New Camera

[Connie Star]

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

Hi Connie,
Thanks for the posts. I am very happy with my 7D but seriously considered getting the XSi instead - generally the Rebel XT and XS series have such good reviews that the decision to get the 7D was made only after long thought. I do like it, though - with my large hands it has a much better "feel" to it and I am much more steady with it. And, byt he way, we do a lot of hiking and backpacking as well, so we know what it is to carry a lot of equipment - three of us with three camera bags (plus backpacks) and several tripods. We carry for the two Canons (my 7D and my old XT) two telephotos and one macro, plus two standard lenses. An excellent tripod that we use for hiking is the Manfrotto 785SHB. It packs down to about a foot, is very light and gets you within about 3 inches of the ground.

Hi Ron,
I checked out that tripod on-line and it seems a bit lightweight for my main photo passion which is birds and for which I have some long heavy lenses. What type of photography are you doing with it? It does look nice for work on the ground. I also use a 100mm macro lens with a ringlight type flash which is heavy.
Just goes to show that there is no perfect camera for everybody- it's all a trade off.

[tropterrarium]

Originally Posted by Connie Star

Hi Ron,
I checked out that tripod on-line and it seems a bit lightweight for my main photo passion which is birds and for which I have some long heavy lenses. What type of photography are you doing with it? It does look nice for work on the ground. I also use a 100mm macro lens with a ringlight type flash which is heavy.
Just goes to show that there is no perfect camera for everybody- it's all a trade off.

To chime in on tripods, I use a Gitzo CF 1200 series 4 section pod for SLR. Had it about 12 years (was one of the very first CF tripods on the market back then) and its been from the intertidal to the desert and the tropical forest. On top a Linhof profi II ballhead with Arca-style QR. In a pinch it can handle the Canon 300/2.8 IS with 1.4x on a 5DmkII with battery grip and RRS L-plate. It goes down reasonably far, as I use a short column. On occasions I invert the column for belly shots.

My main lens is the Zeiss 100/2.0 ZE, and that one can be put on the smaller pod no problem, even with flash, extension ring etc.

My other pod is a 3 section 1300 Gitzo CF with Arca B1 ballhead and Arca QR. This one handles the 300/2.8 no problem, main use is for 4x5 LF (ArcaSwiss F-line). This one, too, with short column, and I occasionally invert it. A lot of fun with 4x5: everything upside-down, and upside down and backwards.