need advice for - tripod for macro @ more blur

[Adrius]

hello, i would like to get some advice on a tripod for macro, i think its time i start using a tripod full time for macro

i started macro from december last year, with a EF-S 60mm USM on my 30d and a 580EX mostly hand shooting

my priorities now are insect shooting. using sun light as the main light source, and using flash only as fill-flash,
so ive come to the point where i think it is time to invest into a tripod dedicated for macro as i am prefering natural light.

i think it may be suitable to get a longer lens as you have to get close with the lens i am using at the moment and i think there may me larger restrictions using tripod?
the more potent backround blur for larger subjects such as dragonfiles/butterflies etc would be nice too.

my two considerations on lenses at the moment are eather 100mm or 180mm lens, i have no experiance with them, just my 60mm,

i would like to use a dedicated macro tripod full time for my macro shots, one that can go all the way down low, not to heavy, price dosent matter.

i would greatly appreciate any advice and experiance

 

[ortega]

push your iso
fill flash
monopod

the longer the lens the harder it is to shoot (camera shake/DOF)
for nice bg just change your POV

 

[blk160]

I am using CF Tripod and CF head from Feisol for my macro. My set up include 30D, 180mmL, 580EX, Wimberley Macro flash bracket, 1.4X TC, 2X TC, Ext Tube. The Feisol tripod and head served me really well.

 

[OlyFlyer]

push your iso
fill flash
monopod

High ISO = more noise with every camera. Low ISO = more detail and longer exposure, especially in macro. Monopod? I think they are useless if you want a low angle, near ground.

the longer the lens the harder it is to shoot (camera shake/DOF)
for nice bg just change your POV

That is what a good tripod is for, to eliminate shake. If you have a tripod you can also lock the mirror a few seconds before the shutter opens, that will elimitate even more camera shake. If you have a monopod you can forget about mirror lock.

 

[Adrius]

these feisol tripods look very nice so light too, they are built well arnt they? hey which model are you using?

 

[blk160]

I am using 3301 (Tripod) and CB-50H (ballhead). Cheap and very good.

 

[Adrius]

thanks, how did you buy it? get it shipped here?

 

[blk160]

Bought from their website and fedex over. Quite fast, pretty impressed with them. I think NPS is representing them in Singapore. Actually if you are really into macro, you should join the NPS. There are the gurus in Macro and birding.

http://www.naturephotosociety.org.sg

 

[Adrius]

i registered on there site earlyer but still waiting for an activation though, thanks alot!

 

[OlyFlyer]

Actually, just a few days ago I bought a new tripod mainly for macro and large lenses. My main reasons to get a new tripod was that I just bought a quite heavy Olympus macro bellows which you can read about here, and also a large tele lens that weights about 1.5kg. My heart fell on a Velbon Sherpa 600R. Not very cheap but flexible both for long tele and macro on low angle, near ground. Here are some pictures to show how useful it is.

The legs can be spread out wide to get very low down.

You can split the center column. 29cm over the floor is very low.

But if you think that is not low enough, you can remove the center column, invert it and lower it down to zero cm level. In this example that is not possible because the flash cable is touching the floor. Of course, focusing and composition becomes difficult if you don't have live view.

The tripod is very stable, not extremely light, 2.2kg but actually I did not want lighter one since in that case I need to add some weight for stability, especially with long tele lens. The tripod comes with a bag to carry it in.

The spots on the picture reminds me that I have to clean my mirrors, not the camera. Sorry about that.