A tip for using telephoto lenses on a ball head

Nice and undoubtedly useful article for FF lenses.
Fortunately, with my micro 4/3 cameras, even with a FF equivalent of 420mm, I don't have this problem at all due to the much smaller dimensions and weight of the lenses. 8-)

Good tip, Nando. I also sometimes struggle with my telephoto lens on a tripod.
But I think you tilt the ball head 90 degrees, not 180 degrees

Is it advisable in both options to turn steady shot off ?
Pietet Kok.

A 4/3 150-600 is quite a lot to photograph handheld, that would correspond to a 300-1200 FF.
But with a 4/3 40-150 with a 2x converter, which therefore corresponds to an FF 160-600, that works fine. And with the very good stabilizers, 600mm handheld is perfectly doable, even in darker conditions without having to set the ISO above 1000.

Nando, don't get me wrong. I really think your explanation is perfectly fine.
I always head out into nature without a tripod and I can photograph handheld with a 600mm. However, I usually use a 1.2 converter, which results in a max 420 FF.
One of the big advantages of a 4/3.

Nando, why then is it advised 9 times out of 10 to switch off image stabilization when using a tripod? Is that referring to the IS in the lens or the IBIS in the camera or both?

Nando, I have been using this method for quite some time when I go "bird hunting" with my spotting scope with my phone on it as a camera. Even though I sometimes wonder whether the mechanical load on the GITZO ball head might be a bit too much. But I have never had a problem with it. One suggestion: make sure the weight is properly balanced, otherwise the spotting scope (or the camera with telephoto lens) could suddenly "snap" forwards or backwards!!
Eduard

Albert Wester wrote on Sunday 18 February 2024 at 14:35  | reply

Actually, what you see here are the consequences of not thinking carefully enough about buying your equipment. Yes, a ball head has a great deal of freedom of movement, but that is also the major disadvantage of a ball head. You have to adjust your camera on the ball head in 3 dimensions all at once and that is not easy!

A good and stable tripod is simply very expensive, and to prevent running into situations in the future, you need to look at the various compromises you will then have to make. Do you want a lightweight travel tripod, do you want a stormproof tripod, do you want it high or low, aluminium or carbon? They all have their pros and cons, but the same also applies to tripod heads. But what is often forgotten is that a tripod is only as sturdy as the head being used and the head is only as stable as the tripod being used. I see an extremely stable Gitso tripod in the photo, but with the (heavy) camera and lens next to the centre point of the tripod. You can have such a good tripod, but the consequence of this setup is that the whole thing, including the head, will be extremely unstable! Let that be a warning to everyone!

I have also used the setup Nando suggests a number of times and I had to catch the whole thing twice because it was blown over by the wind, and that made me decide to look for something else.

Through trial and error, I have become wiser and started seeing a tripod AND head as one system. I now have a Benro Mammoth TMTH44C tripod which has a leveling base with a Leofoto VH-30R 2-Way Head on top. With this, you can very easily level the tripod head and then adjust it dimension by dimension, so left/right and up/down.

This system is excellent for small and large equipment, is extremely stable in storms, has an acceptable weight and easily fits in a suitcase to take along on trips.