The new pod

[Michaelaw]

Finally put some coin out for a decent tripod. I just love this one because of the articulating center arm. I've always wanted a way to have control of the image at extremely low angles and this unit delivers in spades. It's a Manfrotto 190XPROB with a 804RC2 head. $299.00 at London Drugs :clap:

http://www.redzonefilms.com/pics3/pod.jpg

[Bambi]

your new companion is very very cool!

congratulations :):highfive:

[Iguanasan]

Looks like a great handy-dandy tripod. Mine is rather old and not that expensive but works fairly well but not nearly as well as that one from the look of it.

[JAS_Photo]

Cool, I bought the exact same tripod at the Camera show and exhibition here in the fall. I have lugged it all over the city. I have the 486RC2 ballhead with mine. :)

[casil403]

Wow...nice....my velbon just isn't cutting it for me these days....I think you just made it harder for me next to decide what next I have to purchase....I am stuck b/w a larger format printer(11X17) and a better tripod. :wall-an:
Not sure what to do but seeing this you definitely have swayed me toward the tripod.
Mind you the printer is cheaper in the long run as far as having prints done....decisions... decisions..... :shrug: arrrrggggg!
I am more torn now! :headslap:

[Michaelaw]

It's a great tool for sure, I have zero regrets with the coin spent. I have always gone cheap with tripods until I saw a couple of young guys working with raccoons using this model...I was sold and the Manfrotto was placed on my wishlist. My previous, now backup model was a sunpak pro costing eighty bucks or so and I got what I paid for :). For the price point and versatile nature of this pod I'm just tickled :D

[casil403]

LOl MAW you are not helping....I was convinced on the printer but now I am really torn... leaning towards the tripod......:headslap::wall-an:

[Michaelaw]

LOl MAW you are not helping....I was convinced on the printer but now I am really torn... leaning towards the tripod......:headslap::wall-an:

Funny thing is...I was looking at an Epson something printer the day before at $369 plus paper and I'm aware of their thirst for ink. I was tied between the two also. The printer I want is close to two grand :laughing:

[Mad Aussie]

I have the exact same Tripod

[Michaelaw]

Yeah I'm slow but eventually I get with the program :laughing:

[Mad Aussie]

I've only had mine about a year. I have another manfrotto as well but that's many years old. Still like it though :)

[casil403]

Lol...oh Gawd I don't know what to do!!!!! :shrug:
Tripod is cheaper now....printer is cheaper in long run.......:eek: :headslap:
I hand hold more than I use the tripod.....b/c I can almost never get the low angle shots I want when using the wide angle lens.....plus it is a biotch to haul out and use last second..then again it helps with shots when I need it....printer way less money in long run but cost more to get photos printed.....sorry if I am hijacking..not my intent here......just trying to weigh this out in my head...perhaps wrong thread to do so. :sorry:
I love the pod you have MAW...and the price seems within the budget.....

[Michaelaw]

No worries Casil....The thread is yours to hijack :thumbup: The tripod is very cool but so is the ability to do large format prints. I haven't done a lot of tripod work because I've always had crap tripods....Always bought them cheap cos you have to have one :laughing: Never really used them in the field, mostly for still life flash work. This pod was immediately out in the field because it felt like real equipment rather than something I should have. I'll still handhold a lot of my telephoto stuff but I'm getting more interested of late in macro work which rarely goes in my favor when hand held. I also picked up a cable release for the d700 and now I'm looking curiously at focus rails and extension tubes. There are also about ten grand in lenses on my list......WHEN DOES IT STOP! :laughing::laughing:

[JAS_Photo]

The problem with photography is that not only is it an art or a craft but it involves gadgets. That is a really irresistable combination.

[Mad Aussie]

.....WHEN DOES IT STOP! :laughing::laughing:
Ummmmm? Who told you it stops? :shrug:

[Greg_Nuspel]

LOl MAW you are not helping....I was convinced on the printer but now I am really torn... leaning towards the tripod......:headslap::wall-an:

I might have a low mileage printer for sale later on since I need one that will take rolls for my panoramic prints. So get the tripod and we'll talk :cool:

[Wicked Dark]

Oh you got the exact tripod I want. Different head, but same tripod. nice. it's that 90 degree thing that I need. My 25-year-old Bogen just doesn't get low enough and the head is too big and heavy for travel. Am considering a geared head or possibly the new joystick head. I'm a bit cheesed that it doesn't have spiked feet like my little Slik does...how hard would that have been Manfrotto?

