Want to travel more with my 4x5 -- searching for a tripod

[rfesk]

For travel I want the lightest tripod I can get. Otherwise I can't/won't take it.

This is the way I look at it: The issue of how heavy the tripod is not so important if you can hang weights from it. The shutter on the typical lens for a 4X5 camera doesn't induce much vibration in itself. Therefore if the legs are stiff enough (and CF legs usually are) and they are spread sufficiently to resist the vibration from the shutter in line with the axis of the legs, then only the weight of the camera/tripod (and any other weight added) will need to resist wind and other sources of vibration.

In all cases it is important to keep the camera as low on the tripod as possible. That is where a leveling head is very useful.

[Cor]

I use this when on the road. Its a very basic Amazon tripod with a tiny ball head, which works surprisingly well for it's specs and price.. Obviously my Galvin is lightweight...

best,

Cor

[v.kapoor]

Which head do you use with your 3442? And which camera normally are you traveling with? Considering this model myself!

Hi,

I travel with the previously mentioned Feisol 'Tournament' CT-3442. I have to remove the head, but it will fit in any standard maximum-size carry on (my bag of choice is the Tom Bihn Aeronaut 45, but it will certainly fit in many other bags). I fly quite a bit across the east coast of the US for work, often on regional jets, and I haven't found any issue getting the bag to fit. There is some flex, as expected of a 4-section tripod, but it hasn't affected my pictures to any noticeable effect. I think this is a fantastic choice for a medium-size travel tripod, and certainly for LF work while travelling. It's no Gitzo or RRS legs, but it also costs a third of that price.

Obviously, if you can check a bag, your set of possible choices increases dramatically. In that case, you can take your choice of the lot of the hundreds of quality CF legs out there.

[LabRat]

The only thing I will add is that some smaller 'pods that you MIGHT be able to carry-on might be strong/steady enough when used at lower heights, but bets will be off if you expect to extend the camera to heights generally where the center column is needed to extend it further up... If you are 5'5", this is fine, but Andre the Giant would have to kneel and bow to use it there...

If you put a 'pod into a paper, ABS, or PVC pipe (that does not look like a bomb), you should be able to send it below with the skis and golf clubs, but I have no idea how much they charge these days... (Don't get me started on the gall of them charging so much just to put a suitcase below now, but a duffle or suitcase that will hold one and enough clothes for more than a day or two may make it worth it...)

Steve K

[Two23]

I ended up buying a Feisol 3441T with Photoclam PC-40. Weight is about 3.4 pounds (I replaced long column with short.) Extends to 68 inches (no center column,) has four sections, carbon fiber of course, folds down to about 19 inches. It easily hold my Chamonix 045n. I've been out shooting with it a total of three days now and am quite happy with it. The 3442 would probably work too--I just snagged a use 3441t for under $200. I tie it to my camera bag for airline travel with head removed.


Kent in SD