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Pontius
28-Nov-2011, 03:30
Hi all,
I need to buy a good carbon tripod for my 8x10 camera.
Any advice about a good one? I know Manfrotto and Gitzo but I would like to know your impression and preference.
If you know anything on sale please tell me!
Thank's!

Matus Kalisky
28-Nov-2011, 05:11
Hello. I do not have experience with tripods for 8x10, but you may want to check out the 'Gear' section of this forum as there were many threads on tripods already. But in general you may want to look also at Feisol tripods (I have a smaller model for 4x5 and it works very well).

Geoffsco
28-Nov-2011, 06:25
If you're looking at the Gitzo price point, also have a look at Really Right Stuff. .

jeroldharter
28-Nov-2011, 14:55
There are lots of threads on this. I use the large size Feisol and am very happy with it. Only weighs about 4 pounds.

neil poulsen
28-Nov-2011, 14:59
Which 8x10 camera do you have?

Pontius
28-Nov-2011, 15:07
I have one K.B.Canham JMC. Now I'm looking for a Gitzo GT G154.8, a friend says it is very good and light. But it seems no longer produced or have changed the model name...

Tim k
28-Nov-2011, 20:56
There are lots of threads on this. I use the large size Feisol and am very happy with it. Only weighs about 4 pounds.

+1

Kimberly Anderson
28-Nov-2011, 20:58
I have some advice...if you go carbon fiber don't submerge it in salt water...EVER.

Jim Andrada
28-Nov-2011, 21:12
You might look into some of the video tripods at places like B&H. They can be anything from pricey to very pricey to sky's the limit (anyone for a $5k tripod???)

The thing about video tripods is that they are very sturdy and don't twist when you swivel the payload around as any kind of twisting/wind up etc would make them useless for video. - think about a long slow pan and then a sudden snap back at the end when you release the camera and the tripod legs unwind.

They typically have a 3/8 inch stud and leveling ball arrangement. I think no real need for the kind of fluid heads one uses for video but my Libec tripod legs are as twist and wiggle free as my old Linhof tripod - or maybe even more so.

Amplification - typically these tripods will have a 75mm or 100mm cup at the top and a half ball (with a stud on top and a clamping handle on the bottom) that fits into the cup/socket. You release the clamp usually with a twist handle under the ball, and then clamp tight when you get it level.

neil poulsen
28-Nov-2011, 21:44
I have some advice...if you go carbon fiber don't submerge it in salt water...EVER.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of this.

What happens to the tripod?

Matus Kalisky
29-Nov-2011, 06:54
I have some advice...if you go carbon fiber don't submerge it in salt water...EVER.

As an owner of carbon tripod I am curios too.

Tim k
29-Nov-2011, 07:19
I was a little curious about this myself so I did a little Goggling, here is my favorite search result.

Quote
Sure. it makes non-metallic compounds wet. And salty.
Other than that, I'd not expect any unpleasant chemical reactions to occur between the polymer chains in plastics and the ions in salt water. Don't know enough about ceramic to answer intelligently, so I won't. Carbon fiber will be unimpressed by salt water.
Source(s):
Chemical Lab Tech
End Quote

Turns out they make sailboat parts and salt water fishing rods out of the stuff. It does sound like there is an issue with metal parts that touch the carbon-fiber, if salt water is involved.

This is exactly why I live in Arizona. :D

Frank Petronio
29-Nov-2011, 08:07
Gitzo makes Series 5 Carbon Fiber tripods, which are the thickest and sturdiest of all the leg diameters available from Gitzo and its photographic competitors. Of course you can use tripods intended for the video market that are rated as being stronger but they are even more expensive.

The website currently lists the 102-inch tall top-of-the-line model - Series 5 Carbon 6X Giant Systematic Tripod - 6 Sec G-Lock - GT5561SGT - as being discontinued but you still might find one at a dealer. Expect to pay over $1200 for it.

The Gitzo 3-series, the largest Fiesol, and the newer Really Right Stuff Carbon Fiber tripods should be adequate for an 8x10 Canham but I prefer overkill in the tripod department. I am surprised Gitzo would discontinue such an important tripod but perhaps the next version is simply delayed?

If you don't mind the weight of Aluminum, used 5-series Gitzo legsets are usually under $400 on eBay. They are nearly indestructible but can weight over 12 lbs, versus the 7.5 lbs a Carbon version would be. One version will go over 110-inches tall, very handy for architecture.

Kimberly Anderson
29-Nov-2011, 10:07
Salt crystals swell when they dry out. They will destroy the bonds between the individual carbon fibers. Additionally as the salt swells it will not allow the legs to extend.

Utah's Great Salt Lake and my tripod have had several intimate encounters. The tripod is suffering in ways that were unpredictable.

I actually started a thread about it here somewhere...

E. von Hoegh
29-Nov-2011, 10:18
Salt crystals swell when they dry out. They will destroy the bonds between the individual carbon fibers. Additionally as the salt swells it will not allow the legs to extend.

Utah's Great Salt Lake and my tripod have had several intimate encounters. The tripod is suffering in ways that were unpredictable.

I actually started a thread about it here somewhere...

That's interesting, the carbon fiber must not be fully impregnated with whatever resin they are using.

John Koehrer
29-Nov-2011, 17:57
It sounds as though the salt swelling binds the threads and actually expands between the carbon separating the glued joints.
I don't think the resins used penetrate into the CF it's more like epoxy and metal, it has to have enough surface area for support and grip
Would this be covered by warrantee?