Anyway, congrats on the new tool. a tripod is a must for just about every shot I take. I didn't use one regularly for the longest time, then my photography changed and I found I did. Lucky that old Bogen still had life in it.

[Bambi]

you know I think that my two hobbies: horses and photography are very similar in that there is always something you can buy. Some is 'need' other is 'want'.

*sigh* no wonder my husband says that while I am low maintenance I am expensive

[JAS_Photo]

Owining a large printer probably will not save a someone a lot of money per se. Replacing the full set of ink cartridges is over $200.00. You will not be buying cheap ink to replace the cartridges either because you want your color spot on and if you are doing archival prints, you will be using pigment inks anyway. Hahnenmuhle or any good art paper will cost anything from $3 to $10 per sheet or so depending on size and quality.

What it will do is give you control over how your prints look. Once you have your camera, computer and printer all coordinated, what you see is what you get. A well made print is a beautiful thing!

[Greg_Nuspel]

you know I think that my two hobbies: horses and photography are very similar in that there is always something you can buy. Some is 'need' other is 'want'.

*sigh* no wonder my husband says that while I am low maintenance I am expensive

Just tell him when you play with the best it's going to cost you.

[AntZ]

I have the exact same Tripod

Me too :)

I'm happy with it, but I don't use it as much as I should. I liked the one someone posted last week with 1 leg usable as a monopod and some other nice features.

[Mad Aussie]

Me too :)

I'm happy with it, but I don't use it as much as I should. I liked the one someone posted last week with 1 leg usable as a monopod and some other nice features.
I didn't realize you had one as well Antz :thumbup: I'm the same ... I use it plenty ... but hadn't ever bother to do what Michael is doing in the photo above.

[AntZ]

I didn't realize you had one as well Antz :thumbup: I'm the same ... I use it plenty ... but hadn't ever bother to do what Michael is doing in the photo above.

I have for macros and still lifes.

[Greg_Nuspel]

I have a Feisol tripod and a Manfroto 055 from the 80's. I used to think my 055 was the light weight compared to my large format tripod but now the Feisol complete weight less than the old ball head on the 055:headslap:

[SteveS]

I just the same one as well. Its a sturdy tripod.

[edG]

just noticed this post - I have the same head but my pod is the 55XPROB, stands a little taller and will hold a little more.

Only reason I selected it over the 190 - the 55 and head was on sale, the 190 was not and felt I needed the extra height so as not aggravate my neck or shoulders (injuries from a vehicle accident where a kid in a Suzuki Sidekick skidding backwards on black ice re-bounded off a stop sign and destroyed my company van)

[F8&Bthere]

The problem with photography is that not only is it an art or a craft but it involves gadgets. That is a really irresistable combination.

True dat...


Owining a large printer probably will not save a someone a lot of money per se. Replacing the full set of ink cartridges is over $200.00. You will not be buying cheap ink to replace the cartridges either because you want your color spot on and if you are doing archival prints, you will be using pigment inks anyway. Hahnenmuhle or any good art paper will cost anything from $3 to $10 per sheet or so depending on size and quality.

What it will do is give you control over how your prints look. Once you have your camera, computer and printer all coordinated, what you see is what you get. A well made print is a beautiful thing!

Again, spot on. I think printing would have to be a big and ongoing part of your photographic life (say, selling prints in some significant volume and on a regular basis) to really have that big a savings impact.

On the tripod subject... Michael that's the model I went in to buy, but the store was out of stock (story of my life) so I ended up with this one instead:

http://www.indurogear.com/products_details_AX114.html

and a Manfrotto 486RC2 ballhead.

Now, however, I wish I had a do-over and would have spent more on a Gitzo or something with a bit better weight-to-load ratio, probably carbon fibre.

[Foots]

Great info. My tripod just lost a part at the Fanny down the Ganny - so perfect timing. Henry's has the 190XPROB with the 804RC2 heard or the 486RC2 ball head for $239.

Thanks for the timely suggestion.

[kat]

omg..i want one of those..i hate how i cant shoot low!

[casil403]

Well, I got my tax return and it was more than I thought so I went out and bought the same pod as MAW...with a 496RC2 ball head at TCS for $259 if anybody in Calgary is interested. :)
I think I might try some night shooting tonight in the city.

[Iguanasan]

omg..i want one of those..i hate how i cant shoot low!

All you need to do is lay down on the ground and use your elbows ;) That's what I do!

[Kawarthabob]

All you need to do is lay down on the ground and use your elbows ;) That's what I do!

:laugh::laughing: i do the same thing , unfortunately here where i live the back lawn is constantly saturated with lake water . I want one of those manfrotto pods now:wall-an: