New Feisol model CT-3441T vs. small Gitzos

[snowboarder]

Feisol just introduced a brand new model - CT-3441T. Kerry from Really Big Cameras
requested a travel tripod for taller than average photographers. It's nearly 7" taller
(column down height) than the CT-3441S. The folded length is 2" longer than
the CT-3441S, but at 18.9" it's still compact enough to fit in a carry-on size bag.
Since it uses a one-piece center column, in place of the two-piece column
of the CT-3441S, it only weighs 3/4 oz. more than the standard CT-3441S.
Legs come from the Tournament CT-3442 and the spider is the same as CT-3441S.
I've had a great experience with Kerry and a PC-33NS Photo Clam ballhead
I got from him - you can check out my short review here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=760751

As I was looking for a tripod, which would be as tall as possible, but still very compact
for travel, I decided to try the new Feisol. Got it yesterday.
I already have two Gitzos - 1541T for a compact travel tripod and 1540 for everything else.
1541T is great but really short. 1540 is wonderful, but quite long when folded down.

Here you can see the difference between those three tripods and a MacBook Pro 13"


http://www.wildlifeland.com/Stuff/feisol1.jpg


The CT-3441T is only slightly longer and larger than a super small Gitzo 1541T.
Much smaller than 1540 (1540 is identical to 1541).
Next picture shows CT-3441T side-by-side with Gitzo 1540:


http://www.wildlifeland.com/Stuff/feisol2.jpg


You can see how much taller it is and how much more solid. The legs are much thicker.
So you would think Feisol must be much heavier? Well, it's the opposite!
The difference is not big, but you can clearly feel Feisol being lighter than the small 1540.


http://www.wildlifeland.com/Stuff/feisol3.jpg


Of course the world is not perfect, so the Feisol doesn't have an anti-rotating system
of folding down the legs. But it's a very well made rotating system - pretty much
identical to the older Gitzos. If you have any experience with 1258 or other similar Gitzo,
you know how Feisol operates. If you remember the order how to turn them, you're fine.
The legs are the Tournament version, I don't see any seams and it's coated with some
clear protective coating.


http://www.wildlifeland.com/Stuff/feisol4.jpg


I have to say I'm very impressed. It supports more than 1540, weights less
and is much shorter folded down. A very solid product with a great support from Kerry.
I'm gonna keep my smallest Gitzo, it is still lighter, so when I need to really limit
the weight, I'll take Gitzo 1541T with me. Combined with the Photo Clam PC-33NS,
it's a great setup.
But I'm gonna replace my 1540 with this new Feisol. There is nothing like it
in the entire Gitzo line. If I want taller, I'd need to get something like 2542L which
is not a traveler kind, so very long while folded down.
I'm also gonna get another Photo Clam for it, probably PC-40NS. All the Photo Clam
ballheads are designed to fit a traveler tripod perfectly, the knobs are spread out
the way one leg easily fits in between.

I highly recommend CT-3441T. BTW, it's only $319 for a clearly superior product.

[timeasterday]

Thanks for the review! I had my eye on the "S" for my next tripod but I think I will be getting the "T"

[MrGreen]

How much does the Gitzo 1540 weigh?

I'm certainly still happy with my CT-3442 which you had mentioned before that the legs are from on this tripod.

[ed rader]

Feisol just introduced a brand new model - CT-3441T. Kerry from Really Big Cameras
requested a travel tripod for taller than average photographers. It's nearly 7" taller
(column down height) than the CT-3441S. The folded length is 2" longer than
the CT-3441S, but at 18.9" it's still compact enough to fit in a carry-on size bag.
Since it uses a one-piece center column, in place of the two-piece column
of the CT-3441S, it only weighs 3/4 oz. more than the standard CT-3441S.
Legs come from the Tournament CT-3442 and the spider is the same as CT-3441S.
I've had a great experience with Kerry and a PC-33NS Photo Clam ballhead
I got from him - you can check out my short review here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=760751

As I was looking for a tripod, which would be as tall as possible, but still very compact
for travel, I decided to try the new Feisol. Got it yesterday.
I already have two Gitzos - 1541T for a compact travel tripod and 1540 for everything else.
1541T is great but really short. 1540 is wonderful, but quite long when folded down.

