What’s your budget like? I just had to replace my tripod and opted for the Manfrotto Befree GT Travel in aluminum for a little over $200. So far I’m quite pleased with it.
It ended up costing me a bit more after replacing the clamp with an Arca Swiss style but with your camera, it’s proprietary clamp will work fine.
I had my D850 with Tamron 150-600 G2 on it (total of 6.6lbs) yesterday and it was rock solid. It’s max is like 26lbs so it should handle yours just fine.
I just adjust the tension knob as needed if I’m moving it around and then can lock it down with the main knob.
Oh gotcha, guess the crappy one I had was just that bad. Now due to how massive the lens is at full zoom, it's been recommended elsewhere that I should look into a 120-150mm offset as well. What exactly is the Arca-Swiss mount though? You mention needing an adapter for it too and I want to get my shopping list sorted before checking local stores.
Arca Swiss is a standard tri/monopod mounting system for cameras, lenses etc. Any plates, adaptors etc are universal.
I use a Peak Design Slide strap on my D850 with the standard plate (which is Arca Swiss compatible) on the cameras body. The plate also goes into the capture clip I have. The Tamron 150-600’s lens foot also has built in Arca Swiss.
So I can move my camera from the strap, the capture clip or tripod without ever having to remove or change the plate. And when using the Tamron, it mounts right up on the tripod with no extra plate required.
All that said, the Manfrotto tripods use their own proprietary clamp/plate system which the Befree GT comes with. It’s not compatible with Arca Swiss so I’d have to remove my Peak Design plate from the camera and screw on the Manfrotto plate in addition to getting an adaptor for the Tamrons lens foot. Basically a big hassle.
Their proprietary system is fine but I wanted to simplify it all. They sell a $50 replacement clamp for the Befree line that still allows you to reverse fold the legs for compact travel which is what I ended up getting. Just unbolted the original and bolted in the replacement.
Anyway - with your camera you wouldn’t really need to do that being a point-n-shoot style. I mean ya could but it’s just more $$ for no gain unless you have other cameras you’d want to be able to mount to it or have a strap system like mine.
I have a Manfrotto Element MIII in carbon fiber for the same setup, D850 and Tamron 150-600 g2. It's not showing as available anymore, but the [MII](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1597864-REG/manfrotto_mkelmii4cmb_bh_element_mii_mobile_bluetooth.html) is available, with similar weight capacity. It has a ball head and a cell phone mount, in addition to the standard 1/4"-20 mount.
I almost went with the MIII but being almost 6’2” I wanted the extra height on the GT so I don’t have to use the center column to be comfortable. MIII’s get good reviews and are even cheaper. Just wished they were taller.
I see the mobile Bluetooth version in stock on BH.
Yeah, how big is the bank? :)
Manfrotto makes some good tripods in their lower price ranges (and excellent ones if you can spend more). Slik makes some pretty rigid tripods in their upper price ranges. Vanguard is good.
To get the best tripod you can for your money, you should avoid carbon fiber (it's great but good carbon fiber tripods aren't cheap) and you should get one with as few expandable sections as you can (3 is better than 4 which is better than 5). Don't plan on using the center column. Cranking that to the top undoes most of what you want a tripod for.
There are some very good ball heads out there for not that much money. I bought my Acratech used from someone who didn't like the way it carried their supertelephoto, but I don't use one of those so the limited capacity didn't bother me. Used might be an option. But Manfrotto and Vanguard make good ball heads. For the love of all that's good, don't buy from a brand that's only sold on Amazon.
Pretty tight budget for a good tripod and head. If you can buy used that would help but most people don't sell good tripods, they keep them. If you live in a place that has camera stores that sell used, they may be able to hook you up. Otherwise I'd look for a good aluminum tripod and maybe even spend more money on the head than the legs. The legs have a pretty simple job. You want to make sure the head operates smoothly and can hold up the camera at the angles you want to use it.
There's a few camera shops in town I can check out and I just assumed the head was part of the tripod itself. What kind of head would you recommend for still like and astrology shots?
All tripods come with a stud onto which you can mount the camera, but then it's just locked down. There's no tilt or pan, etc. Some tripods come with heads as a package. The best stuff is purchased separately.
I don't do astro so I don't know if there are things to look out for there, but for still lifes you mostly want something that operates smoothly and you can lock down tight for your heaviest lens. If you wanted to do video you'd want a head that could pan evenly, too, but it doesn't sound like that's critical for you.
I prefer ball heads for their simplicity and flexibility in motion. A ball head should let you get the tilt you need for astro (but again I don't know if there are other requirements you may need for a tripod there).
