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.

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

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@lurechunker wrote:
My 80D with 18-55 from Canon store will arrive tomorrow. I think I made a mistake by not getting the 28-135. Should I leave the 18-55 in the box and send it back? I'd like to start with an "all-round" lens and one long enough for back yard birds.

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Do you mean 18-135, instead of 28-135?  The 18-135 lenses are pretty good.  BUT, they will likely cast a shadow when you try to use the flash.  I know that older 18-135mm lenses cast a major shadow on a T5, so I would expect a shadow on an 80D.  The 18-55mm lens has a 35mm equivalent of 29-88mm, which is pretty close to 24-70mm that is very popular for use with full frame camera bodies.

The  STM version of the 18-55mm is a really good lens.  I would hang on to it.  I can guarantee you that whatever plans you have for using the camera, you will find new scenarios to use it.  I would keep the 18-55mm, and pass on buying a 18-135, so that you can budget more money towards your birding lens.  If you can afford to do all of the above, then by all means, buy all of the lenses you want.

[jrhoffman75]

Its an access port so you could rotate a circular polarizer with the hood on.

Page 1 of the manual:

[lurechunker]

I am planning the Sig 150-600 sports lens. Should I also buy the Benro gimbal head? Is it compatible with my Mefoto globetrotter carbon fiber tripod? Thanks.

[ebiggs1]

The Benro gimbal head is OK but I don't have the tripod you are asking about.  The lens/camera combo is heavy and requires real heavy duty support. This is what I use;

It is a 3046 with a 501 head.  Otherwise I shoot it hand held!

[Waddizzle]

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@lurechunker wrote:
I am planning the Sig 150-600 sports lens. Should I also buy the Benro gimbal head? Is it compatible with my Mefoto globetrotter carbon fiber tripod? Thanks.

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I don't think that tripod is big or robust enough.  The legs are too short, and the center column can extend too far.  With a big lens like that, you really don't want to raise the the center column very high, at all.  Raising a center column reduces the load capacity, and destabilizes the entire tripod.  

Buy a tripod that''s big enough to use when the center column is in its' lowest position.  I use tripods without center columns.  Ernie's setup has pretty good height with the center column fully lowered.  Most tripods do not.  

There are advantages and disadvantages to going carbon fiber.  The obvious advantages are less weight to carry around, and reduced chance of rust.  The disadvantages are less stability caused by the lighter weight in the legs, which is exacerbated by raising the center column.  

[lurechunker]

Mefoto specks say 26.5 pounds. Is that adequate?

[Waddizzle]

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@lurechunker wrote:
Mefoto specks say 26.5 pounds. Is that adequate?

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It depends on how MeFOTO came up with that figure.  It would not surprise me if that figure represents the load capacity with the legs fully retracted, and center column fully lowered.  

Extending the legs can destabilize some tripods, depending upon how strong the legs are.  The more leg sections you have, then the more unstable the legs could be.  I like a maximum of three leg sections on my tripods.  I have a couple of tripods I use for traveling that have four sections.  

The MeFOTO GlobeTrotter is a "travel" tripod, through and through.  It has five leg sections, so that it can fold to a compact size.  They also throw in a mediocre ball head, which lacks friction control.  Friction control is a MUST have feature on a ball head.

You may consider shopping for just a set of legs, if you're buying just a pan/tilt head.  Tripod kits, like camera kits, usually cut corners on quality somewhere.  With many camera kits, it is the lens.  With tripod kits, it is the head.  

I have the Manfrotto 502, and the Benro S6 video heads.  I bought both of them in tripod kits, which were on sale at the time.  I tend sit back and wait until I see something on sale before I buy.  I usually pay about 50% of list price for tripod legs and heads.

[Waddizzle]

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@lurechunker wrote:
Mefoto specks say 26.5 pounds. Is that adequate?

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No, that tripod is not adequate.  Not even close, IMHO.  I would love to recommend a type of tripod, but you need to say when, where, and how you plan to use.  Ernie's tripod setup is very robust.  It's also heavy, not ideal for trekking through the wilderness or the woods.

If you're thinking about a gimbal head, I hope you're looking at a real gimbal, and not one of those gimbal adapter things that attach to a ball head, or something or other.  Those don't work, because you cannot properly balance the camera/lens rig.

Also, if you're looking to use a gimbal, then you definitely do not want to be using an extended center column.  I have found video tripods to be FAR more stable, and usually far more robust, than your average "photography" tripod.  Good video tripods lack a center column, too.

