Dick Locke's Daylight and Fixed Tripod Photography Equipment Page
Copyright © 2014-2026 by Dick Locke.  All Rights Reserved.  Contact and Image Use Information.  My astronomy equipment home page is here.


Bird Rig Camo in the Back Yard

This page lists the photography equipment I own and use in the daylight...  I do fixed tripod work with it in the dark as well.  Here is the imaging equipment dedicated to astronomy.

Nikon Camera Bodies (Digital)

Nikon Compatible and Nikkor Lenses and Accessories -Z Mount

Nikon Nikkor Lenses - F Mount (the legacy DSLR lenses)

 

Other Photography Gear

Comment: Arca Swiss plates and clamps all the way... I ended up with a number of tripod heads and associated plates and clamps.  It became a real burden to keep track of everything, and a tripod head with a clamp is worthless without the plate that fits!  I tried to standardize on the Manfrotto RC4 plates, but two of my Manfrotto heads needed different plates.  So I am going to Arca Swiss compatible gear.  Hejnar Photo makes products allowing you to convert Manfrotto to Arca, check them out.

  1. Acratech GV2 Ballhead/Gimbal Head, holds 25 lbs and weighs .76 lbs.  I liked it so much I bought another.  I use one of these during piggyback astrophotography.
  2. Arca Swiss Monoball Z1, 2016, has an absurd load capacity listed at 130 lb!  I weighs 1.4 lbs though, 635 grams or 22.7 oz.  I don't like the dual plate support, I had my big lens engaged a bit on the smaller fitting and thought it was secure; lucky it didn't fall off the tripod!
  3. Arca-Swiss C1 Cube Geared Head with Arca Classic Quick Release with GP (Geared Panning), 2.4lb, 88lb capacity
  4. Gitzo GM2541 monopod, 63" and 26lb capacity, 1.1lb, 21" min length
  5. Gitzo GM4552L monopod, 75", 77lb capacity, 22" min length, 1.6 lb.
  6. Gitzo GM5561T GITZO GM5561T SERIES 5 TRAVELER 6X MONOPOD 61.2"- this is a big boy monopod that collapses into a very small package.
  7. Gitzo GT2531EX Series 2 Carbon 6x 3 Section G-Lock Explorer Tripod, load capacity 26.5 lbs, weight 4.1 lb (4.4lb with column), 67" max height, 55" without column. (Older)
  8. Gitzo GT2545T traveler tripod - 26lb load, 17.5" folded, 65" max height, 3lb
  9. Gitzo GT3530S carbon fiber tripod.  I picked up an older model Gitzo G318 Carbon Fiber Center Column for this as well.  This easily holds the Losmandy Starlapse package.  Load capacity 40 lb, 50.4" max height, 24" folded, 4lbs.
  10. Gitzo GT3542LS Systematic Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod W GT3542LS carbon fiber a robust, weights 5lb with column, 4.3lb, 4-section carbon fiber Systematic tripod 55lb capacity with a tall max height (approx. 58 in without center column, over 70 in with head), low minimum height (around 4-6 in), twist locks (G-Lock Ultra) - newer model in the series with more weight capacity.
  11. Gitzo GT5562LTS, Gitzo Series 5 Systematic 6X Carbon Fiber Tripod (Long).  Got a great deal on a used version of this one; it has 6 leg sections so it takes a while to get set up...  But, it collapses into a very small package and is plenty sturdy. Regularly $1300, I picked up a used model for much cheaper.  Max height 4' 9" or 57".   Folded 18".  Weighs 6.5 lbs. 
  12. Kirk Monopod Head MPA-2, 14.3 oz, 405g
  13. Magicball mini, Novoflex MagicBall Mini Ballhead (12 oz, 337g, 1/4 20 mount, no plate)
  14. Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 tripod legs (carbon fiber), holds 15.4 lbs, 53" tall and 63" max with column, weighs 3.6 lb
  15. Manfrotto 3401 Aluminum tripod legs with removable center column; the column can be mounted horizontally for convenient ground-level macro work.  Rated at 13.2 lbs, the legs with no column or head weigh about 5 lbs.  The Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared head (rated for 11 lbs) rides on top.  This head allows very precise adjustments of camera position, but is not good for rapid movements.  The head and the long center column together weigh 3 lbs, for a total weight of 8 lbs when hauling it around.  A bit heavy!
  16. Manfrotto 405 Pro Digital Geared Head, supports 16.5 lbs and weighs 3.53 lbs.  I am using this for the Losmandy Starlapse (and it's the only thing that I still use RC4 plates with!) I'm trying some video and have a
  17. Manfrotto Heavy Telephoto Lens Support with Quick Release, MFR # 393, replaces #3421.  Supports up to 44 lbs but it's a heavy sucker at 3.5 lbs all by itself.  I contacted Hejnar Photo about converting this to an Arca Swiss clamp.  He didn't have a custom solution for the 393 but he created one!  See this link.  All that said I finally bit the bullet and bought a Wimberly head, WH-200.There are 16 ounces in a pound!
  18. Markins Q-Ball Q3... Markins Q-Ball Q3i Emille with Quick Turn Knob Quick Shoe Red, 375 grams (0.83 lb), max load claimed at 65 lb (!).  This is another one I use for piggyback astrophotography.
  19. ProMediaGear BH1 Arca-Type Ball Head, weghts 2.0 lb, holds 50lb
  20. ProMediaGear TR424L,Carbon Fiber Tripod | 4 Sections 77", 125lb capacity, 6.4lb weight, 26.3" folded (4 leg sections)
    a. TR42C Carbon Fiber Center Column for 42 Series Tripods & Gitzo Systematic Series 5 Sale price $249.95 USD (25 lb capacity)
    b. TR42C center column for PMG and Gitzo series 5
    c. TRBU75 Half ball leveling head with TRB75 Bowl Adapter for TR42 Series Tripods
  21. ProMediaGear TR42MXL Carbon Fiber Monopod with Standard Mount - weighs 1.7lb, 70 lb capacity, 25" closed and 81" max height 4 sections
  22. ProMediaGear GKJr Katana Pro Aluminum Gimbal Head, weights 2.4 lb, 50 lb capacity
  23. Really Right Stuff BH-40 Ball Head with Full-Size Screw-Knob Clamp, weighs 1lb, supports 18lb.
  24. Really Right Stuff Plates, etc: LCF-14 replacement foot for Nikon 300 f2.8, BD750-L for the D750 (4.1 oz 116g), BD810-L for D810A (3.6 oz or 102gm), MPR-73 mounts on the lens foot for the 200mm Micro.
  25. Robus RCTT-200 Carbon Fiber Tabletop Tripod with Ball Head
  26. Sennheiser MKE-400 microphone to try to get some bird sounds mostly
  27. Wimberley MH-100 MonoGimbal Head for Monopods, weights 0.8 lb holds 50 lb
  28. Wimberley WH-200 gimbal head.  Awesome, expensive but worth it.  I have a F-9 flash bracket and module 6 M-6 extension.  I needed the FA-11 adapter to work with my Nikon SC-29 Cord.  3.1lb

