Old Lessons Re-learned.

CT

CT

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Discovered a simple truth today...

My old knocked to buggery, heavy as lead Benbo 2 tripod is a lot more capable of supporting the 500mm than my all singing and dancing lightweight carbon fibre jobby. It's nearly 4 foot long closed - without a head, and weighs as much as the lens. :(

This was 500mm, 1/100 at f4 in atrocious light - 400 ISO

benbo2.jpg


The Gitzo is more than capable of doing the job if the shutter speed can be kept up, but the Benbo is a lot more capable of pushing the envelope. To think I was gonna sell it! :wacky:

It just goes to show there's nothing convenient about these lenses. :shrug:
 
This is probably the best I've seen of your new lens shots. The detailling is astonishing.

A little bit of tripod shake goes a long way....
 
Wow! Lovely shot! the details in that feathers is amazing. Not notmally a huge fan of bird shots etc, but this one is really amazing :) Good old big ass tripods :D
 
Not a great deal wrong with that Cedric ... (y)

Shame about the seed husk though ... :D




:p
 
I never was much of a cricket man. :D

I was a pretty fair batsman at school till they started using a hard ball! :LOL:
 
Amazing detail in that shot. Is it because the CF tripod is so light it's causing a bit of shake? If so, can you not sling some weights or a bag underneath it?
 
Hacker said:
Amazing detail in that shot. Is it because the CF tripod is so light it's causing a bit of shake? If so, can you not sling some weights or a bag underneath it?
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Pour moulten lead down the center of each leg. That should sort it. :D
 
Hacker said:
Amazing detail in that shot. Is it because the CF tripod is so light it's causing a bit of shake? If so, can you not sling some weights or a bag underneath it?
Click to expand...

It has a hook under the centre column for the purpose Colin, and whilst I haven't tried it, I'm sure it would make a difference. The truth is though that the Benbo is just heavier, far more rigid and able to carry this lens - in fact, you could mount large format cameras on it.

There's no escaping the fact that the lens camera combo is close to the weight capability of the pod and it shows. Just looking through the viewfinder on the Gitzo you see the image dithering around and it takes a while for the IS to steady it when you press the shutter button. Not so with the Benbo, there's hardly any perceptible dither and the IS stills it instantly.

The problem with these long lenses is there's such a huge amount of end to end vibration (up and down if that makes sense) due to the sheer length of the lens.

No perfect pod I'm afraid mate. I'll happily use the Gitzo when there's plenty of light and I can keep the shutter speed up ... the Benbo is a bitch to hump around. :D
 
Tell me something please CT ... or anyone ... is it purely tripod mounting ... and quality of ... that affects stability ... and therefore minimal blur from camera shake ... :shrug:

Why I hear you ask ... well immediately after firing the shutter ... at the longer end of 400mm + 1.4TC ... I can see considerable vibration through the lens to the subject ... can this be eliminated at all ... :thinking:

Guidance/comments much appreciated ... :D





:p
 
Venomator said:
Tell me something please CT ... or anyone ... is it purely tripod mounting ... and quality of ... that affects stability ... and therefore minimal blur from camera shake ... :shrug:

Why I hear you ask ... well immediately after firing the shutter ... at the longer end of 400mm + 1.4TC ... I can see considerable vibration through the lens to the subject ... can this be eliminated at all ... :thinking:

Guidance/comments much appreciated ... :D


:p
Click to expand...

The ideal tripod would I suppose be H section angle iron with all the joints welded up... hang on... that's my Benbo. :D

Heavier lenses just exploit every working clearance in the tripod - leg joints, shoulder joints, you name it. Then there's the natural 'give' or whip in the material which causes flexing. Longer lenses don't even have to be that heavy - the wind can set them dithering like blazes very easily.

Traditionally, with longer exposures on a tripod you'd use a cable release to avoid vibration, but just the mirror and shutter slap is enough to cause vibration which will ruin or take the edge off your sharpness, and it's impractical with moving subjects.

There's a technique with long lenses where you rest your left hand towards the front of the lens, which takes up any slack in the head and mount, and helps absorb mirror and shutter vibration, 400mm is still 'long' Rog, so this is something you should try. I'll try to find a link for you.

