Tripods

[Csholl]

Hi,

Does anyone have any preferences for Tripods for 4x5 format? I wanted to get something on the cheap end but sturdy with a crank-up head - I think that's useful for this format. Or, are there better-suited tripods. I want something that's not too bulky either, like the: KingJoy 58" DSLR Camera Tripod Universal Portable. I can put it on my backpack by strapping it.

[Peter De Smidt]

What camera and lens are you going to be using?

[Jim Jones]

My much preferred tripod for 35mm to 5x7 for over 50 years has been the original American made Tiltall. It extends from 27 to 70 inches, weighs about 6 lbs, and includes a good two-way tilt head. Genuine Tiltalls were also sold under a few other names such as Leica. A copy was imported from China, but those have a poorer reputation. I haven't compared Tiltall with recent tripods. Tripods are like marriage. When you've found one that is as good as the original Tiltall, why check out the competition?

[Csholl]

4x5 graphic view camera (monorail). I'm using a 150mm convertible lens (Linhof) and a 108mm wollensak. Not to mention a few other lenses I'm interested in, but mainly an ultra wide angle lens of about 75 to 90mm. At the moment this is it, however.

[Tin Can]

be careful

no tripod is perfect

some are collectable

most are not

China makes most

even with tariff they are...

I often use a tiny tripod on the ground, or car but mostly on porch

[dave_whatever]

Any used Gitzo series-2 carbon fibre model of any vintage will do you for life, and hence is cheap in the long term. Go for 4 or 3 sections depending how you value rigidity over compactness - there's not much in it. These things are strong. Spares for Gitzos of any age are readily available too so it's a safe purchase.

Or if you want a carry a little more, find any used series 3 systematic. These will then take a geared column if you want one, still won't weight much, and will take an 10x8" in future if you ever step up.

TL/DR; - you can never have too many Gitzos.

[Peter De Smidt]

I've got 6 Gitzos. I don't use them anymore outside of the studio. For that, I use a Leofoto carbon fiber tripod. I don't see a good reason to use a geared column in the field. They'll add weight and bulk. Sure, if you use a really heavy studio camera in the field, it'd make raising the column easier, but.....don't do that. In the first place, ask Drew about center columns. ;) In the second place, carrying a big studio camera in the field is no fun. I just did it last week, and I don't plan on doing it again, unless the photo is 10 feet from the car.

[Drew Wiley]

Heck - I've seen a Gitzo CF snap to pieces in a stream due to a slip. My early model Gitzo CF Reporter was built way stronger than the current equivalent, and unlike the neo version, has lasted.

But back to the original query - "cheap" and "center column" are among the worst combination of traits one should look for in a tripod worthy of 4x5, at least in terms of new gear. If you're lucky enough to find a true old Tiltall aluminum unit still in good condition, that might be the best value you're going to find. "DLSR tripods" tend to be pathetic toys. Avoid flimsy ballheads too.

[Doremus Scudder]

Hi,

Does anyone have any preferences for Tripods for 4x5 format? I wanted to get something on the cheap end but sturdy with a crank-up head - I think that's useful for this format. Or, are there better-suited tripods. I want something that's not too bulky either, like the: KingJoy 58" DSLR Camera Tripod Universal Portable. I can put it on my backpack by strapping it.

First off, how do you plan to use the tripod? Are you using it indoors in the studio, schlepping it to do location work in your car, or carrying it on trails in the backcountry?

Secondly, how tall are you and how high do you need your tripod to be? Do you anticipate doing work close to ground level? Will you be doing close-up or product work, etc., etc., All this will make a big difference in your choice.

If you're doing studio work, get a big, heavy tall tripod with a geared center column, this latter especially if you are doing product of still-life work. You'll want a good, heavy-duty three-way pan-tilt head with long handles too. A good old Bogen or Manfrotto aluminum tripod fits the bill here very well. The bigger Gitzos as well.