TheDeardorffGuy
30-Nov-2011, 16:48
RE: Salt water...A customer in Fla. simply rinses the tripod off in the shower or bathtub on location. No swelling or damage.

Kimberly Anderson
30-Nov-2011, 17:30
Then he must not be getting it very wet. If salt water gets inside the legs you will NEVER ever get it out, even if you disassemble it.

Sizam
30-Nov-2011, 19:41
Speaking of the Gitzo Giant 5 series, I have a GT5560SGT with center column I've been angling to sell if anybody is interested... $1000? :)

jeroldharter
1-Dec-2011, 06:02
I use a Feisol CF for 8x10. Have not looked lately, but when I bought it I remember that it is lighter and less expensive than Gitzo. When I ordered it I was concerned that the quality would to be good as I had never seen one in person. But the quality is very good. I now have two Feisol tripods and a monopod.

rdenney
1-Dec-2011, 08:24
Salt crystals swell when they dry out. They will destroy the bonds between the individual carbon fibers. Additionally as the salt swells it will not allow the legs to extend.

Utah's Great Salt Lake and my tripod have had several intimate encounters. The tripod is suffering in ways that were unpredictable.

I actually started a thread about it here somewhere...

Interesting. The carbon fibers should be bonded in epoxy, which being waterproof should prevent salt crystals from ever forming between them. Sometimes machining composites opens them up to infiltration if the binder has not been properly soaked into the fibers, but I think painting a coat of thin penetrating epoxy on the machined surface should address that issue.

I would have expected the legs of a quality CF tripod to have been formed under pressure to provide complete encasement of the carbon layup in epoxy.

Rick "who would use a well-sealed wooden tripod for salt water in any case" Denney

Kimberly Anderson
1-Dec-2011, 08:59
Rick has hit on the biggest problem *for me* with the CF tripod. For everything else it has been PERFECT. And, honestly, tougher in field conditions than I would have thought. I've drug it across asia, scandinavia and through the wilds of the USA and it has never failed me...UNTIL I started putting it in the water of Great Salt Lake.

IMO, CF is a fabulous material for a tripod unless you have some specific conditions where it might be an issue. The exterior of the tubes is bonded and epoxied in a different way than the *inside* of the tubes. Once water gets in the inside of the tube, the CF acts like a sponge and soaks it up. In particular, the salt crystals expand and swell as the water evaporates and has caused one leg section (the lower-most one thank heaven), to become permanently bonded to the one above it. It cannot be extended.

I have rinsed and soaked this tripod for weeks (literally), and there is STILL salt powder/dust that comes out when I extend or collapse the tubes when setting up.

For 99.9999% of users CF will be fabulous. For idiots like me who take theirs swimming in the salt, it is the wrong choice. I am looking at a Berlebach with the center tilting column specifically because of the challenges I have faced on the lake with this Gitzo CF.

Don't let one fool (ME) sway you away from CF. It is an awesome choice.

Here is a shot of me after I learned my lesson. It's an all-aluminum Gitzo Studex that I used for when I was photographing a long-distance swimmer in the lake. This was after I had moved the camera back out of the water slightly, so you can see more of the tripod.

http://www.tawayama.com/salt/slade_shootinginGSL.jpg

rdenney
1-Dec-2011, 09:49
IMO, CF is a fabulous material for a tripod unless you have some specific conditions where it might be an issue. The exterior of the tubes is bonded and epoxied in a different way than the *inside* of the tubes.

That suggests to me that the legs are not as well-made as they should be. Carbon fibers that are not encase in epoxy have very little strength in that they can shift laterally under bending and buckle easily in compression. Those parts of the layup are adding little to the stiffness and structure except weight.

I'm rather familiar with how carbon composite bicycle frames are made, and they are always made under pressure to ensure complete encapsulation of the fiber strands. I'm surprised this isn't the case for high-end CF tripods.

Aluminum is fine as long as you rinse it very thoroughly after exposing it to salt, especially the high salt content of the Great Salt Lake. The Gitzo products I've disassembled have revealed friction elements that might also be subject to absorption. Bogen uses a less elegant but more durable metal-on-metal clamping system for extending the legs. But I would doubt that I could rinse an aluminum tripod well enough to remove all salt deposits from its internals without a complete disassembly, and salt will cause oxidation and corrosion on aluminum quickly. The Berlebach, which has few internal spaces and would thus be more easily rinsed, would seem to be a very good choice for this environment, though I would probably still check all the machined wood surfaces to make sure they were fully sealed. Even more, I'd be tempted to use a cheap surveyor's tripod that didn't have any leg extensions for this situation.

Rick "clumsy enough to be scared to death to take any decent camera, except a Nikonos, over salt water" Denney

Richard Rau
2-Dec-2011, 00:08
As one who has photographed a ton of CF samples for lab test reports, there will certainly be delamination issues with the layers, depending on the length of exposure to the salt water, and yet it is still the lightweight material of choice for fuselage and wingskins for Navy fighter jets. The fighter jets are constantly exposed to saltwater spray aboard aircraft carriers, and these materials are constantly tested for their durability, over and over. The emersion of CF tripod legs into direct saltwater should be avoided at all costs, as Michael had stated, however photographing near that environment shouldn't pose a problem what-so-ever. As Ken stated, rinsing (or wiping down) the external parts with fresh water is a good idea to get rid of saltwater residue. If you have to plant your tripod legs into salt water, protected wood would be your best choice, followed by a good rinsing. Also, saltwater spray isn't very friendly to shutters either!