The MeFOTO brand seems marketed for the casual photographer, who doesn't know that they're a casual photographer.  A tripod with a detachable leg, which converts into a monopod, is a dead giveaway.  But, MeFOTO is one of at least three brands from the same parent company.  Benro and Induro are two others that I am certain of, with MeFOTO being near the bottom of the performance scale.

Manfrotto makes great tripods, but the good ones tend to cost a good chunk, and they usually do not include a bag.  I like Benro and Induro because of the quality of the bags that come with their tripods, most of which perform as well as tripods costing 2-3 times the price.  Over the last few years, I have bought 2 Manfrotto video tripods, 2 Vanguard geared tripods, and a host of Induro and Benro tripods that lack center columns.  

I gave the Manfrotto and Vanguard tripods away as gifts.  I will never buy another Vanguard, but I will consider a Manfrotto, provided that it comes with a high quality bag.  Benro and Induro give you VERY high quality bags with seemingly all of their tripods.  I think these two brands have the best price/performance ratios currently on the market.  

If you want the best tripod, then take a look a Really Right Stuff.

[lurechunker]

A Sig 150-600 S is on Santa's list. It will join my 100-400 ll  and be used on my 80D. Please give me recommendations for a tripod with a gimbal head. I currently own a Mefoto globetrotter in carbon fibre. I will use the Sig for birding and would like a tripod and gimbal head that are sufficiently robust but will not break my back or my bank account. I hope that several birders will post. Thanks.

John in FL.

[Waddizzle]

Buy your tripod and head separately.  I would advise looking for a tripod without a center column, which means you're going to be in the $500 dollar ball park, at a minimum.  Benro and Induro used to make some high quality, aluminum tripods, which had flat plates, instead of a center column. They also sold for about half the cost of carbon fiber versions of the same tripods.

They discontinued them in the last couple of years.  Induro has gone to a full lineup of only carbon fiber tripods, which are still excellent buys for the asking prices.  They come with excellent cases.  Benro seems to have dropped that type of tripod, altogether.  I got lucky and picked up a couple just as they were discontinued.

One thing about gimbal heads.  I passed on buying one after watching a few videos about how to set one up, so that it balances and stays in whatever position you set it.  The key word here is balance, meaning the weight.

Setting up a gimbal means balancing the weight of the camera/lens combo.  I figured that if I were using a lens that could significangly change its' length, like many super telephoto zooms, that this would most likely throw the gimbal out of balance. 

I estimated that a gimbal would probably work well with a prime lens, or any zoom lens that both internal focusing and zooming.  But, it wouldn't work so well with a large lens that could extend itself, which would significantly change the distribution of the weight.  I could be dead wrong about this, though.  But, I don't think so.

You might consider a high quality pan/tilt, or even a fluid video head, instead of a gimbal, if you're using a longer, heavier lens that can significantly change its' length when zooming or focusing.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Waddizzle wrote:

Buy your tripod and head separately.  I would advise looking for a tripod without a center column, which means you're going to be in the $500 dollar ball park, at a minimum.  Benro and Induro used to make some high quality, aluminum tripods, which had flat plates, instead of a center column. They also sold for about half the cost of carbon fiber versions of the same tripods.

They discontinued them in the last couple of years.  Induro has gone to a full lineup of only carbon fiber tripods, which are still excellent buys for the asking prices.  They come with excellent cases.  Benro seems to have dropped that type of tripod, altogether.  I got lucky and picked up a couple just as they were discontinued.

One thing about gimbal heads.  I passed on buying one after watching a few videos about how to set one up, so that it balances and stays in whatever position you set it.  The key word here is balance, meaning the weight.

Setting up a gimbal means balancing the weight of the camera/lens combo.  I figured that if I were using a lens that could significangly change its' length, like many super telephoto zooms, that this would most likely throw the gimbal out of balance. 

I estimated that a gimbal would probably work well with a prime lens, or any zoom lens that both internal focusing and zooming.  But, it wouldn't work so well with a large lens that could extend itself, which would significantly change the distribution of the weight.  I could be dead wrong about this, though.  But, I don't think so.

You might consider a high quality pan/tilt, or even a fluid video head, instead of a gimbal, if you're using a longer, heavier lens that can significantly change its' length when zooming or focusing.

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More often than not I agree with Waddizzle, but I have to disagree this time. I would not buy a tripod without a center column. Setting up a tripod is tedious enough in any event; trying to achieve the exactly correct height by adjusting only the leg length is over the top. If extending the center column would make the tripod unstable with your rig, buy a bigger, beefier tripod.

That said, it's important to make sure that the center column is actually vertical. Otherwise, extending it could quickly make any tripod unstable.