Tripods

[Drew Wiley]

If you're trying to save real weight you should pick up a set of Sinar F front and rear standards. It will take a very stiff tripod to support the P in the field. Either Gitzo or
Feisol will have suitable carbon models - but these will be near the top end of their price
range in either case. I strongly recommend the optional spike feet too.

[David R Munson]

Tiltall.

For a P2? Absolutely not.

OP: as others have noted, for the P3 something like a series-3 Gitzo or its equivalent is going to be what you want, though Drew's suggestion of lightening up the camera with some F1/F2 standards would be a good choice for making the camera more manageable in the field. For carbon fiber, your best bet for a good value will probably be an Induro. They're good tripods and notably less spendy than Gitzo. That said, if you're open to alloy tripods, there are a lot more used Gitzos and such coming on the market now that everyone's transitioning over to carbon fiber. In the last year, I picked up a Series 2 and a Series 3 Gitzo alloy tripod, each for about half of what I saw the same tripods selling for maybe five years ago. Manfrottos are even cheaper used. Lots of excellent choices out there.

[E. von Hoegh]

For a P2? Absolutely not.

OP: as others have noted, for the P3 something like a series-3 Gitzo or its equivalent is going to be what you want, though Drew's suggestion of lightening up the camera with some F1/F2 standards would be a good choice for making the camera more manageable in the field. For carbon fiber, your best bet for a good value will probably be an Induro. They're good tripods and notably less spendy than Gitzo. That said, if you're open to alloy tripods, there are a lot more used Gitzos and such coming on the market now that everyone's transitioning over to carbon fiber. In the last year, I picked up a Series 2 and a Series 3 Gitzo alloy tripod, each for about half of what I saw the same tripods selling for maybe five years ago. Manfrottos are even cheaper used. Lots of excellent choices out there.

It was a joke. I'm always pushing the old Tiltalls. I know the OP wants carbon fiber, and that the P2 is a big, heavy, 8x10 monster.

[David R Munson]

Ah, well I apologize for not catching the joke. Woke up grumpy and taking things too literally today.

[Peter De Smidt]

I used a Sinar P2 for many years, including in the field. I mainly used a Sinar Pan/Tilt head on a Gitzo series 5 aluminum pod. With a P2, you really should use the Sinar head. Imo, a series 3 gitzo, while a great tripod, is not ideal for a P2. So, why not get two pods? First, get an older series 5 Gitzo (or similar) and a Sinar pan/tilt head. Get a lighter pod and head for farther afield. If you shop wisely, this could come in for less money than a large carbon fiber pod.

[georgl]

You either have to compromise weight or cost when stability is a given aspect (in large format photography it always is). A wooden Berlebach or Ries is not too expensive but heavy and cumbersome. If you prefer metal (I do) I would take a used Gitzo 5 - even after decades it only needs a minor overhaul. If cost doesn't matter get a new Gitzo or RRS carbon, I've decided to go with the RRS TVC-33. Very important is the lack of the middle column -it decreases height and adds stability.
I don't care much about the Taiwanese and Chinese copies

[E. von Hoegh]

Ah, well I apologize for not catching the joke. Woke up grumpy and taking things too literally today.

No apologies needed. It wasn't a very good joke.

[Bill_1856]

There are LINHOF twin shank tripods on ebay fairly often. They were closed out several years ago at incredibly low prices, and are often quite inexpensive (although lots of gouging, too). Aluminium, not carbon fiber, and weighs less than 8#. Suitable for Deardorff and Kodak 8x10s, but I wouldn't use it for a Green Monster.

[Len Middleton]

There are LINHOF twin shank tripods ..., but I wouldn't use it for a Green Monster.

+1

[Kevin J. Kolosky]

If you're trying to save real weight you should pick up a set of Sinar F front and rear standards. It will take a very stiff tripod to support the P in the field. Either Gitzo or
Feisol will have suitable carbon models - but these will be near the top end of their price
range in either case. I strongly recommend the optional spike feet too.

As I mentioned, if I have to walk a bit I take the Zone VI camera.

I wonder if a person could purchase carbon fiber tubes and rework some parts of aluminum tripods with them. I don't understand how some of these tripods can cost so much. They are made out of carbon fiber, not gold.