I just acquried a Linhof TK 45s and now in the process of buying tripod. Considering Ries legs and Ries double tilt head.
Cam weights about 6-1/2 lbs. Would like to take on short treks, such as hiking down down (and up) the hill off Calif/Oregon coast Hwy 1. Also using cam for portraits.
Ries legs/ head would come in at about $850.
Your suggestion please? tks - Paul
There are quite a few tripod threads, I would suggest you use the site search engine. As a very general response, Ries tripods are beautiful, but you can get equal rigidity for less weight from any of the modern carbon fiber tripods. Gitzo and Feisol seem to be forum favorites, but there are a number of other brands as well, Enduro is new to the market and Midwest Photo seems to like them. There is an ongoing "debate" on whether the Gitzo "2" series and equivalents are sturdy enough, or whether to go for the slightly heavier/more costly "3" series. You will also find a lot of discussion of heads, geared, pan-tilt, or ball. Again, if you just do "forum popularity" you find votes for the Bogen410 (their lightest geared head), the Arca ballheads, and recently the Markins ballheads. As a last suggestion, if you find the Magnachrome site, I believe issue 5 had a review of a large number of ballheads.
I only dream about my TK45S checking in at 6.5#. It is more like 9-9.5#. Hopefully you already have the camera to check this variable yourself. I will leave it at that.
As a result, I would suggest a compact carbon fiber and a simply 3 way head. You already have a compliment of bubbles for leveling on the camera.
Cheers!
I'm a self-confessed tripod junkie, and a TK-45S owner and also own a Ries J-100-2 and J-250 double-tilt head.
The Ries is truly a beauty, but weight and cost is a huge consideration.
If I knew back then what I knew now and wanted a woody, I'd get a Berlebach. If I wanted a Gitzo CF, I'd buy a Feisol.
In the end I found myself a Linhof Twin-shank (in black) and a 3-way leveling head, this is my favorite set up.
Another thing, I really dislike my aluminum Gitzo's leg-twist clamps ... the rubber always seems to burn my palms !
I didn't like the old Gitzo twist locks either, but the new ones on my GT5540LS legs are MUCH improved.
Michael,Originally Posted by Michael Kadillak
A factory packaged TK45S weighs exactly 8.15 lbs including the styrofoam packaging material, plastic bags, warranty booklet, brochure and the TK sleeve and the paper wrapping and tape.
The TK45s without lensboard and fresnel weighs 7.45 lbs.
Paul,
As I noted to Michael, your camera is heavier then you think - exactly 7.15 lbs. The Linhof Twin Shank tripod, 003317, the Berlebach Report tripods and the Giottos Professional and the Giottos Classic Tripods in carbon fiber, aluminum or Lava can all support the TK properly.
Now that you mention it does appear heavier than 6-1/2 lbs. If I want to long hikes I'll have to do like Robert Adams and get a Tach or Shenhao.
Nevermind that. The construction on this 45S is remarkable and a far cry from my old busted Calumet monorail cam I picked up long ago. In those days a Calumet Legend was but a dream.
Then for all legitimate purposes it is an 8# camera and not a 6.5 pound one. That is the point that I wanted to make.
I have a Canham MQC 5x7 that is about 6 3/4# and when I hold it in one hand and the TK45S in the other the difference is readily apparent. My Linhof TK45S tips the scale at a solid 9# so maybe some components have lighter specs on newer cameras.
That said it is a great camera. I just want to make sure that participants on this forum have all of the practical information to make informed decisions that suit them.
Cheers!
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