Here you can see the difference between those three tripods and a MacBook Pro 13"





The CT-3441T is only slightly longer and larger than a super small Gitzo 1541T.
Much smaller than 1540 (1540 is identical to 1541).
Next picture shows CT-3441T side-by-side with Gitzo 1540:





You can see how much taller it is and how much more solid. The legs are much thicker.
So you would think Feisol must be much heavier? Well, it's the opposite!
The difference is not big, but you can clearly feel Feisol being lighter than the small 1540.





Of course the world is not perfect, so the Feisol doesn't have an anti-rotating system
of folding down the legs. But it's a very well made rotating system - pretty much
identical to the older Gitzos. If you have any experience with 1258 or other similar Gitzo,
you know how Feisol operates. If you remember the order how to turn them, you're fine.
The legs are the Tournament version, I don't see any seams and it's coated with some
clear protective coating.





I have to say I'm very impressed. It supports more than 1540, weights less
and is much shorter folded down. A very solid product with a great support from Kerry.
I'm gonna keep my smallest Gitzo, it is still lighter, so when I need to really limit
the weight, I'll take Gitzo 1541T with me. Combined with the Photo Clam PC-33NS,
it's a great setup.
But I'm gonna replace my 1540 with this new Feisol. There is nothing like it
in the entire Gitzo line. If I want taller, I'd need to get something like 2542L which
is not a traveler kind, so very long while folded down.
I'm also gonna get another Photo Clam for it, probably PC-40NS. All the Photo Clam
ballheads are designed to fit a traveler tripod perfectly, the knobs are spread out
the way one leg easily fits in between.

I highly recommend CT-3441T. BTW, it's only $319 for a clearly superior product.


there's the deal killer for me. i'd take a look at the benro travel agent before the feisol because of this lack of a major feature.

ed rader

[ed rader]

How much does the Gitzo 1540 weigh?

I'm certainly still happy with my CT-3442 which you had mentioned before that the legs are from on this tripod.


my GT1541 with markins Q3 and RRS flip lever weighs 3.25 lbs.

btw, that's without center column which i don't need because the tripod is so tall. also, when i remove the ballhead for travel the tripod is 20.5" long

ed rader

[snowboarder]

there's the deal killer for me. i'd take a look at the benro travel agent before the feisol because of this lack of a major feature.

ed rader

Before Gitzo introduced this feature 2 years ago, everybody was perfectly happy
without it... Just kidding. But show me any tripod on the market which would
give me a combination of the height w/o the center column, size while collapsed
for traveling and the weight. There is none.

[xn2b8r]

I've been thinking about this very model and I talked with Kerry about it a couple of weeks ago. I'm comparing it to the Induro C214 and leg rotation is a key tradeoff. The Feisol weighs less; the Induro seems like it might be a little tougher. Thanks for the review and photos.

FWIW, Kerry has been hugely helpful and the opportunity to give him my business is part of my consideration, too.

[snowboarder]

I've been thinking about this very model and I talked with Kerry about it a couple of weeks ago. I'm comparing it to the Induro C214 and leg rotation is a key tradeoff. The Feisol weighs less; the Induro seems like it might be a little tougher. Thanks for the review and photos.

FWIW, Kerry has been hugely helpful and the opportunity to give him my business is part of my consideration, too.

That's one of the new Induros right? I looked at it too, but it's not as tall,
longer folded down and 50% heavier.
I agree, the world would be perfect if Feisol had the anti-rotation feature.
But for me, the tallest I can get and the shortest folded down for travel is more imortant.

