Looking for a lighter tripod

[Sam]

My bogen 3021 with 3047 pan tilt head with quick release is finally sucumbing to the salt water in my area. I am looking for a lighter replacment. I use a Tachihara 4x5 and Nikon F100 with an 80-200 being my heaviest combination. There are simply too many choices on line and practically none available locally for me to see.

What do you use and why ? Any suggestions?

[Todd Schoenbaum]

I too started out with the 3021/3047 set up. I then tried out the gitzos. I was won over instantly. The build quality is something you feel immediately. I personally use a heavier 1410 model, but for a lighter model I would seriously consider one of their carbon fiber models, maybe something in the 1300 series.

[tor kviljo]

I recently bought (second hand) a Gitzo 1345 (version w/o centre pole - saves a good deal of weight + added stability) , and added a Manfrotto junior 3D head. This is a very stable & light construction for a non-carbon tripod. The Manfrotto head (I belive the model # is 115, but not shure) weights just over 0.5 kg, but have separate locks on all movements, works excellent with my Rollei MF and should work nice with field LF and not overequipped 35mm/digi. It's also the least expensive head (except minature ball-heads) Manfrotto produce, not a bad combination these days. The head is of mye choice for my use, not pa perfect fit for the Gitzo, which can take much larger loads than this head can support, but for my use: need of light but stable & flexible &non-ripping (account...) tripod/head combination, it works good. My preferred LF tripod however, is a home-shortened & for its type wery light surveyors aluminium/resin tripod - costed less than $$ 130 new....

[Nicholas Fiduccia]

With your camera requirements, I would chose a Gitzo 1325. It comes with a simple top plate in lieu of the center column which can be source of instability and extra weight. It weights about 4 1/4 lbs.

[Bill_1856]

A nice used Leitz Tiltall is still hard to beat. Yes, you can save one pound with a $400 Carbon fiber job and a $200 magnesium head, but that seems to me like a poor tradeoff.

[Tom Westbrook]

Actually, the CF column #G-1318 only weighs 17 oz. It's the one I got with my 1325 a couple of years ago. Gitzo also included the plain top plate with the set, but that may not be the case currently--I'd ask your dealer about it.

Anyway, I haven't found that the column reduces stability, but then I don't extend it very far--at most probably 3". A column is handy if you use handheld cameras at all. If you don’t extend it and leave it seated, then it’s just as stable as the plain top plate.

I recently bought an aluminum series 5 Gitzo (the huge 6 section one) that weighs about 9 lbs without the head attached. It's amazing the apparent added stability and solidity that tripod has compared with the 1325 CF tripod (at the same extension lengths). I mention it only to say that light weight isn't always a good thing in tripods, and unless you plan on backpacking with it a lot, you might want to reconsider, esp. if you live or photograph in windy places. I've seen my Arca F-Line 4x5 picked up and body slammed onto an asphalt parking lot in about a 30 mph wind gust while mounted on the CF tripod. It's not an experience I'd wish on anybody. Another reason to get the column with the CF tripod if you decide on it: it has a hook on it you can use to hold everything down.

[Donald Brewster]

I'll second what Tom said. It doesn't necessarily meet your lightweight requirements (it certainly isn't a recommendation if you are backpacking), but if you have salt water to deal with I'd suggest looking at a wooden tripod such as a Reis or Berlebach.

[Scott Fleming]

I second (third) Mr. Westbrooks contributions. I have the same tripod with the center column and the plain top plate. I have my lightweight Acratech ballhead mounted to the plain flat plate and my heavy large ballhead mounted to the center column. It's a matter of manipulating one bolt to switch them out. When packing I leave the center column and heavy head at home. I always miss the column however. The ordinary flat plate makes life a tad more complicated.

[Mike Davis]

The Berlebach's could be nice. I purchased the ball head version without the center column and it works well for my 45G and 67 Pro-S's. I haven't yet tried it with the B&J 5x7 (which is on the floppy side anyway). The tripod is light with just the ball mount (ie no pan-tilt head but a ball that will level and tilt up to 30°). It's also pretty strong and will let you get to within three inches of the ground.

Now the negatives, I would like it better if it came with a spreader.

It isn't as fancy as the Ries. But the fit and finish is very good.

[Aender Brepsom]

Hello,

I currently use a Gitzo G1348 carbon tripod with a Manfrotto geared head 405. I am very happy with this combination.

[Struan Gray]

I have a Gitzo 1349, which if you buy it new comes with a column and a flat plate so you can mix and match as you like. As Scott said, It's less than a minute with a 10 mm spanner to swap between the two. I use - and like - the column with MF and 35 mm, but having done a torture test with a 600 mm half-Symmar and 30" of rail I don't use it for LF. With the column there was clear vibration, visible to the naked eye on the ground glass even at minimum height. With the same head on the flat plate the image was completely still to my eye, even through a loupe (although touching the camera or ground glass with the loupe clearly caused movement). If you plan to use a long lens - even a 300 mm - on your 4x5 I would dispense with the column.