Regardless of the quality of the tripod you should really avoid having the centre column raised at all if you can help it, as the further it's raised, the 'whippier' it becomes. If you have to raise it, then the faster the shutter speed you can use the better.

Dunno if that helps Rog? :)
 
^^^ That's the link Mark^^^^

Thanks. (y)
 
Good find. That's a learner for me :)
 
:notworthy: not much else for me to say :notworthy:
 
Nice shot, very nice. The Benbo's are much maligned in my opinion, very solid tripods which aren't as fashionable as the likes of some of the others and it can only be due to the design. Once you get used to it they're great.
 
CT said:
There's a technique with long lenses where you rest your left hand towards the front of the lens, which takes up any slack in the head and mount, and helps absorb mirror and shutter vibration, 400mm is still 'long' Rog, so this is something you should try. I'll try to find a link for you.

Regardless of the quality of the tripod you should really avoid having the centre column raised at all if you can help it, as the further it's raised, the 'whippier' it becomes. If you have to raise it, then the faster the shutter speed you can use the better.

Dunno if that helps Rog?
Click to expand...

It was 400mm plus the 1.4TC ... so even worse ... ;)

And what you say makes sense and is useful ... especially with the extra pointers given after your post ... so thanx for that ... (y)








:p
 
Lovely shot! As already mentioned, the feather detail is amazing.
 
Well the last couple of weeks has been a big learning curve for me with this lens Rog. :shrug:
 
Witch said:
Lovely shot! As already mentioned, the feather detail is amazing.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but if I could just drop the ISO and maybe close that aperture a tad....:naughty:

;)
 
Nice shot.
One of my mates, probably the U.K's leading bird photographer at the moment, uses a Benbo with his 600/4.... though he recently had a good look at my Gitzo 1548 and hinted he was thinking of getting one. A Mountaineer1325 or 1348 should be fine for a 500/4 though.

I don't have a centre column, so I'm never tempted to raise it ;) http://www.digiscoped.com/Gitzo.html
 
Pink Fairy said:
One of my mates, probably the U.K's leading bird photographer at the moment,
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Oh I don't think you should get off quite that easily PF ... :cautious:

Further explanation is surely due ... :naughty:







:p
 
I managed a couple of shots this morning which are nothing special, but look tack sharp at 1/60 so I think it's pretty conclusive evidence.

I need to start pumping iron. :LOL:
 
I was telling Ian I did a quick test last night. I put the lens and camera on the Gitzo, tightened everything up and gave the camera a tap which set the lot vibrating like a tuning fork for ages

Did the same test with the Benbo - it still vibrates, any set up would, but it's 2 or 3 seconds and stops.
 
CT said:
I was telling Ian I did a quick test last night. I put the lens and camera on the Gitzo, tightened everything up and gave the camera a tap which set the lot vibrating like a tuning fork for ages

Did the same test with the Benbo - it still vibrates, any set up would, but it's 2 or 3 seconds and stops.
Click to expand...


What model Gitzo? But yes, the Benbo has amazing damping properties through sheer mass.
 
Yeah, with the best will in the world, the Explorer series just wasn't designed for long lens use. Most of the guys I know who use the 500/4 go for the 1325 or 1348... the 1548 is often deemed as overkill for a 500/4 I.S. lens, though shooting with a 2x on (or stacked), it's a bit more valid.
 
I'm using the Gitzo 1348 + either a Kirk king cobra or wimberley mk1 with the 600f4 and its all nice and solid.
 
When I bought the Gitzo I never anticipated finding the wonga for the 500L. :D

Still ...I've pushed the 100-400L plus converter option to the limit since then. Oh to have the wisdom of hindsight.
 
Not the best pose ever, but sharp where it needs to be. 1/100 at f4 fill flash reduced -2 stops. 400 ISO.

gloomyrobinshot.jpg


That's it - fed up of this weather now. :baby:
 
CT said:
Not the best pose ever, but sharp where it needs to be. 1/100 at f4 fill flash reduced -2 stops. 400 ISO.
Click to expand...

Yep those pine needles are spot perfect. Shame about the Robin getting in the way of the greenery :D
 
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