Learning about zoom lenses and footplates
I was recently reminded of something that I experienced in my beginning photography years when I got my first high-end longer lens, a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens. Prior to this purchase I had been using the Nikon 18-200mm zoom lens, which fit just fine when I connected it to my tripod. I was clueless about needing a footplate for different lenses at this point.
My memory was jogged when I was part of a group photography tour with Russ Burden Photography Tours to the Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. A woman on the trip, we’ll call her Grace, told me she was having trouble keeping her rented long lens on her tripod ballhead and she couldn’t understand why it did not fit. At the same time, my friend who had accompanied me (Julie), could not get a piece of equipment she had purchased to fit onto her tripod even though it technically should have fit precisely. And, I was coping with a Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens on a ballhead (and only my second time even using the lens) and trying to keep up with moving and unpredictable animals! The 150-600mm lens is fairly heavy and it kept attempting to flop over to the side when I picked up the tripod to run for a shot since I was keeping the ballhead loose in order to move the lens around as needed. Julie ended me loaning me a piece of equipment she had recently purchased to solve this type of problem and I tried it out for a bit but she wanted to use it on the trip. I knew I had the correct ballhead—which is a ballhead large enough to carry the weight of the lens—so a new ballhead was not the answer. So, tripod and equipment issues all the way around that needed to be solved.
When Grace expressed her dismay about her long lens wanting to fall off the tripod both I and the tour leader, Russ Burden, were near her and we collectively took a look at her lens. Speaking almost in unison we told her she needed a footplate for her long lens to ensure that it fit snugly onto her tripod. She had no idea what that meant and said her other lens had fit just fine. It was at that point I remembered my early experience with my long lens, it was yet another “learning moment” in the progression of my photography education. After we explained to her that many long lenses need a foot plate built especially for them in order to fit onto the tripod she understood, but was annoyed that the equipment rental company did not tell her that. Here we were in the middle of Yellowstone National Park and no correct footplate to be found! What to do?
She was lucky in this case. There was a national photography conference in the same town we were staying in just outside the national park and our tour leader took us there to look at the photos and check out some new equipment. I had been trying out Julie’s Wimberley Sidekick to see if I liked it and I did. I wanted to purchase the same piece of equipment and there was a photography dealer at the conference that Russ knew who could sell me one on the spot. I purchased an Induro Sidekick that came with a tripod attachment plate: however, the plate that I had already purchased for my Tamron 150-600mm lens fit the Induro perfectly. Grace tried the Induro footplate on her lens and tripod and it fit perfectly, too. So, my purchase solved both of our problems on the spot.
You might be asking at this point, “What is a sidekick?” In photography, a sidekick is a piece of equipment that attaches to a ballhead on a tripod and provides a handle that you use to balance and effectively and smoothly move the long lens. Induro calls it an Induro GHBA Gimbal Head and it retails for $175.00 (B&H): Wimberly calls it the Wimberley Arca Sidekick Ball to Gimbal Head Adapter and it retails for $249.00 (B&H). After correctly setting the ballhead knobs you can move the lens side to side and up and down as needed just holding onto the sidekick handle. While it takes some getting used to and a few minutes to actually figure out how to use it, it’s an effective piece of equipment to use when photographing animals or other subjects that move erratically.
A note on the two different pieces of equipment from Wimberly and Induro and my personal experience. I had been having some difficulty in attaching the Wimberly Sidekick to the plate on my lens: the fit was just a tad to tight to get the lens in quickly and it was a bit of a struggle. Upon attaching the lens to the Induro sidekick that problem was solved: it seems that the Induro attachment plate is just a tiny bit wider and so it was easy and quick to attach the lens. Check into this prior to your purchase if you are thinking about buying this piece of equipment.
Also, Julie’s problem of the plate she had brought for her lens not fitting her Gimbal Head (a more expensive and different piece of equipment where no ballhead is required) was not solved on the trip, but luckily she had also brought her sidekick along for me to try so she used that. Note to self, always check your equipment prior to heading out for a shoot, just to be sure it all works as promised.
