Carbon Fiber Tripod for 8x10

[Vaughan]

I have purchased several Chinese carbon fibre tripods and the quality is excellent and their price is a fraction of the others. Of the Chinese brands, Leofoto is the most expensive; I have a couple of Innorel tripods and they are almost as good but half the price. Another that I have experience with is Artcise; these and many other brands seem to be cosmetic variations of the same product, possibly out of the same factory.

For 8x10 I'd recommend a tripod with either 40mm or 42mm top leg diameter. These are the Innorel RT90C (40mm) and Innorel ST424C (42mm). Both have 4 section legs, both have optional centre columns if that's your thing, both can take half-bowls or flat plates, so there are a heap of options. A novelty of the ST424C is that one leg unscrews to become a monopod, I haven't used it that way yet.

Regarding heads: here it gets difficult and expensive. I have a Luland version of the Ries head which cost more than the ST424C tripod it sits on. It's great, but I'd really like a pan plate on the top. Otherwise a big ball head or geared cube or whatever, to taste.

Innorel RT90C tripod on Aliexpress

I cannot find a link to ST424C but there is another tripod, the KT404C, with 40mm leg in a "compact" design: flat plate only, no bowl or centre column.

Innorel KT404C tripod on Aliexpress

I have no affiliation, get no commissions etc, but am a happy customer.

Note that when buying, read the descriptions very carefully and check exactly what you're getting. I just saw a BEXIN ST424C tripod which infers it's a 42mm 4-section leg tripod, but is in fact a variation of the Innorel RT90C 40mm leg tripod.

[esearing]

CP34 L4II tripod from FLM will do the job. I rarely use all four sections because it is so tall plus I get some height from the 3 way head I use. 2.5 sections is where I tend to use it, but have used it fully extended with no problems even on my 5x12. If you don't want a head, get the leveling ball option and put a large quick release system on it. Another advantage of the long legs, when you are shooting on a slope you can drop one or two legs down the hill for more stability. I use it with spiked feet 99% of the time.

[Bob Wagner]

Talk to Ari, knowledgeable and FLM makes a great product. I use the CP38-L4 II for 8x10, couldn't be happier

[Tin Can]

Ditto

Talk to Ari, knowledgeable and FLM makes a great product. I use the CP38-L4 II for 8x10, couldn't be happier

[Michael Kadillak]

I pulled my CP34-L4II tripod out of the closet and it surely is a three section tripod (ie three leg sections with compression tighteners) so I am a bit confused about your question. What I like about the FLM tripods is 1) the sections open and close very quickly because of the designed pressure relief valve that the Gitzo does not have and 2) the tightening collars are just superior to the Gitzo. They are just quicker and easier to engage than the Gitzo in addition to being much higher.

HA! Learned that my tripod has a whole other dimension than I previously either was not aware of or did not use. Four sections instead of three. Every day we learn something new.

[Alan9940]

Many years ago, I bought a Dutch Hill carbon fiber tripod that looks more like a surveyor's tripod vs a typical camera tripod. I originally used it with my Pentax 67, but some years ago I bought a Gitzo G1570M head to go on it and this setup easily handles my 8x10 Deardorff with any heavy lens attached to the camera. Within the past couple of months, I replaced the Gitzo head with a Luland LD115 (a Ries A250 knockoff) because the quick release system makes it so much easier to mount/dismount a heavy camera. Anyway, thought I'd offer up an idea totally different from the mainstream.

[Vaughn]

I have purchased several Chinese carbon fibre tripods and the quality is excellent and their price is a fraction of the others. ...

One still needs to be wary. I bought a small CF tripod, Chinese made, here on the forum. "Pro Photo" "Pro Gold" Model PT024. It is okay so far, but the rubber on the knobs can self-destruct. Holds up the Rolleicord.

[r.e.]

I’m hoping to be able to hike farther with my camera—I’m not looking for a wooden tripod as I’m hoping to lighten my load, not increase it.

There's a British, Paris-trained photographer named Christopher Broadbent who lives and works in Italy. An art gallery in Venice has several examples of his work on the following page: https://www.bugnoartgallery.com/christopher-broadbent/ If you do a Google image search, you'll find more examples.

Chris, who is now 87, used to participate in this forum. He shared examples of his commercial work for high-end clients and his distinctive personal still lifes. According to the gallery, he didn't hold a personal exhibition until 2013.

Chris doesn't use a tripod head. He levels from his tripod legs. That saves a lot of weight and bulk, and he contended that it is just as efficient as using a head. He and I exchanged several personal messages about this. He successfully convinced me to abandon a tripod head for a combination of levelling from the legs and a levelling base. I took his advice, and haven't regretted it. These days, I also use a Blackmagic cinema camera. I use a Miller fluid head with that camera, and sometimes with my large format camera, but that's another story.

I might add that a Gitzo levelling base is a lot cheaper than a good tripod head, is so simple that there's nothing to go wrong and require repair, and that 75mm half bowls for Systematic tripods are all the same*, including some that are a lot cheaper than Gitzo's.

* Gitzo's Systematic specifications are complied with by most major tripod manufacturers. Novoflex tripods may be an exception.

Christopher Broadbent

[r.e.]

Further to the above post... Sorry for taking this off-topic a bit, but this is cool. At 87, Christopher Broadbent's website is active, with "New Prints for 2024". I like the photograph of his studio.

https://cbroadbent.net

The Harold Luntz Gallery in Palm Beach also represents him, and offers this biographical sketch and appreciation at https://www.holdenluntz.com/artists/...her-broadbent/:

English born photographic artist Christopher Broadbent’s body of work is focused on capturing mood in romantic still lifes. He stages his pictures carefully, and pays the utmost attention to detail in artistic composition and technical execution. His photographs are carefully lit with natural light using long exposure as a tool to increase drama and dynamic range. Broadbent has a strong background in film. He studied cinematography and photography in Paris a the Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinèmatographiques (IDHEC), and secured an early career in Rome shooting documentaries. From there, he moved to Milan to direct commercials. But as many artists do, Christopher grew, matured, and changed. By the eighties, he found tremendous success shooting editorial and advertising pictures for which he won numerous awards and tackled campaigns in both Italy and America. It was a niche that would inform his current work and give him a stronger foundation.

It is a cinematic experience to view the work of Christopher Broadbent. Time seems to slow down and unfold in a single frame perfectly capturing how a flower droops and light from a window fades. His pictures lengthen the moment before a table is cleared as a solemn ode to the closing of the day. These images are calm and romantic in a way that asks the viewer to reminisce and hear the echo of laughter from departed company. They have a strong sense of culture and elegance and elevate classical genres to new heights. The selection of objects are humble and honest and appear more as memories than they do real things. Christopher’s work excels at making the viewer pause and be thankful for beauty in a transient sense, but reminds us it is easily found if we take a moment to look.

Christopher currently lives and works in Milan, most recently exhibiting at Locandina Senigallia 2021-22, “Rimasto nell’Ombra” 2022 Palazzo Baviera, Senigallia, and “What’s Left” 2021 Palazzo Parasi, Cannobio.

[JMO]

Thank you for sharing the link to about Christopher Broadbent; a delightful surprise to become aware of him, and see some of his images. And to realize he’s still doing such photography at 87 was inspiring.