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Tripod advice

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Posted by highlander: Sat Dec 17th, 2016 12:00

1^st Post

Having knackered another tripod...

Shopping beckons. Are Gitzo tripods really worth it? Seen a used basalt 1series with head for £300, which is a good price compared to new, but still a heck of lot of my money

Or I could get a Manfrotto 190Go (aluminium) for less than half that

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Posted by Gilbert Sandberg: Sun Dec 18th, 2016 09:29

2^nd Post

H,
Some people adore Gitzo. (in part for their longlevity).
You should not compare prices of tripods made of metal and other materials.
I don't use my tripods to destruction, my Manfrotto's (more than one) are good enough for me.
Regards, Gilbert

Posted by jk: Sun Dec 18th, 2016 13:57

3^rd Post

I only use Manfrotto tripods but there are other makes Gitzo, Benbo, etc that are all very good.
My Manfrotto 190 and CX serve me well and I couldnt recommend more highly.

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Posted by Eric: Sun Dec 18th, 2016 15:32

4^th Post

I have two Manfrotto (one is from the 190 stable) and they are all I've ever needed.

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Eric

Posted by Robert: Sun Dec 18th, 2016 16:12

5^th Post

JK mentions Benbo, my smaller tripod is a Benbo, now made by Patterson (of darkroom fame) I think. The great advantage for me is the versatility and the fact that the lower legs slide over the upper legs, so if you stand it in mud or dirty water as I often do, the mud doesn't find it's way inside the legs. Thanks to a minor mod I have made, it can do double duty by making one lower leg slide off and using it with the upper arm to turn it into a short monopod.

I bought it about 1986 for my Bronica S2a. It's still in regular use, although one of the slide lock clamps should be renewed, I'm too tight to spend the aprox £15 for a new part, it still works well enough thirty years on.

I have looked at many tripods over the years, they are mostly either heavy, flimsy or very expensive or a combination of those. I feel the Benbo is a good compromise being fairly rigid, not too heavy and not too expensive, even now, thirty years on. The swivel mechanism at the top is very interesting being based on an old field gun undercarriage principle, it is a very robust and versatile joint.

I don't think an expensive, precision tripod would be suitable for robust use in the field. More of a showpiece or a studio thing.

A side note on alternative uses for tripods. I was photographing in a large botanic garden a couple of years ago when a couple turned up, both sporting top of the range Canon cameras with fast pro lenses and a huge bag full of gear on a trolly, they spotted a magnificent Magnolia tree but the best blooms were just out of range of their lenses, they discussed the solution, then reached for their largest tripod, hooked it onto the poor Magnolia branch and hauled it down to shooting range, photographed the flowers but unfortunately the branch snapped. Selfish cretins.

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Robert.

Posted by highlander: Mon Dec 19th, 2016 09:45

6^th Post

There are sadly far to many cretins these days

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Posted by amazing50: Mon Dec 19th, 2016 21:06

7^th Post

Picked up a Manfrotto 410 on sale in the early 80's and used it today for my Combo 4x5. It easly holds 4kg -10lb. and is rock solid. Over the years I have purchased various heads and a few smaller and lighter and less steady units, but the old 410 keeps on going.

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Posted by Iain: Sun Jan 29th, 2017 08:46

8^th Post

Just replaced my old (broken) tripod with a new Manfrotto from the 190 range. Good solid tripod.

Posted by novicius: Thu Apr 6th, 2017 22:30

9^th Post

Carbon Fiber is the way to go ..

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Posted by Robert: Fri Apr 7th, 2017 16:48

10^th Post

Carbon fibre way too light.

Need a large, heavy tripod to achieve the aim of holding the camera rock steady in all (most) conditions. My Bronica S2a was wrecked by a puff of wind blowing my relatively heavy and well spread out Benbo tripod over.

Earlier this year I needed to tie the tripod to my car to prevent the tripod from blowing away. When it blows here it really blows!

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Robert.

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