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G2 Tripod legs and head

G

Guest

I have read recently in many discussion forums and have learned that to get sharp photographs, according to many commentators (in the following order) it is first necessary to have a great tripod and head, second a great lens, then third and fourth either film and body or body and film. This surprised me; but the commentators have much more experience than I do. I am confused about the range of alternatives available. I have and use an old Rollei TLR (occasional use), my G2 (frequent use), of course, and an old SLR with nothing longer than a 100-200 zoom (infrequent use). I am 5'8" tall. I use the G2 primarily for people shots and landscapes. Is there a relatively reasonable priced head and tripod with quality, stability, ease of use, and that is relatively light that will meet my needs? As for heads would you recommend a pan and tilt head vs a ball head and why? If I use the G2 at higher speeds (i.e. at least twice the speed of the focal length (45mm at minimum of 1/90th, 90mm at minimum of 1/200th), do I need a tripod or will quality of my photos improve with the use of the tripod? Does a tripod defeat the whole purpose of having a small, mobile camera like the G2? As you can see from basic questions that I need guidance and direction. - Thank you
 
I use Manfrotto tripod and heads. My favorite head for quick use and for my monopod is the 3265 ball head. Fast and sure. One handed use. My favorite for tripod use is the 3275 geared head. This one is perfection for landscape or studio use. The Manfrotto (Bogen) gear isn't the lightest but it is hell for strong and very reasonably priced. Jack Casner
 
> Fast shutter speeds and a tripod will reduce image motion. But don't forget depth of field in your question. Maximum sharpness of any lens is generally in the middle of the aperture range like f/8 but maximum depth of field is at f/22, etc. A lot depends on your subject. For landscapes where I intend to make enlargements, I always use a tripod and small apertures.. For general travel or people photography I don't use the Contax. I so love the sharp images I get with the Contax I almost always use a tripod with it. I sort of treat it as it were a 4 x 5 .

Dave
 
Jack - I am looking into the 3275 geared head. That sure is not a head that I researched. I thought my choices were narrower. I will research it before I make a decision.

David - Your point about depth must be considered. Do you use your Contax primarily for landscapes? The G2 is so light and portable, I am surpised that you do not use it for street, people or candid photos. What is your primarly subject matter that you always use a tripod?
 
> Howard, I recently went to both sides of the country, Yosemite and Maine coast and I used my Contax on a tripod everywhere. I'm using B&W film and a red filter usually. Looking for that cloud/sky contrast. So I use it mainly for landscapes. I have never used color film in it.

In the past, (before I bought the Contax) I used my Nikon for travel photography. Using two Nikon bodies, one with 1600 speed and the other with 100 speed Kodak Ektachrome films, with two zoom lenses hanging from each camera. This gave me the flexibility of shooting w/o flash in churches and the ability to get all the other daylight areas. The zooms were 28 to 80 and 80 to 210 mm. Then in my back pocket I had a folding Minox with B&W film in it. I like the longer zooms for people photography. BUT I got tired of carrying all that stuff so, in my last few trips to Europe, I used strickly an Olympus APS zoom camera with Kodak 200 speed print film and, of course, my Minox w B&W film in it. Outstanding results.

Today, with the Contax, I love the image quality and I would leave the Minox and Nikons home. Let my wife take the APS Olympus and I'll take the Contax and a tripod and shoot just B&W! The street scenes in Italy, for ex&le, are great and I want everything to be in sharp focus so I can enlarge them to 11x14. I would do some hand held photography in those situations where using a tripod would be impractical. But I'm getting older and it's hard to hold the camera steady.

Tell you the truth about Contax. I have a 30 print B&W exhibit currently in the lobby at Kodak and people think they were all shot with medium format camera. Only two were. The rest were with my Contax 35mm and Tmax 100 film.

Dave
 
Dave,
I am impressed 30 prints B& W in the Kodak lobby. What tripod and head do you use? And would you recommend them.

Howard
 
Howard, I'm using Manfrotto 3221G tripod which looks great in the field 'cause it is green. But it really looks like overkill with the tiny Contax on top of it. (But then I also use it with my Nikon when I want really long shots using my 600mm lens.) Tripod is very solid but you have to be a little careful when you first but one. Legs have fallen off the tripod because they didn't tighten the screws holding them into the junction at the factory. Glad I didn't have the camera on it because I usually fold it up, upside down. Fixed it now. I put pads on the legs (plumbing insulation) because first time out my shoulder was killing me from carrying it. With the pads, it's not so bad. But still heavy and a pain. A little sacrifice for solidness.

I have the 3410 head (329) mainly because it has a lot of levels on it. (Having flat horizons seems to correlate with having a level camera.) But one axis seems to be a little stiffer than the other. Something I need to look into.

Dave
 
Here is a very viable alternative to the heavier tripods that is fantastic for the Contax G. I recently got a velbon Max 343 pod to use for travel. I used it in June in Zion and Bryce Canyon parks. This is the tripod that the editors of Pop Photo raved about for travel. I was looking at a carbon fiber gitzo until I read aout the velbon MAX.

I'm now printing negatives (B&W and digtial color) from the trip and I can report that the pod is very sturdy, small and light. I also use it with a hasselblad/80 and 150 lenses. The 6x6 negatives are printing at 16x20 with excellent sharpness. I own a number of tripods from a tiny Slick 500 to a monstor Bogen for my pentax 6x7 outfit. This is the best so far. It took me a bit of time to get use to the ball head after only using 3 way pan heads, but fortunately I make a practice of keeping the neck strap on while setting up tripod shots
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Hand-held shooting is a breeze with the contax G. My primary lens is the 35mm for general shooting and the speed of the lens allows high shutter speeds with Kodak Supra 100 film for digital color. The higher shutter speeds (1/125 to 1/1000+)yield sharp negatives.

Gene Crumpler
http://home.att.net/~nikonguy
 
David - Legs fall off the 3221 - not too good for Quality Control, but thanks for the warning and advice. I have read in other forums that other photographers have to make modifications on their tripods -- some to correct sloppy assembly or design. I read one guy cut the center post to reduce weight--it seems like tripod designs and manufacturers would read these forums and get ideas to improve their products.

I have not yet researched the 3221G, but it sounds heavy. Getting a G2 I was looking for something light and now I realize after all the years of photograghy, I could have improved the overall quality of my work (which is amatuer (but good to excellent IMHO-- rather than even better) by using a tripod. I wonder where I was. I guess when I started photography 30 years ago, there wasn't such good information easily available on the internet - those were cave men days - the internet did not exist; where can someone get so much information without leaving their desk, and have opportunity to get recommendations and observations from experts and people with a great deal of real live experience.) I will also look into the 3410 head. Although I am seriously considering Bogen 3275 geared head as the type of work it excels at is the kind of work I perceive I will and continue to do in the future). I do not think I will be doing sports or quick action --all though the ads for a top quality ball heads entice me all except price.

Gene - I am curious, that you suggested keeping your neck strap while setting tripod shots. It probably is an excellent practice since I have read about others experience in having their tripods and and equipment spilling over. Is this recommendation because you ere on the side of caution? Is it based on first hand experience? Warnings of other photographers? Have you always done it or do you only do it with only the Max 343? I am looking into the Max 343 pod. Thanks for the suggestion.

Howard
 
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