Final shopping list for tomorrow..

[mreco99]

i might have answered my own question 

On the sun sniper page
http://www.sun-sniper.com/
They clearly show a canon with a white long lens with the strap attached, it didnt even cross my mind to screw it into the tripod collar!! DOH that'll ease the strain on the lens mount

You definitely want to attach the strap to the tripod collar on a lens which has one!

Does your Giottos tripod/head use Arca Swiss plates? If so, I wrote up a post on a QR solution for BlackRapid (same idea as Sunsniper) that works with Arca Swiss.

great info, even if i only understood half of it.
But it did make me check my strap, and mine "sun sniper the one" is for up to 2.5kg. my 5d +70-200 weighs about 2.3kg (the next strap up 'the pro' is for 5kg)
So thats my 1st problem
I saw the D ring in your test, i would cry if that happened!
I would cry a little less now my gear is under the house insurance (half the price of dedicated camera insurance @ £4 a month, not inc overseas travel for 5k value theft and accidental damage)

I understand the issue with undo'ing the strap and then attaching the tripod plate each time, but i dont know if my system has a solution (Giottos MTL9351B, and Giottos ball head) or if what your suggesting fits.

[neuroanatomist]

I understand the issue with undo'ing the strap and then attaching the tripod plate each time, but i dont know if my system has a solution (Giottos MTL9351B, and Giottos ball head) or if what your suggesting fits.

What's the model of you ballhead?  It seems that some are Arca-Swiss type and other are not.  At a quick glance, the ones that have a lever for the release are not, and the ones that have a knob to tighten the clamp use Arca-Swiss compatible plates. FWIW, most of the better heads use AS-type plates (e.g. heads from Wimberley, Kirk, Really Right Stuff, Markins, and of course, Arca-Swiss).  The nice thing about that system is that you can get heads, plates, L-brackets, etc. from any of them, and they all work with the others.  As you saw from that post, I just recently replaced my Manfrotto QR plates (they use their own designs) with an AS-type system.  In fact, today I sold my set of Manfrotto clamps, RC2 plates, and BlackRapid FastenR-T1's.

[mreco99]

I understand the issue with undo'ing the strap and then attaching the tripod plate each time, but i dont know if my system has a solution (Giottos MTL9351B, and Giottos ball head) or if what your suggesting fits.

What's the model of you ballhead?  It seems that some are Arca-Swiss type and other are not.  At a quick glance, the ones that have a lever for the release are not, and the ones that have a knob to tighten the clamp use Arca-Swiss compatible plates. FWIW, most of the better heads use AS-type plates (e.g. heads from Wimberley, Kirk, Really Right Stuff, Markins, and of course, Arca-Swiss).  The nice thing about that system is that you can get heads, plates, L-brackets, etc. from any of them, and they all work with the others.  As you saw from that post, I just recently replaced my Manfrotto QR plates (they use their own designs) with an AS-type system.  In fact, today I sold my set of Manfrotto clamps, RC2 plates, and BlackRapid FastenR-T1's.

Ill check the model number but it is the one with the lever knobs as opposed to the ones with the round knobs

[Meh]

As you saw from that post, I just recently replaced my Manfrotto QR plates (they use their own designs) with an AS-type system.  In fact, today I sold my set of Manfrotto clamps, RC2 plates, and BlackRapid FastenR-T1's.

Are you still using the Manfrotto ball head (468MG) or will you be swapping that out for a Kirk or RRS?   I think my new system of choosing gear will be to save myself hours of painstaking deliberation and just buy what you buy 

[neuroanatomist]

As you saw from that post, I just recently replaced my Manfrotto QR plates (they use their own designs) with an AS-type system.  In fact, today I sold my set of Manfrotto clamps, RC2 plates, and BlackRapid FastenR-T1's.

Are you still using the Manfrotto ball head (468MG) or will you be swapping that out for a Kirk or RRS?   I think my new system of choosing gear will be to save myself hours of painstaking deliberation and just buy what you buy 

LOL. I'm still using the 468MG, I just put a Wimberley C-12 clamp on it. I had to replace the monopod tilt head, since the Manfrotto 234RC clamp is built-in. I got a 234 instead, and put another C-12 on that.

[Meh]

As you saw from that post, I just recently replaced my Manfrotto QR plates (they use their own designs) with an AS-type system.  In fact, today I sold my set of Manfrotto clamps, RC2 plates, and BlackRapid FastenR-T1's.

Are you still using the Manfrotto ball head (468MG) or will you be swapping that out for a Kirk or RRS?   I think my new system of choosing gear will be to save myself hours of painstaking deliberation and just buy what you buy 

LOL. I'm still using the 468MG, I just put a Wimberley C-12 clamp on it. I had to replace the monopod tilt head, since the Manfrotto 234RC clamp is built-in. I got a 234 instead, and put another C-12 on that.

Why the Wimberly?  Does that or say a Kirk QRC-3 screw right onto the 468MG head?

[neuroanatomist]

Why the Wimberly?  Does that or say a Kirk QRC-3 screw right onto the 468MG head?

The Wimberley C-12 screws right onto the 468MG, so I simply unscrewed the RC2 clamp from the 468MG head (two hex screws), and screwed on the C-12.  The Kirk QRC-3 would fit on a 468MG, which has a 3/8" threaded stud, but it looks like you'd need additional parts to retrofit it onto a 468MGRC#.  The Wimberley C-12 comes with the screw you need (and the allen keys in both sizes), and I like that it has three small set screws, vs. just one with the Kirk.

[Meh]

Why the Wimberly?  Does that or say a Kirk QRC-3 screw right onto the 468MG head?

The Wimberley C-12 screws right onto the 468MG, so I simply unscrewed the RC2 clamp from the 468MG head (two hex screws), and screwed on the C-12.  The Kirk QRC-3 would fit on a 468MG, which has a 3/8" threaded stud, but it looks like you'd need additional parts to retrofit it onto a 468MGRC#.  The Wimberley C-12 comes with the screw you need (and the allen keys in both sizes), and I like that it has three small set screws, vs. just one with the Kirk.

Thanks John!

[mreco99]

Couple of shots from the new gear (70-200mk2), they are only snap shots
Appologies if they dont appear, means ive screwed up again



A bird just dropping poop onto a bird looking up lol


Going to get some proper playing this weekend, will try the 2x extender, and compare with the lens put on the 450D for length