Does anyone have a suggestion for a tripod they use? My largest lens is the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens for Canon EF with the Canon 5D IV body.

I’m looking to take sturdy shots at a distance. I sometimes put my 7D on the lens and try to get that crop factor zooming.

I’ve been poking around but nothing has caught my attention yet. I’ll keep looking for blogs and things. Looking for real-world suggestions though.

Thanks!

  • biffnixMEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Well, I use this one - it’s a Sirui AM-025K-CN carbon fiber tripod.

    Here’s what one of the legs looks like up close:

    When it’s fully extended it’s 52" tall, so a little shorter than eye-height, mostly. It works well for landscapes when backpacking. Here it is in its shortest configuration, just sitting on my ottoman:

    I wanted something portable, with an Arca-swiss plate head, as I use Arca plates on all of my gear. Since I go backpacking with my cameras, I needed lightweight, but sturdy enough to hold my full-frame 6D with 70-200 f/2.8L lens. I now use an R5 with the RF 70-200 lens.

    I did weigh it, and with the head, the tripod by itself is 903.2g or 1.99lbs.

    I weighed my R5 body with new 70-200 lens, and it’s exactly 1827g or 4.03lbs.

    I bought the tripod back in 2019, and it fits my use case well. It is NOT as sturdy in the wind as a much heavier aluminum tripod. I do have one that is rock solid in all conditions, and is slightly taller, but I find that I never really use it anymore, with image stabilization being so much better these days. I prefer the light weight and portability of smaller, collapsible tripods.

    I really liked the Peak Design carbon fiber travel tripod, but it weighs a little more at 2.81lbs, and costs over $600 new. I’m happy to pay for quality, but for backpacking, weight is more of a consideration for me right now. The Sirui is only $149, so the bang for the buck worked better for me.

    Cheers.