Support System For 500/f4 or 600/f4

I'm soliciting recommendations for a tripod and head to support either the Canon 500/f4 IS or Canon 600/f4 IS. I don't have a pack mule so I'll be carrying it on my back, most likely strapped to a Tamarac Expedition 8. Weight matters! I'll be attaching a Canon EOS 1D MkII N and perhaps a 580EX or two with a flash focus. I'll be shooting fly-bys (I hope) so good pan and tilt is a must. What would you folks with real world experience recommend? I wouldn't say cost is no object, but if I'm willing to go $7000 for a lens, I'm willing to spend what is necessary to support it.

Wimberley tripod head for sure.

http://www.tripodhead.com/

What is your current tripod? Depending on what you already have it may not be necessary. But having said that, you still are going to want some that can support 20+ pounds. The 600 f4, head, camera, flash, etc will be very near 20 anyway and having some leeway can only help.

Also, I would definately look into Richard's Wimberly suggestion. While I don't shoot 500-600's, I have yet to meet someone in the field using one of these lenses without having the Wimberly or something similar. It it not a coincidence...

My heavy duty tripod is a Bogen 3021 that is rated at 13 pounds. Don't think that will cut the mustard for either the 500 or 600.

I'm running into the same issue. I just received the 600 mm yesterday and am using a Slik pro 700 DX -AMT. This is my first time using a tripod at all as I usually like to stay very light and mobile. Couldn't resist that beautiful lens, though. My question is, does a lens that big always require your hands to be on it while it's mounted to keep it from drooping over (not the tripod tipping, but the camera/lens leaning), or is there a tripod sturdy enough to hold it upright while I stay hands-off. Perhaps the above-mentioned Wimberly would do the trick? Cathleen

I went with the Gitzo 1348 and the Wimberley Gimbal head. I'm 6' 3" so I needed the taller tripod. My 500 balances perfectly on the gimbal head so it can go hands free.

Cathleen - I have very little experience here, but you should be able to use a plate and the lens foot to place the camera/lens assembly on the tripod head so that it is fairly balanced. This will help, but a very robust head is a must if you want to be able to position the lens/camera and have it stay put (not "creep"). If you're using a ballhead, Really Right Stuff (RRS), Markins, and Kirk are the three types I've seen most people use with these lenses. The RRS seems to be especially highly recommended on some other forums.

Of course, this is sort of the point of a full gimbal head (like the Wimberley mentioned above) - the lens/camera is always balanced no matter how you move it, so the camera is free to move and stay in whatever position you want.