New member needs help

[lurechunker]

I am new to the forum and asking for help. Our granddaughter plays basketball and I would like to photograph her. I kayak and would like to photograph birds. Is the EOS 760D the camera for me? Other? What lens or lenses? How can I protect my equipment form damage from saltwater? Thank you.

[jrhoffman75]

Click the red envelope to get private messages.

[RobertTheFat]

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jrhoffman75 wrote:

Click the red envelope to get private messages.

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With my browser the envelope is gray, not red, when you have an unread message. In any case, that icon is far too inconspicuous. It seems clear that those who set up the forum want to downplay the existence of private messages.

You can, however, choose to be emailed when you receive a private message. (But they won't actually show it to you unless you log into the forum.)

[jrhoffman75]

On my browser (IE 11) it's red when empty and turns gray when I have a message.

[RobertTheFat]

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@jrhoffman75 wrote:

On my browser (IE 11) it's red when empty and turns gray when I have a message.

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Yeah, I'm also using IE 11, and that's what I see too. It sounds backwards, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. The real problem is that the icon is absurdly small, which I guess is why the OP didn't see how to find his message.

[lurechunker]

This is a GREAT forum. Opinions on MePHOTO Globetrotter tripod? Place to buy?

[Waddizzle]

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@lurechunker wrote:
This is a GREAT forum. Opinions on MePHOTO Globetrotter tripod? Place to buy?

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I like the MeFOTO brand.  But, I like the sister brands even better, Induro and Benro.  The MeFOTO tripod kits frequently do not come with a bag, but this tripod kit does.  Both Induro and Benro tripod kits will typically come with a bag, and I mean a high quality bag, too.

I like the Globetrotter tripod kit.  The ball head is detachable, which is good.  But, the head lacks a friction adjustment, which is a must have in almost any ball head.  My sole complaint is the lack of a friction adjustment in the ball head.  They do not give a model number for the head, which is another negative mark against it.  If you use a heavy lens, which most any super telephoto lens is on the heavy side, then having a friction adjustment is MUST have. 

A similarly priced by Benro, TAD28AIB2 Series 2 Adventure Aluminum Tripod with B2 Head, tripod includes a ball head that actually has a model name.  The Benro B2 ball head is a great head, and includes a friction adjustment  I own a Benro tripod, two Benro B3 Heads, a Benro V3 head, and a Benro monopod, and love them all.  I have bought B2 heads for my sons.  Benro also makes tripods that have a leg that detaches as a monopod, like the MeFOTO.

[Waddizzle]

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@lurechunker wrote:
This is a GREAT forum. Opinions on MePHOTO Globetrotter tripod? Place to buy?

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I make all of my online photo purchases through the Canon Online Store, or B&H PhotoVideo.  I have gone to Best Buy to purchase memory cards.  Best Buy seems to only carry plastic tripods, so I would not buy one from their.  

My one time online purchase through Best Buy was not a good experience, because the lens seemed to have been tampered with.  I had ordered the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, which seems to have been missing the rubber o-ring on the mount that helps to make it weather resistant.  The result was the lens would rattle when mounted on a camera body.  I exchanged the lens, and it wasn't until I got my hands on a second lens that I realized that the first was missing the o-ring.

[jrhoffman75]

The Globetrotter carbon fiber model has a friction control on the tripod head.

[Waddizzle]

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@jrhoffman75 wrote:

The Globetrotter carbon fiber model has a friction control on the tripod head.

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Okay, the head seems to have a "drag control knob", or friction adjustment.  I was looking at the product description of the aluminum version at B&H, which made no mention of a friction control.  

In fact, the kit at B&H just may not have a friction control.  In my experience, some of their tripod kits can vary from seemingly identical kits sold at other outlets.  For example, I found a Manfrotto video tripod kit that I liked on the Manfrotto site.  The kit had a specific set of legs, and their 502 video head.  

I ordered a kit with the same legs and head through B&H, and what I received was different from the description of the tripod kit on the Manfrotto site.  I had not noticed that the Manfortto description said the head had a flat base, while the B&H description said the head had a 75mm bowl.  Manfrotto sells two versions of the head, and two versions of the tripod..  

[Waddizzle]

John, a second look at the illustiration notes that the drag control knob is "series 1 & 2 only", which seems to exclude "Globetrotter" models.