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Thread: The mythical perfect tripod

  1. #1

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    The mythical perfect tripod

    I nearly killed myself over the July 4th weekend when I took my 11lb Ries tripod plus 17lbs of other camera gear on a 4000+ ft hike in the White Mountains. Since then, I've decided to focus on minimizing the weight of my gear, of which my tripod is the biggest offender.

    Up on the top of the mountain, however, the wind was howling and I had absolutely no concern that my camera would be blown off the cliff.

    Is there a middle ground? I want a tripod that is much lighter than the Ries, but don't want to have to worry about it tipping over in high wind. Would a Gitzo 3 series fit my needs?

    Edit: I'm using a Chamonix 4x5. The largest lens I use is a Fuji 250mm.

  2. #2
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: The mythical perfect tripod

    I've been in winds where the the 8x10 plus the Ries was picked up and blown twenty feet or so. Lucky each instance that it all landed on soft bushes and nothing got broken. Usually, I manage to grab the thing before it blows over or goes sailing. So with reference to wind, maybe something twice as heavy as a Ries would be appropriate. But in terms of what you're asking, an empty mesh sack full of rocks would add necessary ballast in a pinch. So what I did for my old age option with the 8x10 (and last month when I was miserable with shingles), is to supplement my Ries with a large Feisol carbon fiber unit. Maybe the largest they have; but it's still half the weight of my Ries and, modified, supports my 8x10 flatbed nicely. I don't use tripod heads; but it was fairly simple to modify the removable tripod center adapter and convert it for a 3/8-16 turnknob ala Ries-style. This is easier to do on a Feisol CF tripod than a Gitzo, though I do have one
    of those modified too for 4x5 use. And I ordered the optional stainless foot spikes for the thing. Nice rig when I want to lower cumulative weight.

  3. #3

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    Re: The mythical perfect tripod

    Maybe the TVXC, the new but not released tripod by Really Right Stuff, may be what you would like. I'm also looking for a Ries replacement, but I don't like the preset leg angle locks on almost all carbon fiber leg sets. The TVXC will have leg angle locks very much like a Ries, so I am going to wait a while and live with what I currently have, and save " my spare change" as I suspect it will be costly.

  4. #4
    Jac@stafford.net's Avatar
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    Re: The mythical perfect tripod

    Quote Originally Posted by Drew Wiley View Post
    an empty mesh sack full of rocks would add necessary ballast in a pinch
    Why not just a light chain attached to the head or centre column with a foot hold, such a a loop that the photographer nails to the ground?
    .

  5. #5
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: The mythical perfect tripod

    Are you kidding? There is simply no real substitute for sheer bully mass and those spikes. Ries got it right the first time; so did surveyors. Other than this totally weird present drought year, the wind is almost incessant around here, but especially vigorous in the Spring. Then even in up on the glaciers desert canyon rims
    there have been times I actually pulled off totally precise exposures in winds so bad that I had to use my entire body weight hanging below the tripod myself, and damn near blew away myself! That might sound ridiculous. But high constant wind is not what ruins an exposure and shakes the camera, but gusts. Of course, it can be hell to compose the shot to begin with; but this is the kind of thing I have a LOT of experience with. Sure, I strike out from time to time too, and the shot gets blurred. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. I once had my Sinar lifted and thrown quite a distance, which cracked a rod on the front standard. But I just locked the thing in place and used other movements to achieve parallel vertical rise the duration of the trip, until I got back and replaced
    the component - a nice feature with Sinar. But when total carry weight is the overriding priority, carbon fiber is wonderful stuff. Not all these CF tripods are ideally designed for view cameras, however, despite their alleged weight ratings. You still need enough platform support and possibly modification.

  6. #6

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    Re: The mythical perfect tripod

    Ries is the perfect tripod. You are just not the perfect human!

  7. #7
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Re: The mythical perfect tripod

    Imo, a series 3 aluminum Gitzo with long spikes would be a good middle ground.
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

  8. #8

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    Re: The mythical perfect tripod

    I didn't know that most other tripods have leg angle locks. I like how the Ries is adjustable if I need to make it wider. My friend says I just need to get in better shape! He thinks the extra weight will be good exercise.

  9. #9

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    Re: The mythical perfect tripod

    I have 2 tripods, a wooden 2 section berlebach with a built in ball head which is ideal but too heavy for walking far and too long folded for flying, so I use a very light 3 section feisol carbon fibre tipod with no centre column, leveling base or ball head at all for that. It gets most things done but requires a bag to be hung from the hook to feel stable. This is 4x5/5x7/Fuji X100/MF and whole plate only on the berlebach. The wooden tripod is the nicest tripod to use and gets the most use for all formats.

  10. #10

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    Re: The mythical perfect tripod

    Nimo, where did you end up going? I feel your pain about the tripod. Maybe a smaller mountain.

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