Reschedule... there is a foot of snow getting ready to dump on you (or so I've heard).

 

Yep 10-15" of heavy white crap. I'm going to work, but once my guys start to bail, I'm out of there too. Boss is away.

I'm guessing the event tomorrow will be cancelled. I'm sure I can meet him another time. I could always speed through his town in our Porsche and ask to be taken to the station when I get stopped.....

 

I loved them once I redid them with a much higher exposure. I have one over my bed. The colors come out great but Costco.com's metal prints are way darker in the finished product than the submitted photos.

 

I did a bit more reading on this, Patty. They suggest photos with lots of contrast. There are also two types of metal prints, one has a white backing, the other lets the metal show through. The company I used uses the white. My pic had a lot of white (snow), so we'll see how it comes out. I'm not sure of this company's policy if I'm not happy with the photos, maybe I should have checked, but they did have positive reviews, as if they would post the negative ones?

 

Interesting. That's exactly what I ended up with, lots of contrast, although I didn't want it.

 

Couple of quick shots of Venus, in crescent stage. Brightest in western sky, just after sunset. First with 28mm, second with 210mm on Sony NEX-5.

 

Took the above photos hand-held. Looking for a good lightweight tripod. Anyone own a Manfrotto? Maybe a compact action pod?

Thanks!

 

Thanks for posting those pictures. Very nice!!!!

DPReview is my primary resource for photo information. I think they have recently reviewed several travel tripods. These would be lightweight. They didn't test the Manfrotto.

I too was looking for a new tripod recently, but not necessarily a lightweight one. I have used a Manfrotto monopod for quite a few years and love its quality and features. Also, I had an old aluminum Tiltall tripod that is over 40 years old. It works well, but is heavy, and the aluminum legs leaves a dark residue on my hands. I recently bought a Benro lightweight tripod and am impressed with its features. In fact, this tripod ships with a tripod bag and tools.

Anyway, for my new tripod purchase, I initially bought a Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 tripod from Amazon. What sold me on the Manfrotto was the number of positive reviews and its reputation. However, I returned it because I wanted the extended warranty and you get that by registering the tripod. When I tried to register it, the Manfrotto web site said that the serial number was ALREADY registered! So, it was a "used" tripod. With what I was paying for the Manfotto, I decided to return it. In exchange, I bought an Induro carbon fiber tripod and am quite pleased with it.

Also, I noticed that the tripod head that is pictured with the Manfrotto is of the pan-and-tilt type. I decided that for my purposes, I wanted to try a ball head tripod head. One advantage of the ball head is that it packs away much easier than the pan-tilt heads, and you don't have lever controls sticking out at you when the camera is mounted.

My needs might be different from yours, since I am going to use it with my full frame (and heavy) Canon 5D and assorted tele-zoom lenses, and I don't intend to carry this tripod for extended hikes.

 

I use a Giottos Classic 8214 Carbon Fiber YTL Silk Road tripod that weighs 3.3 lbs with four leg sections that extend to ~ 73 inches and collapses down to ~ 21 inches. The Legs fold very close together which results in a very compact package. it will support over 22 lbs. In addition, a Manfrotto XPRO Magnesium Ball head that supports 22 lbs is used, too. It weighs an additional 18 oz bringing the total weight to ~ 4.4 lbs. The combination is very stable, sturdy for its weight, and is portable. With my heavy DSLRs with long and heavy focal length lenses it remains very stable.

Gary

 

.Since I got the new tripod, I decided to also try a gimbal head for my longest zoom (150-600mm). It works very well. I don't know how I ever got along without one