NoSkillz
New member
Hi everyone:
I had been blessed with an irresistible opportunity to pick up a Nikkor 400 f2.8s w/ a TC2.0 and thus far, enjoy every single bit of it. I even think the TC2.0 outperforms the internal TC. My current tripod set up is an old Sirui tripod with a 60mm diameter levelling base and a Manfrotto MVH500 on top. This set up worked well for the rest of my gear (heaviest was Z9 with a 100-400 Z) but I noticed that the head seemed to creep slightly when I start tilting the Z9 + 400 TC beyond about 60 degrees (there is no creep for lower angle). The creeping eventually stops but it is extremely agonizing when I want to target a specific part of a night sky (say a certain constellation, or Saturn). I almost blew a gasket last time I went to take pictures of Saturn when it was only visible in the skies for only 15 minutes before sunrise. Not matter how hard I turn the locking knob the creep is still there and made me lost a lot of shots or had poor composition. I did discover that at least for my copy of the head, the head was never truly locked when I start to lean my body weight onto it, regardless of how hard I turn the locking knob. I went to my local camera store and did the same exercise to a MVH502 and that one did not budge a single bit.
I am wondering if I should consider changing to another head, like the Arcatech long lens head. It is quite a bit smaller and lighter versus the MVH500 and it comes arca swiss ready. I have read that it has no creeping at all. I am not too concerned about the smoothness of a video head but this creep thing is very annoying. Does anyone have any experience they can share?
While we are on the subject of support, I am also wondering if it is compulsory to get a tripod with apex size larger than my leveling base and the head? For example, my Sirui tripod has a 60mm top, which fits right with my level base, but the MVH500 is certainly bigger in size. Are there any merits or needs to get a tripod with a larger apex?
Thank you for reading and any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I had been blessed with an irresistible opportunity to pick up a Nikkor 400 f2.8s w/ a TC2.0 and thus far, enjoy every single bit of it. I even think the TC2.0 outperforms the internal TC. My current tripod set up is an old Sirui tripod with a 60mm diameter levelling base and a Manfrotto MVH500 on top. This set up worked well for the rest of my gear (heaviest was Z9 with a 100-400 Z) but I noticed that the head seemed to creep slightly when I start tilting the Z9 + 400 TC beyond about 60 degrees (there is no creep for lower angle). The creeping eventually stops but it is extremely agonizing when I want to target a specific part of a night sky (say a certain constellation, or Saturn). I almost blew a gasket last time I went to take pictures of Saturn when it was only visible in the skies for only 15 minutes before sunrise. Not matter how hard I turn the locking knob the creep is still there and made me lost a lot of shots or had poor composition. I did discover that at least for my copy of the head, the head was never truly locked when I start to lean my body weight onto it, regardless of how hard I turn the locking knob. I went to my local camera store and did the same exercise to a MVH502 and that one did not budge a single bit.
I am wondering if I should consider changing to another head, like the Arcatech long lens head. It is quite a bit smaller and lighter versus the MVH500 and it comes arca swiss ready. I have read that it has no creeping at all. I am not too concerned about the smoothness of a video head but this creep thing is very annoying. Does anyone have any experience they can share?
While we are on the subject of support, I am also wondering if it is compulsory to get a tripod with apex size larger than my leveling base and the head? For example, my Sirui tripod has a 60mm top, which fits right with my level base, but the MVH500 is certainly bigger in size. Are there any merits or needs to get a tripod with a larger apex?
Thank you for reading and any advice would be greatly appreciated.
