Posted by Keith Bauer on August 26, 2007 at 11:51 PM
I've been doing a lot of reading about options for a carbon fiber travel tripod. My goal is to have a light weight tripod (hopefully less than or equal to 2.5 pounds without the head) that is capable of supporting a max load of a Canon 5D with the 100-400 lens attached. I'll put a smaller ball head on the legs. Something like a Kirk Bh-3 or the Markins Q3. I also want something with a max height without the use of a center column to be somewhere in the 46-48" range.
Options that seem to make sense:
Gitzo GT-0540
Gitzo GT-1540(T)
Induro C114
I'd be very appreciative of your thoughts on these leg sets or others that you'd recommend.
Hello, I cannot help you with the options you mentioned, but I just recently I purchased a new tripod that might fit your needs: The Velbon Sherpa CF 545 (Carbonfiber!). As a head I bought the QHD-61Q, also from Velbon
See here for the info on the tripod
http://www.velbon-tripod.com/sherpa_pro01.htm
and the head:
http://www.velbon-tripod.com/panheads.htm
I think I was pretty much in the same situation as you - I shoot with the 5D, and I wanted to have a Tripod that at least gives sturdy support but that should not be too heavy since I mainly use it for outdoor-photography with lots of walking, biking, hiking and the equipment on my back. The tripod weights 1,3kg (sorry for the SI-units) and is designed to carry 4kg. The head weights 0,3kg and can take 5,5kg.
So after a weekend of shooting I can say that I am very pleased with that piece! It is really lightweight, I don't think that there are many other tripods that offer that combination of sturdyness and weight.I used it with the 5D+Battery Grip+70-200mm. It is very stable. I don't exactly know your shooting habits, but if you use either selftimer or cable release, that tripod is sufficient. If you want a tripod that does not move even with a big lens attached while you press the shutter with your finger -hmm then it will need a much more stable, but also very heavy tripod.
Oh yes, it is very small as well, might even fit into a backback!
Hope that helps - selecting an appropriate tripod is a pain in the a...
Regards,
Dietrich
Without having experience or knowing the details of any of those models, I'll pass on that we've found an important feature for travel tripods which you haven't mentioned: collapsed length. For ease of carry while out and about, and especially for packing to take a flight, the shorter the better. I'd make sure that even if it meant buying a slightly heavier model to assure sturdy legs, extra leg sections will pay bonuses for convenience. Using your 46-48" range as an example, three leg sections would collapse to around 16", while four would collapse to around 12". That may not sound like a huge difference, but when it comes to the practicalities of photography on the road, every inch does count.
I've been using a Velbon Carmagne 530 with good results with a D200 and a 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikon (5.97 lbs as configured with quick release plates, etc.) for the last year. Stats on the tripod without the head are:
2.70 lbs;
47" extended without the center column; and
21" colapsed.
Other than weight, carbon fiber is lot easier on the hands than aluminum in cold weather!
Posted by Mel Ladewig on August 27, 2007 at 8:25 PM
Keith,
My needs are little different from yours, but I've done some parallel research. From that research, it seems the Gitzo legs you're considering may not be robust enough for the 100-400 at 400mm, especially since this lens is not tripod aware and you would need to turn off IS. There are alot of Gitzo nuts at Fred Miranda in the General Gear section if you're interested in following up.
Also, the 1504T takes a big hit on strength compared to the regular 1540. The standard 1540 is 2.5 lbs and would meet your weight requirement and would exceed your height requirement.
I'm looking for a light tripod for backpacking/hiking. I'm 6'2" so tripod height is more important to me than tripod folded length (which would be the case if I were trying to get a tripod into a suitcase). In my case, I've found a few candidates. Gitzo's 1540 is the gold standard at 54" height without the column raised and 2.5 lbs, but it comes with a $534 price tag. Velbon's 630 is 3.3 lbs with the center column, 3.0 without and $289. It is 55.7" tall without the center column raised. My current Bogen 3021 is 53.3", so this should work out fine for me.
Within Velbon's line, their El Carmagne 530/540 should meet your weight and height requirements and the 630/640 would be within a half pound if you ditch the lower 2/3 of the center column.
Another line of tripods to consider is Giottos Lava series. Their 7251 is taller than you need, but 3.11 lbs. They also have a shorter and lighter version from this series(7241 maybe?). I have a Giottos travel tripod (1140 Pro). While I do have some issues with this tripod, the spider and leg locks were well made and I liked the overall construction. My issues were related to the extremely small size of this tripod's 4th leg section and wouldn't apply to the systems you should be considering.
Discussion
4 repliesOptions that seem to make sense:
Gitzo GT-0540
Gitzo GT-1540(T)
Induro C114
I'd be very appreciative of your thoughts on these leg sets or others that you'd recommend.
Thx.
Keith
See here for the info on the tripod
http://www.velbon-tripod.com/sherpa_pro01.htm
and the head:
http://www.velbon-tripod.com/panheads.htm
I think I was pretty much in the same situation as you - I shoot with the 5D, and I wanted to have a Tripod that at least gives sturdy support but that should not be too heavy since I mainly use it for outdoor-photography with lots of walking, biking, hiking and the equipment on my back. The tripod weights 1,3kg (sorry for the SI-units) and is designed to carry 4kg. The head weights 0,3kg and can take 5,5kg.
So after a weekend of shooting I can say that I am very pleased with that piece! It is really lightweight, I don't think that there are many other tripods that offer that combination of sturdyness and weight.I used it with the 5D+Battery Grip+70-200mm. It is very stable. I don't exactly know your shooting habits, but if you use either selftimer or cable release, that tripod is sufficient. If you want a tripod that does not move even with a big lens attached while you press the shutter with your finger -hmm then it will need a much more stable, but also very heavy tripod.
Oh yes, it is very small as well, might even fit into a backback!
Hope that helps - selecting an appropriate tripod is a pain in the a...
Regards,
Dietrich
2.70 lbs;
47" extended without the center column; and
21" colapsed.
Other than weight, carbon fiber is lot easier on the hands than aluminum in cold weather!
My needs are little different from yours, but I've done some parallel research. From that research, it seems the Gitzo legs you're considering may not be robust enough for the 100-400 at 400mm, especially since this lens is not tripod aware and you would need to turn off IS. There are alot of Gitzo nuts at Fred Miranda in the General Gear section if you're interested in following up.
Also, the 1504T takes a big hit on strength compared to the regular 1540. The standard 1540 is 2.5 lbs and would meet your weight requirement and would exceed your height requirement.
I'm looking for a light tripod for backpacking/hiking. I'm 6'2" so tripod height is more important to me than tripod folded length (which would be the case if I were trying to get a tripod into a suitcase). In my case, I've found a few candidates. Gitzo's 1540 is the gold standard at 54" height without the column raised and 2.5 lbs, but it comes with a $534 price tag. Velbon's 630 is 3.3 lbs with the center column, 3.0 without and $289. It is 55.7" tall without the center column raised. My current Bogen 3021 is 53.3", so this should work out fine for me.
Within Velbon's line, their El Carmagne 530/540 should meet your weight and height requirements and the 630/640 would be within a half pound if you ditch the lower 2/3 of the center column.
Another line of tripods to consider is Giottos Lava series. Their 7251 is taller than you need, but 3.11 lbs. They also have a shorter and lighter version from this series(7241 maybe?). I have a Giottos travel tripod (1140 Pro). While I do have some issues with this tripod, the spider and leg locks were well made and I liked the overall construction. My issues were related to the extremely small size of this tripod's 4th leg section and wouldn't apply to the systems you should be considering.
Mel-