VERY Heavy-Duty Tripod

[Holly Morgan]

Hi all and thanks in advance for any advice! I am a graduate student studying pollination and take alot of large format photos for my work. Last year I went out with a SLK tripod- big mistake- that got bent the first time I tried to push it gently into the ground to get a grip when photographing on a slope. Now two of the legs will not retract! Can anyone recommend a heavy duty tripod that will not break the band - remember I am a student! The conditions are fairly rugged and the plants don't grow on level ground. Thank you, Holly Morgan

[Bruce Watson]

Depends on the weight of your camera/lens. Tell us what you are trying to hold up, and we can perhaps help you find a tripod that can told it all.

[Bob Salomon]

The 003323 Linhof Heavy Duty Pro will support your house if necessary. It weighs in the 15 lb range without a center column and lists for more then $2,000.00 new without column or head.

It will hold whatever you have without vibration. But you might find the following more practical.

http://www.hpmarketingcorp.com/PR/Giottos%20pr.html

[Bobby Black]

IMHO, a great used tripod for the money is an older Tilt-all, which can oftentimes be found inexpensively. I think I paid $40 for mine at a camera show -- it's from the sixties or seventies -- and have used it for all formats with great success. It's well-made with machined parts and brass innards for the rotating parts, reasonably light weight, has a multiadjustable head, raises pretty tall and has retractable spiked feet. It wasn't the prettiest (i.e. had its share of scratches), but I wasn't too concerned about that. The only thing is that the legs don't unclick like the bogen models to be positioned more horizontally.

For another $20 I added a quick-release plate set-up to the head for added convenience. I also added a couple of carabiners and a camera strap so I could sling it and climb to out-of-the-way places.

Mine has stood up well for LF photography use, from being placed in snow and ice, riverbeds (unintentionally) and shifting sand. A quick disassembly and cleaning while watching TV has always brought it right back to shape.

Hope this helps.

Bobby

[Nick_3536]

While people are discussing heavy tripods can anybody comment on the Giottos MT-9180? I've seen some comments on going headless and just screwing the camera onto the tripod. Any comments on that?

[Bob Salomon]

The Giottos series of Carbon Fiber and the Aluminum series have a top plate that can be removed from the column. Whenever you are using the tripod with the column removed the top plate will function as a 3-way pan/tilt head with 270° of tilt and 360° of rotation in the horizontal plane as well as 360° of rotation vertically.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I suspect you don't actually want the heaviest tripod available, but something that will really be sturdy for macro work with a 4x5" camera, and can be carried into the field. If you do really want something very heavy, look for a Majestic tripod with a gearhead, but it's not ideal for long treks in the field.

The Benbo Classic no. 2 is a likely possibility, maybe with a gear head or three-way pan head instead of a ballhead (which they offer if you get the package instead of just the legs with the head of your choice).

There are many options. Read through the threads on tripods to see what people are using.

[Christopher Condit]

Just as a point of comparison, I have satisfied my own fairly high tripod standards with a Gitzo G1228 for 4x5, and a G1340 for 8x10.

Then again, I am 6'6". It is important to figure out how tall a 'pod you *really* need, so as not to waste money, bulk, and weight.

[Jim Rice]

Ries tripods are very nice and very steady. Alas, they're also pretty heavy. They're expensive, but now where near Bob's Linhof.

-j

[Bill_1856]

For up to 4x5 and some of the lighter 5x7s I still think that the TILTALL is the best combination of ruggedness, weight, and price. They've been made since the 1940s, and I've never seen a worn-out one. They're still available new (made in China) for around $100 (B&H), but the best deals are used made by Leitz for around $50 (ebay).