Gitzo 2530 CF styrdy enough for travel with MF & 4X5 in a pinch?

[Henry Carter]

My main travel camera now is a 6X9 Linhof Technika.

I have been using an aluminum Gitzo 226 with an AS B1 as travel support for 6X9 (and even 4X5). I was thinking it is time to move to a CF tripod - 3 sections, and sturdy enough and small enough to keep with my carry-on kit.

Is the Gitzo 2530 a consideration, or would the Gitzo 3531S be a better choice (or is it just too big as a purely travel tripod)?

Cost differences are not an issue, only size and function etc.

Thanks for any advice.

[Henry Carter]

I think it is now called the GT 2531. The Gitzo model numbers are confusing!

[danchan]

I have the Gitzo GT2530 and have been using it for almost two years now with an Ebony 4x5 camera. It is rock solid and long-exposures have always been crystal clear. I've traveled to Asia and gone on road trips around California with it. It's a good size for travel, but I don't think it'll fit into carry-on luggage. The tripod gets checked-in for me, while all other photo equipment and film gets carried on.

[Eugene van der Merwe]

I use the 2530ex model (with dodgy centre column design) with my ebony and lenses up to a 450 fuji, and so long as wind doesn't interfere it's perfectly adequate. Even with wind most of the vibration comes from my very used manfrotto 410 geared head rather than the tripod.

[Drew Wiley]

I have a Gitzo carbon-fiber tripod equivalent to this one, but the very first model they
made. I removed the center column. It fits into either an airline carry-on or my backpack quite easily. I have frquently used it to support either my Ebony 4x5, a Sinar
with 28" bellows, Nikon obviously, or trickiest, a Pentax 6x7, where it does a good job
up to around a 200mm lens provided mirror-up is used, but not the heavy 300mm lens.
A Technika has a little different balance than my own 4x5's but should actually be much easier to stabilize than my 6x7 with its big mirror. I'd think the tripod per se would work fine. If there's a problem its more likely going to be with a tripod head.
I'll admit that whenever possible I use heavier wooden tripods, but I don't think I've
ever compromised an image due to using the Gitzo.

[Henry Carter]

Thanks to all for your insights!

I had a chance to inspect the Gitzo 2541 (the four section version of the GT 2351), and it is certainly as sturdy (if not more so) and much lighter than my older aluminium Gitzo 226.

I was also able to compare the GT 2541 to the GT 1531, and though there is not much difference in weight, I think that the 2 series would be better suited to MF (and LF in a pinch).

Years ago, I replaced the center column of 226 with a short center post made by Kirk Enterprises, which provided a stable flat platform for my Arca Swiss B1 ballhead. I see that Kirk still makes a similar solution- "Designed for the Gitzo 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 series tripods, these plate assemblies mount between the tripod and the tripod head to eliminate the original center post, thereby enhancing stability, reducing vibration, and allowing you to get closer to the ground":
http://www.kirkphoto.com/tripodaccess.html

I think that a GT 2531 (with a Kirk FP-200N short center post) would provide stable support for an AS B1 ballhead (or a Linhof 3663 3-way levelling head) and would make for an excellent MF (and LF) travel or hiking tripod.

[Drew Wiley]

Henry - I made something similar for the top of my Gitzo 4-section carbon tripod.
In its original form, I had to saw off the threaded top of the tripod where the collar
was mounted for tightening the center column. But it looks like you have spotted a useful gadget so you don't have to alter the tripod. Anyway, I did a test yesteday mounting the Pentax 6X7 with a quick-release bracket right onto the top of the tripod (no tripod head). It reasonably supported the camera even with the clunky 300 lens mounted. Little risk of vibration as long as mirror-up option is used. This is the conventional version of the lens which must besupported by the tripod thread on the camera itself, not via a collar on the lens. So its a pretty tough test. Of course, this makes it impossible to orient the camera vertically (as opposed to a horizontal shot), but it does inform me that the Gitzo legs themselves are very rigid, and if there is going to be a problem with supporting MF it's more likely going to be due
to torsion in a tripod head. But as I have ordinary used this tripod, to support
a 4x5 view camera on long treks, I have never been disappointed.