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    For getting down low

    I have an old, heavy but sturdy tripod which serves for many purposes. However, my main projects in future are going to be recording as much as possible of the natural history of two nature reserves near me, an ancient meadow and a natural woodland. A large part of my pictures, such as flowers and fungi, will need to be taken from near ground level. I will also be taking multiple images and stacking them, hence I need a tripod which will enable me to get low down, mainly with a wide angle or the 60 mm macro, not very heavy lenses, on the 80D. I don't want to splash out too much e.g. on carbon fibre (I won't be walking very long distances) and it seems that the Manfrotto MT055XPRO3 or MT190XPRO3 (aluminium models) both have a street price of about £139, which is reasonable from a "name" manufacturer. The main difference seems to be that the 190 is smaller and lighter, otherwise they seem to pretty similar, both allowing the centre column to be fitted in the horizontal position.

    As I will need to be very precise with positioning and orientation of the camera, I am also wondering if it would be worth getting the Manfrotto 410 geared head. I have a decent ball head, but I find it tricky to get things very precise, and I suspect this will be even worse with the camera near ground level. I'll be using Liveview, either on the articulated screen or, more likely, controlled from a tablet. However, the geared head is pretty weighty and I'm wondering if this might be too much for the tripod to support with the centre column in the horizontal position. I'll also be collecting up various small objects to be photographed at home on a desktop studio setup, for which I should think the geared head would again be useful.

    All opinions welcome.
    EOS 6D, 6D Mk II, 80D, 70D, 100D, 200D, M50, M100. Canon 10-18, 18 - 55, 55 - 250 IS STM lenses, Canon 16 - 35 mm F4L, 35 mm EF-S macro, 50 mm F1.8 STM, 60 mm EF-S macro, MPE-65 macro, 85 mm F1.8, 200 mm F2.8 L II, M 15 - 45 mm, M 22mm F2, M 32mm F1.4. Sigma 24 - 35 F2 Art, 135 mm F1.8 Art, 17 - 50 F2.8 DC, 105 mm OS macro, 100 - 400 C, 150 - 600 C.

    #2
    Re: For getting down low

    though they are both good models imho for what your going to use them for its a overkill ,also from my own experience that sideways facing pole makes life awkward and also wobbly .
    you would be far better off trawling through e/bay or amazon for one of the cheap chinese ones that go down low but incorporate a extra, short middle stem insert . this will get you low enough and steady enough ,some of them come with a optional ball head to .
    i wouldn't bother with a geared head either unless you intend to make money from the shots as outside nature shots tend to be affected by the wind and defeating the object.having just got back into macro myself your in fact probably better using manual focus and just leaning into and out of focus hand held .
    there ya go just saved you £300 quid my fees are 10%

    Comment


      #3
      Re: For getting down low

      Hi Richard

      Just for you i went out in the pouring rain and shot these images with a 5D mkIII + 100Macro (Slightly heavier than the 60mm)sat on a Manfrotto MT055XPRO3 with legs spread out and also for the cheaper option using a silk pro mini which can still take the weight of both camera and lens.
      Sorry camera is not looking straight but as i said it's raining so they will have to do lol.
      #1

      low
      DPP_1291 by Paul Linton, on Flickr

      Very low
      DPP_1292 by Paul Linton, on Flickr

      Cheap Option lol.
      DPP_1293 by Paul Linton, on Flickr
      EOS 1Dx, - EF 24-105L f4,- Sigma 135 f1.8 Art - EF 400L IS f2.8, - Speedlite 430EXII.
      Freelance Sports Photographer for local Press - https://twitter.com/P_linton99

      Comment


        #4
        Re: For getting down low

        Paul
        Thanks for the shots, hope you didn't get too wet...................
        I do have a small tripod similar to the one shown, but I'm not sure how that would cope on rough and irregular ground e.g. in a woodland. On the other hand, there might be places where the Manfrotto wouldn't fit in the space available.

