Tall tripod

[Carl J]

Sergio,
You are correct about the quality of both Giottos and Triopo; don't trust them with expensive gear.
I had a Triopo which was ok for MF, but it would still wobble no matter what I put on it. And after a few months, it started to come apart.
Extending it and closing it were not pleasant experiences, and the poor build quality was obvious everywhere.
But it was light and cheap, I'll give it that.

If you're on a really tight budget, I'd suggest looking at Induro tripods; they may have one model that is extra tall, and they offer a decently-made tripod for the price.

If you have a few more shekels to spend, I can suggest a CP30-XL4S tripod from FLM: http://www.flmcanada.com/carbon-fibre-tripods-xl.html
It reaches 217cm in height and weighs 1,9kg.

Buy well, buy once.

Hi Ari,

Sounds interesting. Love the CP30-S3S but do miss ability to go higher at times. At 1.9kg (vs. 1.5kg, if I'm not mistaken) weight of the CP30-XL4S is only marginally greater.
Have you used one?

Carl

[Ari]

Hi Carl,
Glad you're enjoying the tripod!
Yes, I've used the XL, and if you like to shoot higher on a regular basis, it is indispensable.
It's only offered in a 4-section version, but most of the time you end up needing only 3 sections, so retract the thinnest leg section.
It's a very steady and stable tripod, even at maximum extension.
And yes, it's only about 400 grams heavier than your tripod.

I'll send you a PM with more details.

[SergeiR]

Excellent! Are you for hire at mule rates?
.

Nope But you can pay me my hourly developer rates, and travel expenses and i can oblige

[Leszek Vogt]

Been using Feisol CT-3371 for over 2 yrs. Not sure I'd slap 8x10 on it, tho I have used 520mm in FF. It's a 3-leg CF rig....appx 4.85lbs....and pretty solid...and it suppose to support 26lbs. Legs have presets at 25/70/90 deg and it extends to 155mm. You add 410 head and you have around 170mm (+/- few). Hmmm, no mule required.

Les

[sergiofigliolia]

How about a used Gitzo 504 or similar?

Can't seem to find the proper specs but by seeing an ebay auction I saw it is 3m high and weighs 7kgs!!!

Yesterday I visited a local camera shop looking for old 055 Manfrotto line. I "only" found the new 055 series and though being skeptical about those they impressed me.
I tried both the MT055XPRO3 and the MT055CXPRO4 and both were sturdy as hell (provided hell is sturdy!) even with the center column fully extended. The new leg locks are impressive.
The thing is they weigh respectively 2.1 and 2.5 kgs and honestly couldn't find any difference by weighing them in hands at the same time.
The first costs half the price of the second so among the 2 there is no game (I'd buy the slightly heavier MT055XPRO3).
Now I was considering the old 055CXPRO4 as it is 1.7kgs. I think one starts to feel the difference between 1.7 and 2.5 kgs!
I wonder if anyone has got the old carbon one to tell me whether that is sturdy enough.
Manfrotto claims the new tripods are by a fair amount (50%, I'm reluctant to use numbers in this case) sturdier than the old ones

[sergiofigliolia]

I ended up getting the MT055XPRO3. Thanks everyone for their thoughts :-)