Recommendations for a lighter tripod for a Chamonix

[tfb]

I have a Chamonix 45F1. The heaviest lens I have is a 210mm Symmar, but I probably won't use that again: mostly I use a 150mm and 203mm Ektar (both light).

I have a quite nice (I think) Manfrotto tripod which has 144B legs and an 029 head. If there are variants of these it will be one made in about 2000.

I'm getting older, and I now find it pretty painful to lug the tripod, camera + bits around.

So I'd really like to find a lighter tripod, which may mean carbon? But I'm entirely inexperienced with these things as almost everything I do is hand-held 35mm: the tripod I have is the only tripod I've ever owned I think.

A geared head would be nice (but probably incompatible with weight). Accepting the mounting plates the current one does would also be nice, but not essential. It doesn't need to support anything heavier than this but it would be nice if it could hold a Pentax 67 as well (not sure of weights, but substantially more than the Chamonix).

I'm not realistically in the market for anything super-expensive, but it does need to work. Second-hand better ones might be an option (I can just watch 2nd-hand places).

So, if anyone has recommendations, that would be really nice.

Thank you

[rfesk]

The Gitzo G1228 or G1227 are early carbon fiber tripods that can handle the weight and are very rigid. Also, the Manfrotto 056 is a good 3-way head for a lightweight setup except for maybe the Pentax 67. It is lighter than your o29 head. I have the geared Manfrotto head - that thing is heavy.

There are shoulder straps available that have loops on each end that are designed to carry shotguns. They work well for carrying a tripod and head.

[dave_whatever]

If you're looking at carbon, I will second the above motion that a second-hand 2 or 3 series Gitzo carbon fibre of just about any vintage will do you well for the Chamonix, and be pretty light weight. There are probably good chinese or korean made new alternatives available now, but less so on the used market, cos Gitzo have been knocking out great tripods for decades there are a lot of them around. Spare parts are also readily available for these as and when required.

[esearing]

FLM Tripods - They come in various heights and strengths to meet just about any need. Buy a good tripod once. Add a 3 way head or a leveling head and you should have all you need for a very long time. My FLM CP2-L4 + Manfrotto Xpro 3 way works very well with all my cameras. The QR plate is ok, so you may want to search for heads that have the more standard QR plates.

[tfb]

I've just realised I messed up the title: sorry!

[Ulophot]

Should you be looking at the Manfrotto 056, formerly Bogen 3025, it's what I chose to replace my 3047 when I switched (for weight reasons) to a Bogen 3221 tripod. However, I found the 3-wing knobs difficult on my hands and replaced the two tilt ones with different handles. See https://www.largeformatphotography.i...-customization

[BarryD]

I use a Gitzo 1228 carbon fiber for everything up to and including my Deardorff 5x7. Works fine. I have an Arca-swiss P0 head on it, to further minimize the weight and keep things compact.

[kilimanjaro1996]

I use Manfrotto 055 carbon fiber tripod legs and a small Oben ball head for my Chamonix 4x5 F1. My heaviest lens for that setup is a convertible Symmar 210/5.6.