The Must Have's

[Bruce S. Yarock]

Chris,
Question about the tripod mount. I have a manfrotto 505 head, and a monopod, both of which came with their own adaptor plates. I can secure both to the stock xl2, but only with one bolt into the center hole.
Do you think I need the seperate canon tripod adaptor for a more secure connection, or is what I have enough. Btw, thanks for all your postings, they've been really helpfull.
After 1 day, I love the xl2...
Bruce Yarock

[Robert J. Wolff]

Zohar,

Common sence is the best answer I can give you for sand, or any other weather related problem.

Working around salt water and sand, you might consider using an under water housing. If you are only going to be shooting for very short periods of time on a beach, perhaps a clear plastic bag might be a reasonable way of tackling the problems of salt & sand, that is wind driven.

No matter what you decide for protection, a very complete cleaning of the cam & lens, along with your other equipment, is obviously a priority after the shoot. And i do not mean several hours later. Clean immeadiately after the shoot. Salt water LOVES metal of any kind.

[Zohar Lokhandwala]

Allright people,
Just placed an order on www.expandore.com
Bought an XL2 PAL. Its on there for $4200.
Also bought the Canon on board light. and the dual Battery Holder.

Now I'm stuck on the Tripod. Upgraded my budget to 1500-1800$ but really have no clue about these damn things. I'm really confused. And spending that much I don't want to get the wrong thing.
Someone suggested the Manfrotto 516 head. But then I heard someone say the 510 was better. I'm really confused. Please make a choice for me.

Glen, chris, nick....and everyone thanks for the gyan so far.

[Bruce S. Yarock]

Zohar,
I bought the manfrotto 505, and am happy with it. It also has interchangeable springs for different weight cameras.
Bruce yarock

[Robert J. Wolff]

Zohar.

The choice of a TP (tripod) is very much of a personal nature. What works for me might not appeal to you.

As I have stated in the past, in other treads, you must NOT purchase for the weight of your present camera. The cam that you buy in the future, might be too heavy for the TP and head combo, that you will use with your present equipment. Usually, I add at least half again, to double the weight of my present cam, to accomodate the other "stuff" that I am hanging on the TP.

I therefore, purchased the Bogen/Manfrotto 516 head; and, as a TP the Bogen/Manfrotto ARTS. This combo will allow me to hang @22lbs (9.97Kg.) on the TP and head

This combo works for me now, and will in the Future.

You are going to have to live with your decision for a long time.

Think carefully.

[Alexis Vazquez]

<<<-- Originally posted by Zohar Lokhandwala : Nick,

"- Tripod - any recomendation for a Tripod?...My ultimate goal is Filmmaking- Fully Loaded. But I'd like to keep it under 1000$. Honestly was actually hoping for 600$....but then again I don't want to risk my XL2-->>>

When I bought my first XL1s I knew nothing about accesories so I leave that desicion about choosing the right tripod to the place I bought the cam... (wrong idea, but hear this) It works very good, many friends gets impressed when they look at it...the feel was not bad at all, just the tilt, so I change the head. One time another Wedding videoghrapher told me that that is one of the best...not knowing too much I believe him and guess what? Some weeks ago I discovered that it is one of the cheapiest tripods on earth.... I just laugh. But it does the job well done... maybe cause I never went to the wild adventures, just event and corporate films.

Now with the XL2 I'm this close to buy a Bogen Manfrotto 515mvb and 516 head, an $999.00 maybe cause now I know a little something about wich one are cheapier, and don't want to play in that league, right. hmmmm.

It's very frustrating when you search for the "best" Tripods and see those prices even more expensive then the cam itself.... well as other says, these is my 2 cents....

What kind of film you do, How many things are going to be on camera, how heavy it will be? I think that is what you need to know first when buying a Tripod/head. I my case I just use Cam and on cam light sometimes, nothing else.


Alexis

[Jonathan Ramsey]

Agreed that the TP decision is contingent on many variables, mostly preference. I actually think of sticks a lot like glass: you have to put a lot more into those than what you might like to think... camera bodies, believe it or not, are actually the easy part! That isn't true for everyone. I've tested loads of heads and find that I am only happy with the fluidity of the best models. I fully intend on gettng a system that is closer to $3-4K because I know I have to get a Scahtler head and that's just what they run. I feel stairstepping occuring on everything except the Sachtler and Cartoni models. And I do a lot of compound moves, so that matters a lot to me. In choosing a head, budget comes to mind, but so does longevity (i.e., a good head can last most of your career if well cared for), so does the quality of the pan and tilt (there are HUGE differences between different heads and nothing compares to a fluid head that I've seen), so does it's durability (especially for field work), so does weight, so does load capacity, the sliding plate and how it locks, how easy is it to see the balancing bubble, how far can you tilt the head (in terms of degrees), and simple things like ease of use, numbers of drag steps available, how does it lock the pan and tilt in place... these all play into a decision. For the legs, think about size of the ball head (75mm or 100mm), how high and low does it go, it's weight, the mechanism for locking the legs, carbon fiber or aluminum, do you want a spreader and if so, above ground, on the ground, or none at all, is it cheaper to buy a "system" which includes the head, or put your own package together...?

Finally the best advice I can give is to go play with some. Go to a rental house and just try them. Go to an expo. Seriously, you are going to be using this every time you shoot. It's truly important to get something that compliments your shooting, not interferes with it. Call other shooters. See what has worked for them. I know for me, with this weight of camera, I have access to two Vinten's that were fine for a time but have not held up over a lot of travel and abuse, I've user Millers which were okay but limited in their tilt range, Gitzos which were cool in how they worked but a pain in how you tighten the legs up, Cartoni's which work great (known as the poor man's Sachtler) but also weigh a ton, Sachtler's which have awesome motion to them but in which the lower end models don't lock as well as the upper ends and which altogether are pricey, and on and on. Get this info from people you know and trust and you'll figure it out.

Best of luck!
Ramsey