbon w/o center column. Can't comment on this I don't have it yet.

 

[edodo]

I struggle to see the point of a gimbal without autofocus. There are amazing things for following fast-moving targets, but with manual focus I would go for a sturdy ball head (just like in the old days pre-autofocus and pre-gimbal).

Well if the gimbal makes framing easier, it would be time saved for manual focus.

 

[newspaperguy]

Here's my budget solution with a 300mm Oly Zuiko: (from the RFF gallery)

A Manfrotto ball head flopped over to its side, on a Ryes-type tripod.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=152548&ppuser=20714

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

I struggle to see the point of a gimbal without autofocus. There are amazing things for following fast-moving targets...

Yes, I know we aren't shooting birds in flight with a manual focus lens.

To me, a gimbal mount makes it easy to make small adjustments in framing a fixed target.

 

[Nokton48]

Now THAT is a tripod. That's one of those Bromwells, isn't it?

Actually I have an old Medium-Sized Zone VI made of wood, I'm going to rebuild it, when it warms up. You could fire a rocket launcher off of that thing, and it wouldn't budge or vibrate. I used it mainly for large format work, but I think it will work good with the Manfrotto Superball. Be real quick to setup, too😎


Hey Guys,
You might want to look at this. Apparently Wimberly is not too happy about the knockoffs coming out, copying their stuff:

http://www.mhwpc.org/blog_view.php?fr=bt&blog_id=47

Here's my budget solution with a 300mm Oly Zuiko: (from the RFF gallery)

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=152548&ppuser=20714

 

[kxl]

Unless you plan to shoot at long exposures, sounds like what you need is a monopod and one of the Manfrotto swivel tilt-heads. That's what I use with a NEX5 and a Canon FD 400mm.

I do have a Gimbal head as well, which I use with a tripod and a 500mm AFS lens on a D700 for birds in flight. I find the gimbal head less useful for a NEX body + long lens that you have to frame and focus using an LCD. The monopod plus swivel tilt head is just easier to manage with that set-up.

 

[Nokton48]

Oh I did forget to mention one thing. +1 on the Monopod (I have a Manfrotto).

What I learned from last weekend, hefting my new 400mm F5.6 Apo Rokkor-X, is that that is a -heavy- lens when holding it continuously in shooting position. My arms were very tired and sore after my weekend shooting test session. I felt like a weightlifter 😱

So, no more of that! My Manfrotto Monopod will solve that problem, when I don't need to tripod the camera. And I do shoot long exposures, when I am using 25ISO film, like I was doing last weekend.

 

[edodo]

Thanks for the advice on the monopod but I found out already how nice is a monopod with a big tele on it! Glad to hear your success with birds and nex5 with FD 400mm, I will try it too.

I used a manfrotto digital monopod as well with this 300mm 2.8 cause you cannot hand held it on the field, it's damn heavy. I just put the lens plate on top of the monopod and I saw that I needed a tilt head. I so bought this, a carbon 6 section monopod with a tilt head. Awaiting for it too. I wasn't trusting the digital monopod cause it's not made for a 4Kg combo on it!

The monopod will be useful in concerts/theater, it is such a stealthy setup as well as days when you don't want to bring along your tripod on long hikes or leisure hikes.

For me the good tripod is more for using for reaching shots with or without TC when dawn or dusk when you want that low light momentum with wild life and need a steady tripod.
I live next to a lake that is a bird reserve forbidden to the public cause its a military terrain. Birds are happy there as no man trespassing there, and I need at leat a 600mm or more to shoot those little friends from the bridge!
Also the tripod is needed for TC shots! I bought for 50€ a kenko pro 300 3X TC! I heard that it was tailor made for this particular lens the tokina atx 300mm 2.8 because kenko is i believe a branch of komura/tokina! At 900mm f8.4 better be prepared as for nex it's equivalent to 1350mm f8.4 bazooka whoohoo better have that sturdy tripod and head!

 

[Smiert Spionam]

That kind of panorama setup will be rather clunky when used as a pseudo-gimbal. For a 300/2.8 (especially when used with an NEX), a full gimbal head is not necessary, anyway. As an intermediate step, a Wimberley Sidekick handles very nicely.

 

[edodo]

Yup I am saving for a sidekick! Next christmas or birthday. Til then I am gonna content myself with an arca double dovetail plate+ panning clamp. Looks a lot like the micro Jobu sidekick alike but more versatile! I just use the panning clamp on my ball head and I can do perfect leveled pano!