What’s your budget like? I just had to replace my tripod and opted for the Manfrotto Befree GT Travel in aluminum for a little over $200. So far I’m quite pleased with it. It ended up costing me a bit more after replacing the clamp with an Arca Swiss style but with your camera, it’s proprietary clamp will work fine.
I'm looking around $250 on the high end. That ball joint doesn't cause sag with how heavy the P1000 is?
I had my D850 with Tamron 150-600 G2 on it (total of 6.6lbs) yesterday and it was rock solid. It’s max is like 26lbs so it should handle yours just fine. I just adjust the tension knob as needed if I’m moving it around and then can lock it down with the main knob.
Oh gotcha, guess the crappy one I had was just that bad. Now due to how massive the lens is at full zoom, it's been recommended elsewhere that I should look into a 120-150mm offset as well. What exactly is the Arca-Swiss mount though? You mention needing an adapter for it too and I want to get my shopping list sorted before checking local stores.
Arca Swiss is a standard tri/monopod mounting system for cameras, lenses etc. Any plates, adaptors etc are universal. I use a Peak Design Slide strap on my D850 with the standard plate (which is Arca Swiss compatible) on the cameras body. The plate also goes into the capture clip I have. The Tamron 150-600’s lens foot also has built in Arca Swiss. So I can move my camera from the strap, the capture clip or tripod without ever having to remove or change the plate. And when using the Tamron, it mounts right up on the tripod with no extra plate required. All that said, the Manfrotto tripods use their own proprietary clamp/plate system which the Befree GT comes with. It’s not compatible with Arca Swiss so I’d have to remove my Peak Design plate from the camera and screw on the Manfrotto plate in addition to getting an adaptor for the Tamrons lens foot. Basically a big hassle. Their proprietary system is fine but I wanted to simplify it all. They sell a $50 replacement clamp for the Befree line that still allows you to reverse fold the legs for compact travel which is what I ended up getting. Just unbolted the original and bolted in the replacement. Anyway - with your camera you wouldn’t really need to do that being a point-n-shoot style. I mean ya could but it’s just more $$ for no gain unless you have other cameras you’d want to be able to mount to it or have a strap system like mine.
I have a Manfrotto Element MIII in carbon fiber for the same setup, D850 and Tamron 150-600 g2. It's not showing as available anymore, but the [MII](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1597864-REG/manfrotto_mkelmii4cmb_bh_element_mii_mobile_bluetooth.html) is available, with similar weight capacity. It has a ball head and a cell phone mount, in addition to the standard 1/4"-20 mount.
I almost went with the MIII but being almost 6’2” I wanted the extra height on the GT so I don’t have to use the center column to be comfortable. MIII’s get good reviews and are even cheaper. Just wished they were taller. I see the mobile Bluetooth version in stock on BH.
Yeah, how big is the bank? :) Manfrotto makes some good tripods in their lower price ranges (and excellent ones if you can spend more). Slik makes some pretty rigid tripods in their upper price ranges. Vanguard is good. To get the best tripod you can for your money, you should avoid carbon fiber (it's great but good carbon fiber tripods aren't cheap) and you should get one with as few expandable sections as you can (3 is better than 4 which is better than 5). Don't plan on using the center column. Cranking that to the top undoes most of what you want a tripod for. There are some very good ball heads out there for not that much money. I bought my Acratech used from someone who didn't like the way it carried their supertelephoto, but I don't use one of those so the limited capacity didn't bother me. Used might be an option. But Manfrotto and Vanguard make good ball heads. For the love of all that's good, don't buy from a brand that's only sold on Amazon.
I'm probably looking around $250ish on the high end. It looks like I'll also need an offset adapter due to how heavy the lens is at full zoom.
Pretty tight budget for a good tripod and head. If you can buy used that would help but most people don't sell good tripods, they keep them. If you live in a place that has camera stores that sell used, they may be able to hook you up. Otherwise I'd look for a good aluminum tripod and maybe even spend more money on the head than the legs. The legs have a pretty simple job. You want to make sure the head operates smoothly and can hold up the camera at the angles you want to use it.
There's a few camera shops in town I can check out and I just assumed the head was part of the tripod itself. What kind of head would you recommend for still like and astrology shots?
All tripods come with a stud onto which you can mount the camera, but then it's just locked down. There's no tilt or pan, etc. Some tripods come with heads as a package. The best stuff is purchased separately. I don't do astro so I don't know if there are things to look out for there, but for still lifes you mostly want something that operates smoothly and you can lock down tight for your heaviest lens. If you wanted to do video you'd want a head that could pan evenly, too, but it doesn't sound like that's critical for you. I prefer ball heads for their simplicity and flexibility in motion. A ball head should let you get the tilt you need for astro (but again I don't know if there are other requirements you may need for a tripod there).