[ralff]

I bought one of the Feisol 3371's a few months ago and I really love it, tall enough for me without a center column and very sturdy and much lighter than I expected for a tripod of it's size. Also comes with a very nice bag included in the price. If you are looking for a tripod give them a look. The only drawback for me is that they are based in NC so I had to pay sales tax.

[xn2b8r]

That's one of the new Induros right? I looked at it too, but it's not as tall,
longer folded down and 50% heavier.
I agree, the world would be perfect if Feisol had the anti-rotation feature.
But for me, the tallest I can get and the shortest folded down for travel is more imortant.

Yes, from what I can tell from the website it's newly updated. I think I'm coming to the conclusion that the tallest, shortest-when-folded, and lightest is probably more important than anti-rotation. I seem to remember hearing somewhere that Feisol leaves anti-rotation off its Tournament series legs because it lets them make the bottom tube in a larger diameter, and it also cuts weight (which seems to be a Feisol hallmark).

Do you know how tall the new Feisol is without raising the column? I'm a smidge short of 6-2.

FWIW, one of my concerns is being able to sell whatever tripod I get if I don't like it, and still recover most of what I paid. You can do that with Gitzo or a 580EXII or an L lens. I'm not sure about Feisol or Induro...not many of them seem to end up in the For Sale listings. Same deal for Photo Clam, but you can apparently put a Markins head out there at an almost-new price and it will get snapped up.

BTW, Snowboarder -- I visited your site. Great photos; you're gifted.

[xn2b8r]

http://www.wildlifeland.com/Stuff/feisol2.jpg


I highly recommend CT-3441T. BTW, it's only $319 for a clearly superior product.

It sure looks like it. Check out the difference in the diameter of the smallest leg sections between the Gitzo and the Feisol!

[RiaGurl]

there's the deal killer for me. i'd take a look at the benro travel agent before the feisol because of this lack of a major feature.

ed rader
explain to me please this anti rotating system???

[snowboarder]

BTW, Snowboarder -- I visited your site. Great photos; you're gifted.

Thanks a lot for this!

[snowboarder]

explain to me please this anti rotating system???

when you fold any new Gitzo, you can unlock all the elements in any order you want,
all the legs are completely independent and don't rotate.

[RiaGurl]

so are you saying for tripods without that feature, you have to take the legs and unlock them in a certain order? if so, I don't see how one leg is "tied into" another, that would seem like a sophisticated setup to me. there would have to be a cable system of some sort that was tied into each leg and section that somehow communicated when a certain leg was being unlocked, and then know to not allow it to do so, unless the other section was loosened first.

???

[snowboarder]

so are you saying for tripods without that feature, you have to take the legs and unlock them in a certain order?

Yes, exactly. If you follow that order, everything works pretty much the same.
When you have a Gitzo, you can unlock them all in the same time and it works too...

[RiaGurl]

ok sorry to say but this explanation can take a few different directions.

what you are saying does not make sense to me. are you talking about the legs where they junction at the column/tripod head area, the sections themselves, both?

i don't see how each section can be intelligent. apparently i am not. so i want to take legs a,b,c and each leg has section a,b,c.

you are saying i cannot start to loosen the turny thing on leg C, section c(let's say it's the bottom section) first, but i have to turn section c on leg A first, then leg B, then leg C?? this cannot be right. how are the sections and legs intelligent. i doubt it.

every single tripod i have and seen from cheapo to not so cheapo you can unscrew whatever leg section you want first.

the only restriction i have ever seen is on some cheapo tripods all the legs open at the same time (but that's because it has a contraption very visible in the center that keeps all the legs spaced even as you open the legs.

[snowboarder]

Go to:

http://services.gitzo.com/6x/home.htm

click on "Features" and then click on "ALR"

[RiaGurl]

ya thanks. i got that. but it still does not answer the question. perhaps i should ask what does a tripod that DOES not have this do EXACTLY.

also, just like i said. nothing was addressed as to how the legs and sections somehow miraculously and magically transact with each other to tell each other which came first.

there is a lot of missing information here. those that know do not know quite how to explain it. as opposed to those that do not know, not understanding because of not being intelligent enough. those that know do not and/or are not explaining this properly or refuting what i am saying or what not.

i thought this was simple.