        Jeff,
        I agree with you on macro shots in general, manual focus and lean forward is what I use e.g for insects. However, I'm really looking to get pictures of flowers etc. in habitat, say with the flower or fungus close up while the background trees or whatever are also in sharp focus. Even with a wide angle, it's virtually impossible to get everything sharp, particularly as there's a big drop off in resolution below F11 on crop sensors. So I was planning to take a series of shots at F5.6 - 8 and use Helicon Focus to stack them. With Helicon Remote, I can control the camera from a tablet, select near and far points that need to be in focus and it automatically takes enough shots, allowing for focal length and aperture, to get everything sharp. I know it would be a slow process, possibly involving setting up windbreaks etc., but that's something I'd accept. I'd be happy to get 10 shots in a day, whereas shooting insects I might take hundreds to get a few good ones.

        Whatever, I'm in no hurry, won't be buying anything for a while, just testing out some ideas.
        EOS 6D, 6D Mk II, 80D, 70D, 100D, 200D, M50, M100. Canon 10-18, 18 - 55, 55 - 250 IS STM lenses, Canon 16 - 35 mm F4L, 35 mm EF-S macro, 50 mm F1.8 STM, 60 mm EF-S macro, MPE-65 macro, 85 mm F1.8, 200 mm F2.8 L II, M 15 - 45 mm, M 22mm F2, M 32mm F1.4. Sigma 24 - 35 F2 Art, 135 mm F1.8 Art, 17 - 50 F2.8 DC, 105 mm OS macro, 100 - 400 C, 150 - 600 C.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: For getting down low

          Oh what a smart shed Paul, I want one


          Best Regards
          Peter
          Peter

          Feel free to browse my
          Website : www.peterstockton-photography.co.uk
          Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_original_st/

          Comment


            #6
            For getting down low

            Richard whist I do have and use the 410 geared head I agree with Jeff it would be overkill for the uses you've described. But it is brilliant for landscape work though it is very heavy.
            As you can see from the images Paul posted you can get the tripods down very low and I believe your camera has an articulating rear screen which would be great for arranging the composition of the subject. I would also suggest using a remote shutter release to make shooting that little bit easier.


            Best Regards
            Peter
            Peter

            Feel free to browse my
            Website : www.peterstockton-photography.co.uk
            Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_original_st/

            Comment


              #7
              Re: For getting down low

              Peter
              Yes, it probably would be overkill for the one use. But I anticipate doing other photography as well, looking forward to being largely retired by the end of the year so will have much more time. For example, in the woodland I mentioned, there will be lots of opportunity for a range of landscape type shots through the seasons. Essentially, I've been building my kit up over the past year or so and now have just about everything I need with the exception of a better tripod/head combination, so this would be the final piece of the jigsaw. I also felt that the geared head would encourage me to take more time in composition, there's always the tendency in the days of digital with vast capacity memory cards to "shoot and run", great for action, bif etc., but I'm looking forward to a more measured approach in some cases.

              Even with the articulated screen, I still don't find it that easy to compose things kneeling down and so my preference for using the tablet to control things in live view with a much bigger image for composition, no need then for a remote control, everything by WiFi or USB.

              I'll take my time to consider before spending anything ..................
              EOS 6D, 6D Mk II, 80D, 70D, 100D, 200D, M50, M100. Canon 10-18, 18 - 55, 55 - 250 IS STM lenses, Canon 16 - 35 mm F4L, 35 mm EF-S macro, 50 mm F1.8 STM, 60 mm EF-S macro, MPE-65 macro, 85 mm F1.8, 200 mm F2.8 L II, M 15 - 45 mm, M 22mm F2, M 32mm F1.4. Sigma 24 - 35 F2 Art, 135 mm F1.8 Art, 17 - 50 F2.8 DC, 105 mm OS macro, 100 - 400 C, 150 - 600 C.

              Comment

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