If you're doing outdoor work, but carrying gear in your car to a location, a big tripod is good too. A tripod as above will work well, but if you're not going to be working close, as in the studio, there are a number of wooden tripods that have spike feet that are great, just as long as you don't have to make fine center-column adjustments. If you're working close to the ground, you need a tripod that allows the legs to be spread completely out flat or one with a reversible center column that you can hang your camera from upside-down (this latter is a bit of a PITA though).

If you're hiking with the camera - and you're probably not, since the Graphic View II is pretty heavy and bulky - it was my first camera and I hiked with it for a short while and then quickly moved to a wooden folder :) - you need to find a compromise between stability, height and portability. For my wooden folders, I like a small Manfrotto 3205 tripod with a three-way 3025 head (the numbers have likely changed, but you can Google and find them, I'm sure). The 3025 head just has knobs, not long handles and can be used like a ball head if you loosen all three. This is great for me with a 3-pound field camera, but I'd not use it for the Graphic View. Something like a compact wooden tripod with a three-way head would be better.

Whatever you decide, don't go cheap. Buy the best and what you really need and cry once.

Best,

Doremus

[Peter De Smidt]

Some of the differences between, say, 1990s Gitzos, and a Leofoto....My Leofoto goes higher than all the Gitzos except the Gs. The leg locks are smoother, require less force, as well as less rotation to lock. All of the locks on one leg can be opened at once with one hand. The sections don't rotate. The Gitzos tend to have ridiculously big leg locks on the top section. These catch on stuff, and they keep the tripod from being as compact when closed up. The center plates/columns on the Leo can easily and safely be exchanged with no tools. Their are many (and very useful) feet available for a reasonable amount, e.g. short spikes, long spikes, rock claws, rubber feet..... The only positive for the Gitzos that I can think of is that the standard leg spread is a little wider than on my Leofoto.

[Havoc]

A decent head will weight more then carbon will save for you. I don't really like ball heads but that is personal preference.

[Vaughan]

I have a couple of Innorel carbon tripods, and a Leofoto. The Leofoto is superb; the Innorels are almost as good at only 2/3 the price.

IMHO any tripod with top leg 32mm or larger is solid enough for 4x5 and 5x7 but much depends on the head. (For 8x10, tripods with 36mm or 40mm are more rigid.)

Heads are a personal choice. For me, ball heads are fine if they are big, have a separate ball-friction adjustment, and have a panoramic top plate; this allows the head to be levelled using the ball, and the camera can be panned around without changing the level.

Other options can be as simple (and cheap and lightweight) as a bowl leveller with pano plate on top, as long as the ~15 degree angle of adjustment is acceptable.

[Drew Wiley]

Those half-ball "leveling" devices are one of the smartest things that have come out in a long time. But only certain tripods will accept them. I have a large Feisol CF that will, although I still do adjustments via legs only (no head at all).

[Tin Can]

I really like my 100mm 1/2 ball on Fiber via Arri

and my 150 mm 1/2 ball Snachter tripod

All wood legs, made for big movie cameras

Came with big dolly on 6" wheels

Garage sale $15

[Kevin Crisp]

After many, many years of reading posts on here, and so many of Drew's, I've decided that it is best to just stay away from bodies of water.

[Drew Wiley]

Hey - the last time I was dunked, it wasn't the tripod at fault, but a damn import trekking pole that snapped in half right when I was crossing a snowmelt stream in early season. Luckily, the stream drained into the shallow end of lake not far away. Everything critical inside my pack - clothing, sleeping bag, food, camera gear - was double wrapped in plastic bags anyway. But hiking in snow the rest of the day under an overcast sky, with wet pants, and cold water sloshing inside my boots, wasn't particularly fun. From that time onward I never bought trekking sticks other than real Austrian ones - Leki or Komperdell.

But it's when a friend of mine used his Gitzo CF tripod in lieu of a trekking pole crossing a high altitude stream in the evening on a different trip, and slipped, that two of those tripod legs broke. I whittled two prosthetic tripod legs out of whitebark pine limbs for him, and duct taped them on. Why wasn't he using his real trekking poles? Ironically, he was given a tent prototype to test which needed those poles to set up, in lieu of other framework - namely, a tent from the same big outdoor gear company which imported and branded the substandard pole which broke on me previously!