[ed rader]

ya thanks. i got that. but it still does not answer the question. perhaps i should ask what does a tripod that DOES not have this do EXACTLY.

also, just like i said. nothing was addressed as to how the legs and sections somehow miraculously and magically transact with each other to tell each other which came first.

there is a lot of missing information here. those that know do not know quite how to explain it. as opposed to those that do not know, not understanding because of not being intelligent enough. those that know do not and/or are not explaining this properly or refuting what i am saying or what not.

i thought this was simple.

with a gitzo or benro tripod you can twist the locks in any order. with older tripods you have to follow a sequence, which i always forgot to do so they are more of a hassle.

also, gitzo g-locks require very little force to lock tight and as you put weight on the tripod the locks get even tighter. the benro locks are almost as good but this is one area where gitzo is clearly superior.

obviously the more you futz around to set-up a tripod the less you will use it. but travel tripods generally get less use so a little more hassle is usually acceptable.

ed rader

[RiaGurl]

i'm afraid the same info keeps getting repeated.

like i said, i have given of tripod example ABC legs and sections therein. can someone respond to that?

no offense, but i keep getting the same info, i know what YOU are all referring to about order. but something is being left out and/or not specific enough. think about it. take my example.

i cannot possibly imagine that the legs have any kind of sensor/cables, in which would allow leg #3 sections to not be loosened, before leg #1 sections are loosened first, for example. WTF?

[ed rader]

i'm afraid the same info keeps getting repeated.

like i said, i have given of tripod example ABC legs and sections therein. can someone respond to that?

no offense, but i keep getting the same info, i know what YOU are all referring to about order. but something is being left out and/or not specific enough. think about it. take my example.

i cannot possibly imagine that the legs have any kind of sensor/cables, in which would allow leg #3 sections to not be loosened, before leg #1 sections are loosened first, for example. WTF?


if you aren't able to grok what's being said you need to take your butt to the camera store and figure it out for yourself :D.

ed rader

[RiaGurl]

perhaps i do. still asking however.

on what you call an older tripod (although every tripod, even cheap, that i have seen in last handful of years does not exhibit what you describe)
...are you saying that you CANNOT open sections on leg#3, let's say....BEFORE you open sections on leg#1?
if so, then explain to me the rocket science involved as to how one leg can communicate with the other leg sections and talk to each other.

i also think that despite my not understanding from experience, that my question is also simple enough to understand.

dare i not say similar and say that you get your butt of your seat and go to school.;)

[ed rader]

perhaps i do. still asking however.

on what you call an older tripod (although every tripod, even cheap, that i have seen in last handful of years does not exhibit what you describe)
...are you saying that you CANNOT open sections on leg#3, let's say....BEFORE you open sections on leg#1?
if so, then explain to me the rocket science involved as to how one leg can communicate with the other leg sections and talk to each other.

i also think that despite my not understanding from experience, that my question is also simple enough to understand.

dare i not say similar and say that you get your butt of your seat and go to school.;)

RG -- it almost sounds like you may be a victim of too much education :D.

if you actually tried a gitzo tripod you'd immediately understand what we are talking about.

i'll just say without anti rotation locks the whole leg can turn instead of the one section. you are forced to tighten and untighten legs one section at a time and in sequence.

now, that may not sound like such a big deal and that's where the actual experience comes in. it is a big deal but you'd never know it without the experience.

i'm going to take my butt and the dog's butt to the dogwash now :D.

ed rader

[RiaGurl]

i understand about gitzo, but the opposite is what i am trying to get an answer to in detail. what you said is something new at least.

but my example is still yet not answered. am i alone to think it could be a yes or no and then perhaps followed by what you said and or more.

cuz it remains, my question about my example does not make sense.