If you are just starting out using longer lenses check out the web and find out what footplate you need to ensure a good fit with your tripod, order the part, and try it out at home before the trip.
Happy Photographing!
My memory was jogged when I was part of a group photography tour with Russ Burden Photography Tours to the Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. A woman on the trip, we’ll call her Grace, told me she was having trouble keeping her rented long lens on her tripod ballhead and she couldn’t understand why it did not fit. At the same time, my friend who had accompanied me (Julie), could not get a piece of equipment she had purchased to fit onto her tripod even though it technically should have fit precisely. And, I was coping with a Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens on a ballhead (and only my second time even using the lens) and trying to keep up with moving and unpredictable animals! The 150-600mm lens is fairly heavy and it kept attempting to flop over to the side when I picked up the tripod to run for a shot since I was keeping the ballhead loose in order to move the lens around as needed. Julie ended me loaning me a piece of equipment she had recently purchased to solve this type of problem and I tried it out for a bit but she wanted to use it on the trip. I knew I had the correct ballhead—which is a ballhead large enough to carry the weight of the lens—so a new ballhead was not the answer. So, tripod and equipment issues all the way around that needed to be solved.
When Grace expressed her dismay about her long lens wanting to fall off the tripod both I and the tour leader, Russ Burden, were near her and we collectively took a look at her lens. Speaking almost in unison we told her she needed a footplate for her long lens to ensure that it fit snugly onto her tripod. She had no idea what that meant and said her other lens had fit just fine. It was at that point I remembered my early experience with my long lens, it was yet another “learning moment” in the progression of my photography education. After we explained to her that many long lenses need a foot plate built especially for them in order to fit onto the tripod she understood, but was annoyed that the equipment rental company did not tell her that. Here we were in the middle of Yellowstone National Park and no correct footplate to be found! What to do?
She was lucky in this case. There was a national photography conference in the same town we were staying in just outside the national park and our tour leader took us there to look at the photos and check out some new equipment. I had been trying out Julie’s Wimberley Sidekick to see if I liked it and I did. I wanted to purchase the same piece of equipment and there was a photography dealer at the conference that Russ knew who could sell me one on the spot. I purchased an Induro Sidekick that came with a tripod attachment plate: however, the plate that I had already purchased for my Tamron 150-600mm lens fit the Induro perfectly. Grace tried the Induro footplate on her lens and tripod and it fit perfectly, too. So, my purchase solved both of our problems on the spot.
You might be asking at this point, “What is a sidekick?” In photography, a sidekick is a piece of equipment that attaches to a ballhead on a tripod and provides a handle that you use to balance and effectively and smoothly move the long lens. Induro calls it an Induro GHBA Gimbal Head and it retails for $175.00 (B&H): Wimberly calls it the Wimberley Arca Sidekick Ball to Gimbal Head Adapter and it retails for $249.00 (B&H). After correctly setting the ballhead knobs you can move the lens side to side and up and down as needed just holding onto the sidekick handle. While it takes some getting used to and a few minutes to actually figure out how to use it, it’s an effective piece of equipment to use when photographing animals or other subjects that move erratically.
A note on the two different pieces of equipment from Wimberly and Induro and my personal experience. I had been having some difficulty in attaching the Wimberly Sidekick to the plate on my lens: the fit was just a tad to tight to get the lens in quickly and it was a bit of a struggle. Upon attaching the lens to the Induro sidekick that problem was solved: it seems that the Induro attachment plate is just a tiny bit wider and so it was easy and quick to attach the lens. Check into this prior to your purchase if you are thinking about buying this piece of equipment.
Also, Julie’s problem of the plate she had brought for her lens not fitting her Gimbal Head (a more expensive and different piece of equipment where no ballhead is required) was not solved on the trip, but luckily she had also brought her sidekick along for me to try so she used that. Note to self, always check your equipment prior to heading out for a shoot, just to be sure it all works as promised.
If you are just starting out using longer lenses check out the web and find out what footplate you need to ensure a good fit with your tripod, order the part, and try it out at home before the trip.
Happy Photographing!