For 4X5 Field camera Gitzo Carbon fiber or Aluminum

[Michael Daily]

However, a $99 Tiltall does exactly the same thing, albeit a few seconds slower and without as much pride of ownership.

There are plenty of good options. We haven't even discussed nice wooden tripods yet [/QUOTE]

I agree, I regularly use my antique Tiltall for 4x5 and have for over 30 years in many countries and situations. I sometimes use it for 5x7 Deardorff, but prefer my Giotto CF which weighs the same and is somewhat shorter. The Giotto is less than 1/2 the price of the Gitzo, which is the only reason I bought it. It is not quite as nice as the Gitzo, but at less than $300, I feel it was a good choice. Either fits in the ski slot of my Redwing backpack and carries easily. I like the CF for winter--it is not as dangerous to my hands.
Michael

[Dirk Rösler]

I just bought a Benro C-327 for around $250, about 40% of the Gitzo equivalent. It is very good indeed. I was recommended a Giottos head instead of the Benro heads, and when comparing them last week in Hong Kong, I am glad I went for the Giottos as it seems of higher quality.

If you can get a Benro at good price (probably at more than what I paid though if you have to buy through the "eBay resellers"), go for it. The newer ones have the anti-locking and all the Gitzos have. They are so similar to the Gitzos, even down to internal parts, that we are thinking they may not actually be illegitimate knockoffs rather than legit rebranded Gitzos for the Chinese domestic market (which is why you see most international sales are through eBay and very small stores, not the large retailers). There are many people who make a big hoo-haa about morals etc, but who knows what the real story behind this is.

[Matus Kalisky]

I am also one of the Benro owners - I have th M227 model (equivalent og Gitzo 1227)- with the anti-twisting featre. I payed about 40% of the Gitzo price (1227 is around 500 euro here ~ $630). I bought it ~ 8 moths ago via eBay from some Hong-Kong seller who was frank enough to say that the customer service is not very good. It came with a rather good bag which is long enough that I can just fit inside the tripod with Novolfex Magicball 50 attached.

It works nice for me, but I do have "fragile" feeleing out of it so I hande it with care. Well - if you try it - the anti-twisting legs are no that much anti twisting - I managed to twist one of them while lockin another joint (my mistake) - made un ugly sound, but turning it back the sound came again and it works OK. I also for the curiosituy took one leg-setion out - well the joints inside are all plastic and anti-twisting is done via a cca 1/2 mm deep and 3 mm wide trench (is this a correct word?) which runs from inside along the leg. I have never hadled a GItzo tripod but when I loose the joints on the Bero the legs are woblig a bit - but after you've tighten it again the keep straight.

When comapred to Gitzo - especially the central mettalic part is not done so robustly and the finish is not so perfect (but still beeing quite good). Let's see how it will work in a year or two - and as I am not using it daily - I hope it will last.

Anyhow - the wekest point of my setup now is the connection between the ballhead and the camera - as I do not have any quick-release system attached and the screw built inside the head can not be tightend enough just by fingers - so is is rather easy to "unscrew" the camera.

[Jay W]

I shot with a Crown and a Wisner on a Bogen 3001 for a couple of years, and had no problem with soft negatives. Since then I've moved to a 1227. Much of my shooting with the 3001 was in the woods and in good weather (light winds). With good technique and patience for still air, the tripod did it's job. OTOH, when I'm out west, it seems like like I'm often out in the open, and it's rare to find dead air. That's when a solid tripod, a center column hook, and a large jacket come in handy.

Jay

[Ted Harris]

Another Gitzo hater here. I have two of them in the studio and they seldom see any use. I just intensely dislike the way the legs work, hate the collars and what you have to go through if you need to disassemble them. I have become a very strong proponent of Linhof and other "U" channel tripods. The Linhof I use is no mpore expensive than the comperable Gitzo, weighs less and, IMHO sets up quicker and is more stable .... also much quicker to lock down.

[Bob Salomon]

For those of you who will be at the NY show the beginning of next month you might want to look t the new Giottos Lava series of tripods made from an organic material that is very light, very strong and costs less then carbon. We will show the first 3 of these there as well as prototypes of some new carbon and aluminum tripods from Giottos.

[LADP]

For those of you who will be at the NY show the beginning of next month you might want to look t the new Giottos Lava series of tripods made from an organic material that is very light, very strong and costs less then carbon. We will show the first 3 of these there as well as prototypes of some new carbon and aluminum tripods from Giottos.

Would the "organic material" be laminated bamboo or rattan by any chance?

[Bob Salomon]

No an igneous stone is the source from volcanos.

[Kirk Keyes]

igneous stone

Igneous stone is not "organic" in any sense of the word. But I bet you mean it is a resin impregnated with the stone to add stiffness?

[Bob Salomon]

It is a hard volcanic rock whose weight contains less then 52% silica. It contains pyroxene, olivine and feldspar as some of its most common ingredients. It is extracted, crushed and melted into a liquid at 1500°C in a 'feeder' furnace . The melted liquid is forced through a mechanism with a number of tiny orifices to create the continuous Lava fibre. Temperatures are precisely controlled throughout the whole process.
The long Lava fibers are then sent to the Pultrusion plant where the fibers are passed through a resin-impregnation bath and drawn through a shaping die to form a multi-layer tube of exceptional performance.
It can be completely recycled and remade into new material.