nowhere in my little brain can i fathom that the legs would have sensors (presumably), or somehow know what the other legs are doing. jeez, that would be an expensive proposition!

get your dog to the was now!:cool:

[ed rader]

i understand about gitzo, but the opposite is what i am trying to get an answer to in detail. what you said is something new at least.

but my example is still yet not answered. am i alone to think it could be a yes or no and then perhaps followed by what you said and or more.

cuz it remains, my question about my example does not make sense.

nowhere in my little brain can i fathom that the legs would have sensors (presumably), or somehow know what the other legs are doing. jeez, that would be an expensive proposition!

get your dog to the was now!:cool:


not sensors. they are simple but ingenious plastic locks.

i'm outta here :D.

ed rader

[RiaGurl]

go!

but you are still not understanding. i know they have plastic turny things. i'm not referring to this at all. please whoever is reading my example ACTUALLY READ IT.

thanks for your time ed, but you seem to always manage to sidestep this.
i say "can this do this and this"?

you say "it is a nice day today".

the above is what is happening. surely there is a "genius" around here that can wrap their brain around my extremely simple example/question posted recently (referring to legs#1,2,3 deal).

[RiaGurl]

put probably even simpler than it already was.

is this true or not true for tripod WITHOUT the anti-locky rotaty thingy (and in my opinion ANY tripod at all)? my opinion is that it is impossible without circuitry/cables/etc. there would be no use for it:

tripod is defined as having 3 legs. let's number these legs#1,2,3.

each leg has 3 sections. we can label these if we want A,B,C (C being the section that presumably touches the ground and A the topmost).

according to the ambiguity that drenched this section of the thread...
i cannot open leg#3 sections(ANY of them...take your pick), before i can open leg#1 sections.

TRUE OR FALSE?

like i have been saying, i think this is impossible without some freaking complex engineering or wiring, etc.

the point, i started to ask something BECAUSE of the ambiguity, and it got down to example, which no one seems to want or know the answer to the above.

[Jon]

ya thanks. i got that. but it still does not answer the question. perhaps i should ask what does a tripod that DOES not have this do EXACTLY.

also, just like i said. nothing was addressed as to how the legs and sections somehow miraculously and magically transact with each other to tell each other which came first.

there is a lot of missing information here. those that know do not know quite how to explain it. as opposed to those that do not know, not understanding because of not being intelligent enough. those that know do not and/or are not explaining this properly or refuting what i am saying or what not.

i thought this was simple.

i'm afraid the same info keeps getting repeated.

like i said, i have given of tripod example ABC legs and sections therein. can someone respond to that?

no offense, but i keep getting the same info, i know what YOU are all referring to about order. but something is being left out and/or not specific enough. think about it. take my example.

i cannot possibly imagine that the legs have any kind of sensor/cables, in which would allow leg #3 sections to not be loosened, before leg #1 sections are loosened first, for example. WTF?
OK - on most tripods with twist-lock legs, top section a with lock A, mid section lb with lock B, third section c with lock C and 4th section d, (Legs 1, 2, or 3 don't matter; it's the same for each leg but they all function completely independently). If you try to unlock all three (or two, on a 3-section leg) twist-locks by twisting them all together, most of the time one will unlock first; if that's the top lock (A) , the next section(s B and/or C) will spin and the lower locks won't open. Even if B opens first on a 4-section leg, lock C will spin without unlocking. So you have to go back and unlock one or more section separately, or just unlock the locks in sequence from the bottom up. If you lock sections a and b with lock A first, no problem.

Once you've drawn the legs out (again, on most tripods), you'll have to either tighten the leg sections from the top down (A, then B, then C) so the upper leg section of any pair doesn't spin while you're trying to tighten its lock or you'll have to hold the leg section above the lock while tightening the lock and holding the lower section at the correct length. Section a is secured to the tripod's central frame. But if you go to secure sections b and c with lock B before securing sections a and b with lock A, section b is still able to freely spin, so you have to hold section b while tightening lock B. And so forth. If you start at the top and work down, no problem. But if you start anywhere else, you need to do a bit more fiddling.

