Tripod question for sports photography

[Hali]

Thanks, all. So a decent aluminum or carbon monopod. Then something like an arca-Swiss tilt head.
One more Q: I just spent nearly $3k on a lens, so I’m not looking to be penny-wise pound foolish, but I see both monopods and tilt heads that range from a few $10s to $100+. Do you get what you pay for on this stuff?
The Manfrotto head noted above is reasonably priced, but I’d really like to get away from proprietary quick-releases and go to something standard. I already have some Arca-swiss stuff around.

My two cents - don't be pennywise and pound foolish. You just said you spent 3K on a lens, if you buy a cheap monopod and either ballhead or tiltshift head, you run the risk of something catastrophic happening because it isn't a solid base for the lens and the camera.

Quick story: I have a friend who had an R5 and an EF-24-105. She didn't want to spend a lot of money on a tripod and the ball head so the salesman at the camera store sold her a lightweight, inexpensive combo. I told her to return the tripod and use my extra but she was adamant it was fine. We went out on a photo shoot to some local waterfalls and I told her to make sure she holds onto the tripod because it was very tippy and to double-check the connection when she put the camera into the ball head because I felt it was loose. I even checked it for her. Next thing I know I hear a splash and a lot of explicatives. Long story short the camera slipped out of the ball head because the ball head couldn't hold the weight of the camera and fell forward, the front leg of the tripod buckled (NEW tripod, mind you) when the weight came on it and the camera fell in the water, luckily it did not go over the waterfall. The EF lens was ruined and it was an expensive repair on the camera.

Moral of the story - if you spent that much on the lens and camera protect your investment.

 

[MikeZ]

Sad story, but excellent point. I think that it's easy to "economize" on a tripod and head after making the big investment on camera and lens(es). But that shortsighted reasoning can be costly, as it was for the person in the above story. Anything that carries the literal weight of the big investment (camera strap included) must be strong enough to do so, and not a subject for cost savings.