A few standard basic recommendations - none are cheap ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Nancy Bell
Does anyone use focusing rails? If so, any recommendations? Also any recommendations on a good tripod and head? I have a Canon 1D-Mark IV and a Canon 100mm macro lens. Mostly I use an old small tripod with legs that do not spread to the ground and a ball head that drives me crazy.
The Gitzo carbon fiber tripods are at the top of the class. A medium size one like the 3530 is probably the best all around. I think that's the one Art Morris uses. I forgot the exact model number, but look at his recommendations, and that's the one.
I've heard that the new RRS tripods are great also. Neither of these are inexpensive, but once you get one, you're glad you did, because they make tripod use more of a pleasure because they work well. They both go all the way down to the ground, for low shots and close-ups. This is absolutely necessary. Having a really good tripod is as important as your camera and your lens.
A few photographers swear by the Manfrotto tripods, but I have not liked them very much, personally.
There are several good ball heads. The RRS heads are highly recommended by most professional photographers, seconded by the Kirk ball heads. I have a large RRS and have used a Kirk for years, but am now using a Markins ballhead, another very high quality product, a little smaller than the other two. I think Art recommends the Giottos, which is even smaller, but I'm sure that if he recommends it, it must be pretty good.
Of course, if you're not already equipped with them, all your lenses and bodies will have to have quick-release plates attached to them to facilitate fast mounting and unmounting on the tripod head. If you're not familiar with all this, it may seem like a lot to get into, but it works better than any other system and are well worth the time, money, and effort to get it all set up.
I'm sure there are a few more good products and I'm sure they will be mentioned in further posts, but you can't go wrong with these. They are the gold standards of tripods and ball heads.
The RRS focusing rail is probably the best there is, maybe the most expensive, too. The design can be difficult to work with if you are using a long macro lens with a tripod collar. They are designed to hold the camera body, not the lens, but they also sell an adapter for long lens use.
I think the Novoflex products from Germany are well made, but I've never used them and I'm not sure how easy they are to use with Arca-Swiss quick release plates.
I'm not sure about the Kirk focus rail. It looks like a good design, but I don't think it's as well made, as precise, and as solid as the RRS. If anybody out there has one and thinks otherwise, please speak up.
That should get you started. Just go ahead and empty out your bank account now, because you'll spend a few bucks getting all this tripod stuff set up, but a few years from now, you'll still be using state of the art equipment that lasts many, many years and is a joy to use.
One more recommended macro rail type of product
RRS makes a very handy product called the 192 Precision Plus Package. It is a sliding rail (a long dovetail, about 7 or 8 inches long, that slides in your tripod head clamp) with a sliding clamp on top of it. The clamp can be oriented for a camera body or a lens with a tripod collar. It costs a bit less than most of the high quality macro rails and basically does the same thing, just not as precisely perfect. I find that it works great most of the time, and relieves you of having to move the tripod to get a few inches further away or closer to your subject, but if you need very fine adjustment, the focusing rail is better for that.
This rail can also be helpful for setting the nodal point of a lens when making multiple shot landscape panoramas.