Gitzo's ALR probably (probably, because I haven't done a disassembly) uses cams inside the top of each lower leg segment so the legs won't rotate when you spin the locks either off or on. So if you go to spin any lock closed the legs won't be able to spin, just the lock will.

[hfgarris]

If you try to unlock a lower section of a leg while an upper section is also unlocked, the joint will not unlock but instead will simply spin the higher unlocked leg. With the anti-rotate, an unlocked leg segment will not spin (although it will go up and down), and the lower joint can be unlocked without holding the one above it firmly.

This allows you to grasp ALL of the joints of a collapsed leg and unlock them together with one motion, then pull out the entire leg, then re-lock each joint individually in any order.

The reverse is also true for an extended leg ... you can go up or down a leg and unlock each joint in any order, then collapse the entire leg, then grasp ALL of the joints at once and tighten them for storage.

Perhaps that will clarify the issue?

-howard

edit: yeah ... what Jon said ...

[MGW172]

Back to the tripod at hand.......I'd like to know the height when extended on this new model.

[RiaGurl]

OK - on most tripods with twist-lock legs, top section a with lock A, mid section lb with lock B, third section c with lock C and 4th section d, (Legs 1, 2, or 3 don't matter; it's the same for each leg but they all function completely independently). If you try to unlock all three (or two, on a 3-section leg) twist-locks by twisting them all together, most of the time one will unlock first; if that's the top lock (A) , the next section(s B and/or C) will spin and the lower locks won't open. Even if B opens first on a 4-section leg, lock C will spin without unlocking. So you have to go back and unlock one or more section separately, or just unlock the locks in sequence from the bottom up. If you lock sections a and b with lock A first, no problem.

Once you've drawn the legs out (again, on most tripods), you'll have to either tighten the leg sections from the top down (A, then B, then C) so the upper leg section of any pair doesn't spin while you're trying to tighten its lock or you'll have to hold the leg section above the lock while tightening the lock and holding the lower section at the correct length. Section a is secured to the tripod's central frame. But if you go to secure sections b and c with lock B before securing sections a and b with lock A, section b is still able to freely spin, so you have to hold section b while tightening lock B. And so forth. If you start at the top and work down, no problem. But if you start anywhere else, you need to do a bit more fiddling.

Gitzo's ALR probably (probably, because I haven't done a disassembly) uses cams inside the top of each lower leg segment so the legs won't rotate when you spin the locks either off or on. So if you go to spin any lock closed the legs won't be able to spin, just the lock will.
your post makes sense, and so does the fact the the legs are independent of each other, which was baffling me as to why/how each leg was magically possible to know what the other was doing. i guess when i first asked, whomever could have said, "no it's within the SAME leg that this occurs. the legs are separate from each other"

[ed rader]

go!

but you are still not understanding. i know they have plastic turny things. i'm not referring to this at all. please whoever is reading my example ACTUALLY READ IT.

thanks for your time ed, but you seem to always manage to sidestep this.
i say "can this do this and this"?

you say "it is a nice day today".

the above is what is happening. surely there is a "genius" around here that can wrap their brain around my extremely simple example/question posted recently (referring to legs#1,2,3 deal).


i say the sky is blue and you ask me why. then i lose interest :D.

ed rader

[ReallyBigCameras]

Back to the tripod at hand.......I'd like to know the height when extended on this new model.

The specs for the Feisol CT-3441T are:

Maximum Height (column down) = 56.7"

Extended Height (column fully extended) = 67.9"

Folded Length = 18.9"

Weight = 2.27 lbs.

Additionally, the top tube diameter is 28mm and the bottom tube diameter is 19mm.

Kerry Thalmann

[MGW172]

Thanks for that info.......that makes me even more interested!

[RiaGurl]

this is weird. fitting huh.:D