Tripods...

Kind of a dumb question, but I'm curious about something. I've looked at Gitzo and Manfrotto tripods. I own an aluminum Manfrotto, and it's been a great tripod for me (its just a little heavy).

I'm considering upgrading to either carbon or basalt fibre, and when I price Manfrotto vs Gitzo, the price differences are outrageous.

so my question is, what is it about Gitzo that makes them worth hundreds more than manfrotto?

I went to the coast with 3 other photographers. 2 had Gitzo, 2 had Manfrotto. The 2 Monfrotto's legs locked from the salt and sand. The Gitzo's didn't. Dont know why the Gitzo is so expensive, but I am glad I was one of the ones with a Gitzo. My day wasnt ruined.

Curtis, I had a Manfortto with the lever lock legs. I had it for five years, took it out to the desert, into slot canyons, to the coast, on a ten day backpacking trip and used it in the snow. I never had a single problem with it, and if you've seen me with my gear, you'll know I don't baby my stuff.
It was a great tripod, it was light, it was stiff and it was easy to use.
The ONLY reason I recently got a Gitzo was because of tripod lust and that Mark Hudon Photography had enough money laying around. I like beautiful, well made tools and I bought the Gitzo for those reasons only.

Curtis, check out the Feisol tripods also. The reviews on various Pro forums are excellent, and i know a number of people using them with no trouble at all. 2 of the pros on my recent Yellowstome trek had them and swore by them.
Here is one site: http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DVxv
and another: http://dgrin.com/archive/index.php/t-5686.html
Sandy

Thanks for the tips! gives me something to think about and another option!

I'll second the thanks. I'm also in need of a tripod since mine didn't work out so well as a snow shovel, and I appreciate this info too.

A lot really depends on your application. If you don't shoot a long telephoto, vibration is less of an issue and the aluminum tripod may be fine. My manfrotto was fine until I started shooting above 200mm. At 400mm without telextender, it was worthless, even with decent technique. Way too much vibration from aluminum compared to carbon fiber. Carbon fiber just doesn't vibrate as much and you get a much sharper image. At 500mm or higher, you need the heavy duty carbon fiber Gitzo.
The enclosed image was taken with the big Gitzo, D2X, 500mm plus 1.7 telextender, f6.7, 1/20th sec!,iso 200, no flash...

That's a great shot David!