I'm looking for a tripod upgrade from my Bogen 055XPROB. It has served me well as an "entry"-level tripod for my DSLR and 4x5 monorail, but I'm getting a Wehman 8x10 and am sick of some of the hassles of the 055XPROB (particularly the center-column, which is awful when you try to get the the ground...it has a goofy mechanism to tilt the column 90 degrees for on-the-ground macro, but it is really rickety).
I have narrowed it down to three choices, which really seem to illustrate the saying about picking two amongst three: light-weight, strong, "affordable". (although these are all very strong and lightweight for their support & height). I figure I'll stick with the Gitzo 1570M I have (3.6 inches tall) and the Wehman is 13 inches tall, so that adds another 6.5 inches to the center of the lens (so I add 10.1 inches to min heights).
The heaviest lens I'd be using is the APO Nikkor 610/9 (4.6 lbs in a Ilex #5). That's 24in for infinity focus; the camera has 30.5 in of bellows available, so that is ok.
Really tall, really strong, really expensive ($1,300):
Gitzo GT-5561SGT -- 8.5 ft tall, 7.5 lbs, 6.7 in min height (16.8 in to lens center). 6 sections.
Really strong, pretty affordable ($700): Manfrotto 536 -- 6.6 ft tall, 7.2 lbs, 10.24 in min height (20.34 in to lens center). 4 sections. I guess it weighs about the same as the giant systematic because it only has 4 sections.
Really light, really low ($900): Gitzo GT3541XLS -- 6.5 ft tall, 4.3 lbs, 3.9 in min height (14 in to lens center). 4 sections.
These are all rated very high on B&H Photo. I've only seen one mention of the Manfrotto 536 here on LF.info, and no reviews of it outside of B&H (none of which mention LF). Anyone have any thoughts on it? Although Manfrotto owns Gitzo, my impressions are that Manfrotto-branded products aren't up to the same quality as Gitzo-branded products.
PS: Although it doesn't get low or high enough for me, the Sachtler CF-100ENG HD 2CF, recommended by Bjørn Rørslett, seems pretty great (I think he mis-state's its weights specs, though). Weighs 9.5 pounds and supporting 210 pounds. Massive support capability and a massive $1800 price.
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