Drop a mail to Kerry T. He will gladly help you and will answer any questions you may have. I would not hesitate to buy form him again.Originally Posted by b.cipolla
Drop a mail to Kerry T. He will gladly help you and will answer any questions you may have. I would not hesitate to buy form him again.
Matus
Look for a used older Gitzo. Series 2 or 3. This tripod will last you a life time. Easy to repair, and easy to find parts for. I bought mine which was used and older for about $300. If you can afford to get a newer one than don't get one made out of carbon fiber! If you drop it in the field there is a good chance it will shatter, look for aluminum. There is a reason these tripods are expensive, they are very well built and solid! If you are serious about LF you are gonna need a good solid tripod. And in my experience, Gitzo is the way to go.
Sorry, I have never handled a Feisol so i cannot comment.
I have used a carbon fiber tripod for many years, and I am pretty tough on my gear. I have never seen a carbon fiber tripod shatter (mine or anyone else's). I would worry more about gouging the carbon fiber on a rock. But the low weight and high dampening attributes of the carbon fiber make it far superior to aluminum for my type of usage. And in colder weather carbon fiber is much warmer to carry around than heat sucking metals.
This is subjective, but I hate 4 section tripods. Other people don't mind it and like the smaller collapsed size, but I want a tripod that is as easy and fast to set up and take down as possible. A 4 section tripod has 50% more extensions (9 vs. 6) to do when setting up and taking down. A 4 section tripod may sacrifice a little bit of stability too.
If you have a chance play with 3 section and 4 section tripods before you buy, to be sure a 4 section tripod is something you can live with.
Dude, a couple of days ago you were asking, "What camera to buy?" questions, did you get experienced that quickly?If you can afford to get a newer one than don't get one made out of carbon fiber! .... And in my experience, Gitzo is the way to go.
A couple years ago I couldn't resist the low prices and bought a couple used Linhof aluminum tripods and think they are a great product and value. I have a Twin Shank that goes to about 80 inches, is like a rock, and doesn't weigh much more than my Gitzo 1325 CF tripod. I also have a smaller one that I can't remember the name of that would be a wonderful fit for a field camera. They are not the most compact, but they are easy to use–not at all fiddly. I don't know what I paid for them, but it wasn't a lot.
Everyone seems to love whatever they have... duh. Unless I missed it, the op never mentioned if he's using it right next to his car or hiking 20 miles with it. That kind of thing matters. Large metal or wooden tripods start to get heavy after a mile or so, especially if you're going up a mountain or walking on sand dunes. I have a couple of old aluminum Gitzos that work really well... if you have a llama or never carry them.
I finally got a 3 series Gitzo carbon fiber, 3 section, no center post (fewer parts, fewer joints, arguably more stable than a 4 section unit- though if you're a traveler and want to stuff it in a bag..., perhaps consider the 4 section) and a used Arca head. I'll likely never buy another tripod, unless mine is stolen. I too have never heard of carbon fiber shattering. Perhaps the only problem I've ever had with carbon is that it almost blew over in a serious wind...with my Arca on it!
Good luck in your quest.
In regard to where I shoot, I kind of go all over, so it could be anywhere in between shooting next to my car or a 20 mile hike.
Dear b.cipolla,
I have two different tripods, one for indoor work, and one for outdoor work...
That said, the carbon fiber tripod works well indoors, because the spiked feet on my outdoor surveyor's tripod would surely upset the owners of any home. My modified outdoor surveyor's tripod has a central eye-hook below the center point of the tripod head's flat plate, and occasionally I must place a dog pound screw into the ground below the center point of the tripod, as required when the wind is howling above sixty kph, but only when the ground temperature allows me to do so, and there is not a fourteen-foot egg shaped boulder just below the surface and, or the tripod's spiked feet cannot penetrate the rocky or frozen soil. I can loop a strong rope through the tripod's base plate eyelet and wrap the rope through the dog pound screw located directly below the tripod's center, where I pull on the rope, forcing the tripod's legs and the tripod's head closer and tighter to the ground before I click the shutter. This method is very successful, compared to looking for fifty pounds of rocks to load into a bag, and when you find the dead weight to hang from the center of the tripod, the image has left the building.
A wooden tripod, and a real heavy wooden tripod that can absorb most vibrations, happens to be your best friend for success. The absolutely God awful flimsy carbon tripod might be pleasant to look at and extremely easy to carry into the field for most image makers, but they are an absolute, absolute piece of crap in a real strong wind, and a real world environment. You should try to close a frigging carbon tripod when it is minus 40 degrees Celsius, compared to a wooden tripod that closes in seconds, even when it is wrapped in ice. I would cringe if my Gitzo shattered into a scrillion pieces, just because I thought it was lighter that my heavy wooden tripod, when I had to carry it into the field for more than ten kilometres.
Many folks will tell you that their light and excellent carbon tripod can do the job effectively, but I do not buy that crap for a second, because I have used both, and I made my choice several years ago to use a heavy, easy to collapse wooden surveyor's tripod, even if my son must carry it.
Just my two pennies...
jim k
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