The head I use is Sinar's own pan-tilt. The new ones, and late model used ones, are ferociously expensive, but the older green Norma-era ones like mine are very reasonable and offer a nice combination of bombproof stability and relatively light weight. I do prefer a ballhead for smaller formats, but I rarely go hiking with both MF and LF at the same time, so leaving my column and ballhead behind when out with the 4x5 don't cause too much hassle. With the bubble level on the legset and movements on the camera I don't miss the third degree of freedom, although I sometimes hanker after a levelling base to speed setup times.

[Frank Petronio]

If I were going to destroy a perfectly good tripod in salt water, I would look for something cheap yet sturdy. Like another Bogen 3021 with 3047 pan tilt head. Seriously, for the money, buying another tripod every few years makes more sense that spending $700 on some CF Gitzo and having the salt wreck it.

Sometimes having too much fancy equipment means that you'll be afraid to use it...

[Jeffrey Sipress]

I often shoot the surf, and stand right in the shallow water. I made leg protectors out of PVC pipe and caps, and slip them on the entire length of the lower leg section. The surf hits them, and the tripod stays dry and goes on for years. Never put anything you care for in salt water!

[Brian Ellis]

Enough lighter than the 3021 to make a difference is going to be tough. The 3021 weighs 5.75 pounds, the Gitzo 1325 weighs 4.4 pounds but is a weight savings of a little more than a pound worth the hundreds of dollar cost difference? I own the 1325 and like it a lot but I didn't buy it in comparison to the 3021, I bought it in comparison to a much heavier tripod.

I'd be inclined to keep the 3021 and maybe seek weight savings in the head. The 3047 weighs 4.25 pounds, the Bogen Compact Gear head (3275) weighs 3.1 pounds and costs about $90 more than the 3047. So you could gain almost the same one pound and change weight savings by staying with the 3021 and switching heads as you could by switching from the 3021 to the 1325 at a much higher cost. I used the 3047 for years and changed to the gear head about a year ago. I like it better than the 3047 though it really shines more with architecture than with landscape.

[Sam]

Jeffery, what an excellant suggestion! I will have to try that.

Ive put my tripod in 3-4 feet of water to get a stable platform to get the shot, while I lay on the bow of the boat looking under the dark cloth. The tripod has held up very well considering what Ive put it through.

Thanks for the responses, It seem hundreds of dollars could be spent to save a single pound. Not worth it my opinion. I may look for a lighter head and use the same legs.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Comparing the Gitzo 1325 to the Bogen 3021 isn't really an apples:apples comparison. The 1325 is taller and much more rigid than the 3021. A more appropriate comparison would be the 1227 at 3.4 lbs vs. the 3021 at 5.75 lbs.

I agree that ditching the 3047 would offer a greater weight savings, for potentially less money. There are tons of ballheads (the best ones aren't cheap) and many, many 3-axis heads that are lighter than the 3047 (in fact, there aren't many heads heavier than the 3047). The 3047 is a good buy for the money and easy to use, but HEAVY. If you like a 3-axis head, but want to keep the weight down, look at some of the Gitzo magnesium pan/tilt heads. The G-1270M should handle your Tachihara with ease and weighs only 1.37 lbs. - almost 3 lbs. lighter than the 3047. It sells for less than $140. If that's too much money, look at some of the lighter, less expensive Bogen 3-axis heads.

Kerry

[Daniel Geiger]

Re Gitzo 1228 vs. 1325 comparison, I use the 1228 4 section CF with a Linhof Profi II for SLR. I have seen somewhere that some use it with 4x5, but it seems too flimsy to me.

For my Arca F line 4x5 compact I use the 1325 3 section CF with short center column and can recommend it; my personal preference is for ball heads, so an Arca B1 is on it. The 3 section is certainly preferable to the 4 section, but the 1228 was the first and only CF tripod that was out when I got it. Just ordered the Bogen Telephoto support leg for the longer lenses with extension rails; will see how that goes.

Re a tripod being blown over by wind, I often hang my pack from the hook below. The new 1325 came with a hook, whereas the 1228 did not at the time. I have hung some 30-40 pounds from the 1228 with no ill effects, that is way past its rating. You'll need quite a thunderstorm to knock that over, as the center of gravity is so much lower. However, the Gitzo hook looks to flimsy for such weight and I bought a hook at the hardware store that works just great. Also, the mass argument for stability (i.e., metal tripods are more stable because they are heavier) does not hold much water.

Re salt water, I've done intertidal work with the 1228 over the years with no problems what so ever; I'm a marine invertebrate zoologist by training. As a SCUBA diver I know that salt water does a number on any metal, inox or not, but CF does not seem to be affected.

my 2c Best wishes Daniel