Hi Michael:
Extending the column on a sturdy tripod is not as big an issue. My
recommendation is the Manfrotto 190C or one of its variations. Solid,
not too heavy and priced reasonably for its quality. I use the three
way adjustable head and like it very much, bulky but great for stills.
Gord
On 15-May-08, at 4:41 PM, Michael Collins wrote:
> For some reason, years ago - well, decades ago - I bought a Gitzo
> Weekender
> tripod, whose height is only 101cm/40" without centre column
> extended and a
> whopping 120cm/47-1/2" fully extended. I'm not sure I was ever that
> comfortable stooping to use it, but I certainly am not now. It's
> also not
> exactly light. I'm now looking for the Tripod For The Rest Of My Life
> (TFTROML).
>
> On the subject of one criterion: almost all advice I've found on
> tripod
> height says buy one which puts the viewfinder comfortably at eye
> level with
> the column not extended, which sounds quite sensible, especially for
> the
> arthritic. Until I do the arithmetic on specific tripods suggested.
> I'm
> probably average height for my generation, 170cm/5'7", with eyes at
> about
> 162cm/5'4". [Adopting a "wide stance" :-) can reduce that
> uncomfortably by
> about 5cm/2"]. I subtract 8cm/3" for E-3 viewfinder-to-base, 7cm/3"
> for the
> smallest of ballheads I'm likely to use, and we're at 147cm/
> 4'10"(58"). More
> height is needed if the camera's tilted on its side.
>
> Now I look at column-not-extended heights for a variety of
> frequently-mentioned tripods [including in the list archives], and I
> find
> many that fall short by noticeable amounts: 190XPROB=122cm,
> 055MF3=134.5cm,
> 3021PRO=135cm, GT1530-134, GT2530EX=141cm. There are some that seem
> fine,
> like several of the Gitzos: G1340=153cm, G1320=158cm.
>
> I'm missing something here. Is the eye height guideline not
> realistic, or am
> I looking at the wrong list of tripods, or is centre column
> extension not
> really the issue it's made out to be, or...?
>
> Michael
>
>
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