 

Old Equipment - Now Sold

Flash


Nikon R1 Macro Flash with 105mm VR Lens on D610

The connections are: 58mm adapter ring screws on to the lens, then the SX-1 attachment ring snaps on to the adapter.  Then the wireless remote speedlights (SB-R200 x 2) snap on to the attachment ring.  The flashes can be independently positioned with 15 degree stops.


Nikon R1 Macro Flash - Side view

The thing plugged into the flash shoe is called an IR Panel for Built-in Flash SG-3IR.  It allows the on-camera flash to control the micro flash, while blocking the camera flash.  The SB-800 flash can also act as a macro flash "commander."  The individual flash output may be varied by the commander function.

Other Photography Equipment - Oldish and/or Deprecated

  2. A mid-weight alternative head for the 3401 Aluminum tripod was the Manfrotto 488RC4 Midi Ball Head with RC4 System (Quick Release) rated to 17.6lbs.  I kept this head mounted on the extra center column for quick change-outs with the 410 head.  The 488RC4 is somewhat heavy at 1 lb 7 oz and I am not planning to use it any longer.

  3. My light-weight rig rides on Slik Pro 713 CF legs rated to 11 lbs and features a mini Magic Ball head rated at 11 lbs from Novoflex.  The one of the Slik legs stopped working properly (but it's usable) so this is now strictly a backup.  It has a 1/4 20 post, non-standard.  Looks like the Slik weights about 3.1 lbs and the ball head .72 lbs.

  4. Gitzo GH2750 Series 2 Magnesium Off Center Ball Head, holds 11 lbs and weights 1.1 lb

  5. CowboyStudio Panoramic Gimbal Tripod Head BK-45 Specialized 1/4-Inch Screw For Telephoto Len Camera - I grabbed one of these when the price dropped into the $60-70 range.  Cheap-ish and haven't had a chance to use it yet.

  6. Sirui L-10 Tilt Head, weighs 11.5 oz (.72lb) and supports a claimed 33 lbs!  Wow!  It is passable with my 300 f2.8 and camera at just under 10 lbs, but I'm not sure how much more weight I'd want to put on it. Sirui Tilt Head L-10 for Monopods including Quick Release Plate, holds 33 lbs and weighs 0.725 lbs.  I tried it with my 300mm f2.8 lens, and it kind of works but is far from ideal.  I ended up crunching my thumb one time when I wasn't paying enough attention, and I'm not going down that road again.  It works OK for my 200mm f4 macro.  See Kirk Monopod head.

  7. Sold: My heavy rig features Manfrotto 3068 video tripod legs (very heavy at around 15 lbs, but supports up to 40 lbs).  I was using this with the Losmandy Starlapse, but since then went with a Gitzo solution and left the heavy stuff at home. and 501HDV Pro Video head rated at 13.3 lbs.  I have used this with small telescopes (e.g., FSQ-85) or 70mm binoculars on this rig but it's at the edge of what the video head can manage.

Random notes and links

As of late 2015 and into 2016 I'm looking to shrink my equipment collection overall, but to add a few high-quality camera lenses suitable for astrophotography.... Something in the 135mm to 200mm range, a great 50mm lens, and perhaps one or two excellent wide-angle lenses.  I want sharpness, coma control, and minimal chromatic aberration.  Here are some relevant links:

Ron Brunswold wide angle lenses for the night sky

A lot of people like Rokinon lenses but note there have been reports of significant problems with sample quality.  I got a 14mm but it had ugly coma on stars, though seemed ok for daylight shots.  Dave Kingham has some comparisons.  Here's a nice comparison of 50mm lenses (Sigma Art, Nikon 50mm f1.4G, and Zeiss 55mm Otus).  The new Zeiss Milvus 50mm  maybe a contender, here's a review showing maybe OK coma at f1.4, but no other fstop.  The Sigma 20mm is explored here. The Nikon 20mm f1.8 may be a contender.

Buying a Telescope - general information
Astronomy Photos		 Computer Equipment - What I'm using now
Processing Astrophotos Old: Olympus C4040 Zoom Old: Nikon D100 Images

Other Astronomy Equipment,
e.g. Binoculars

 Basic Astrophotography For Sale

 

Here is an interesting document with canon lens references and test results

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All Rights Reserved.
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See Ya!  Canon Equipment - All sold after the D810A