Tripods and Monopods

[David_Buzzard]

I really like the Gitzo tripods. In fact, I have three of them!! I have a little 200 series aluminum unit that's small enough to pack into a suite case for air travel, and works fine as long as you're not using it to pan a 300mm f2.8 around. That one has a Gitzo ball head on it. I have a 300 series Gitzo aluminum model that's my work horse. It has a three axis pan head on it, which is critical for using long lenses. With that, I can do a 10 second time exposure with a 300mm f2.8, so it doesn't get much better than that. I also have a 400 series aluminum tripod that's pretty much been retired since I packed up my medium format gear for good.

If you're using long lenses, get a 3 axis pan head. That way you can pan from side to side, or up and down, but still keep the rotating axis tight. There's nothing worse than putting a big lens, or view camera, onto a ball head, and having the whole thing fall over on it's side. Ball heads are good for general use, and with only one control, are a lot easier to use.

I have a 500 series aluminum monopod that works great. I only use it on the 300mm F2.8, and I don't use any kind of head on it.

Carbon fiber is great for saving weight, but it's not as sturdy as aluminum, and if you ding carbon fiber, it seriously weakens the tripod. If you're out hiking with it, by all means go for carbon fiber, but if you're like me and the tripod spends most of it's time rolling around the trunk of my car, then aluminum is probably a better choice.

David Buzzard's Technical Blog

[Richard_Coyle]

As David, I'm a Gitzo fan, with various tripods/monopods in both CF and AL. But they're expensive, and unless you're prepared to spend comparable money on the head assembly, it's not as effective. However, they are an excellent investment, as the costs have remained relatively stable for a number of years, given inflation, and you can always upgrade the head assembly. For a more cost effective option, Manfroto/Bogen make decent quality tripods/monopods/head assemblies for a much lower price. You can check with the major dealers once you determine what specs you need given your equipment, and chose one that fits, then check out their reviews and ratings.

As for head assembly(s), I highly recommend a quality ball head, unless you'll be shooting strictly in a studio environment. This type allows more compactness for travel, and more flexibility for shooting situations. Then it's easy to convert this to a "gimbal" type head with a Wimberly Sidekick, for lenses up to about 6lbs. Some reviews show it being used effectively with 500 f4 and even 600 f4 lenses, but this weight handling depends on the capabilities of the ballhead and tripod more than the Sidekick.

Finally, when considering camera support, my advice is to buy the best you can afford, even stretching some, since the inexpensive ones will disappoint you in a short time, if you're serious about photography. And when you go to sell them, they won't bring much in return. Conversely, the quality equipment like Gitzo holds it's value much better, but also, won't need to be replaced in the first place. Good luck!

[Mike_Guilbault]

I followed all this advice when purchasing both my ball-head and tripod. I've had the RRS BH-55 ball-head for quite some time now and absolutely love it. I've ordered the new Gitzo 3540XLS 6X tripod for it but still waiting on it - hopefully next week.
You can read my report on the BH-55 at: Ball Heads?
Well worth the money.

[John Patterson]

Thanks for all the information
I ended up buying the Gitzo 2530 with the Gitzo 1278 ballhead

[Kevin_M_Cox]

I realize you've already purchased but for what it's worth, my main monopod is the Bogen 681B, primarily used with a Canon 400/2.8 IS. I personally hate the twist-locks on the Gitzos and much prefer the snap-locks of the Bogen. Yes they do loosen on their own about once a month but it is trivial to keep the little wrench in my waist pack.

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