Now that my current lens needs have been fulfilled and I have gotten most of my lens envy under control, my focus is now on upgrading the supporting equipment for the times where hand-holding is not feasible or doable (say, for those super long exposures, or for shots that should be focused manually). For quick and simple support, I have an Induro carbon fiber monopod The tripod, while versatile, is a real pain to setup and adjust due to the leg clamps and lever mechanism used to adjust the position of the legs. Once deployed, it does what it needs to do and is stable. The ballhead can be a real pain to use as well, mostly when trying to remove and secure the "quick-release" plate. The lever that locks in the plate doesn't always want to click into place nor does it engage smoothly. The rubber padding on the plate is supposed to provide grip and reduces scuffing on cameras that do not already have a rubber or rubber-like base. With my Nikon D300, it just makes it wiggle around and adds to the play involved with the plate and ball portion of the ballhead. Over the next couple of months, I will be saving up to replace the ballhead with either a Really Right Stuff BH-55 with a knob release (I'm done with clamps, if you haven't already figured out), an L-plate for my camera body and a replacement foot for my (current) beast of a lens. Maybe next year, I'll be able to pull off a short-column or column-less carbon fiber tripod that can handle around 35-40 pounds (conservatively). Both may seem overkill for my setup, but will be able to handle additional flash and rail kits for macro and step up to a 150mm or 200mm macro lens. |
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with deployable metal legs. The monopod works quite well with my 
(and that's the shortened version of its official name) or when I don't want to lug around my tripod and ballhead. As far as my current tripod and ballhead, I have a 
tripod and a 
ballhead.