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Thread: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    If money wasn't an issue, which tripod would be the most light-weight yet still suitable choice for a ca. 8 lb. 8x10 field camera?

  2. #2

    Join Date
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    Re: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    Depends on the environment (wind and rocks or calm and smooth) and your tolerance for movement. There have been people claiming that they use #2 Gitzos with their light 8x10s so this would be the best:

    http://reallyrightstuff.com/ProductD...-Tripod&key=it

    Although the shorter 3-section model would be marginally more stable. Not using a tripod head would save weight and increase stability at the penalty of making very slow adjustments on the legs.

    This isn't an endorsement. Personally I believe you should use a much larger tripod or not bother with 8x10 at all.

  3. #3

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    Re: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    A Gitzo 1325 with the low profile magnesium pan tilt head is a fine light weight choice. It's worked for me for the last 10 years. I briefly had a bigger Ries A100 tripod but never wanted to take it anywhere.

  4. #4

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    Re: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    If you get a carbon fiber tripod without a center column, a fairly sturdy tripod can be reasonably light. A Gitzo 3 series GT3542LS only weighs 3.8 lbs/1.72kg. It is rated for just under 40 lbs. As Frank mentioned, not putting a head on it can keep the weight down significantly.

    Jeff Keller

  5. #5
    Daniel Stone's Avatar
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    Re: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    Get yourself a 4452 gitzo, not the big-dog pricing of the 5 series, but not the toothpick-thin legs that are on the 3-series...

    I'd get one if I didn't already have two other cf tripods currently in use

    Dan

  6. #6

    Re: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    I use an 8# 8x10. I just went back to an aluminum Manfrotto 3262 from a Gitzo CF tripod. I reluctantly came to the conclusion that any lens longer than my 6.25" Raptar was unstable on the lighter tripod.

  7. #7

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    Re: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    [QUOTE=(...) Personally I believe you should use a much larger tripod or not bother with 8x10 at all.[/QUOTE]

    I might have said the same not too long ago, but try my lumbar discs for a day and perhaps you might change your mind...

  8. #8

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    Re: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    Gitzo 1325, forget the center column. Great tripod.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    756

    Re: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    Whatever you decide on and provided the legs are sturdy enough, remember that you can add to the "anchoring down" aspect by getting part of your weight from the environment at your shooting site. Carry a couple of net shopping bags, or a couple of empty milk containers, and you can hang extra weight by using environmental items. Water from a stream/lake, rocks from surrounding area, bricks at a construction site.

    You need to have an eye bolt or hook at the bottom of the tripod (bottom of center post?), and some twine to hang the extra weight (Be green, put the rocks back where you found them and the water back in the stream/lake.)

  10. #10
    Drew Wiley
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
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    SF Bay area, CA
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    Re: Lightest possible tripod for 8x10

    I bought the largest Feisol carbon tripod avail at the time - don't remember the model no.,
    but it has a nice big platform top, thick legs, no torsion, and easily supports my Phillips
    8X10. I bought it to potentially keep wt down during old age, or for those instances my foot is dinged. Pros and cons. For general use I prefer my big wooden Ries. It's not just
    a matter of bearing the load, but of overall resistance to wind. An 8x10 can be a bit of a
    kite if the tripod is not physically heavy enough, no matter how rigid it is. And I like the
    big spike feet for bullying into the mud or moss. I did add stainless spikes to the Feisol, and the cumulative wt is half that of the Ries. It's also less intimidating in any potential
    urban environment, and folds more compactly. In brief, I'm glad I own both tripods, but the
    Ries get more use.

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