Another Infamous "Which Tripod?" Thread

I'm at the point where I need to add a high quality tripod to my kit. I've used all kinds of crappy lightweight tripods and now I'm ready to step up to the real deal.

Until I get a camera stand for the studio, this tripod will be used both in the studio and on location. Once the camera stand is added, the tripod will be almost exclusively for location work.

I know that I want a ball head and not a pan/tilt head and I'm pretty sure I want carbon fiber for the lighter weight.

I want high quality but I don't see a reason or need for me to go to anything as elaborate as some of the Gitzo rigs that sell for $1000+.

My needs are simple in terms of size and weight of the mounted rig. I'll be using a DSLR and nothing larger than a 300mm lens.

I'm not shooting landscape and I'm not into birding. This is for portraiture and 300mm will be the longest lens used. Most often it will be a 70-200mm lens.

I'd like to spend no more than about $500 and by that I mean that anything less than $500 is great and anything up to about $525 or so is the limit. If the number starts approaching $550 then it's too much.

I'm fairly confident that I can get a very good system for that amount but I have no real knowledge of the different build qualities, materials, leg locking mechanisms, and know nothing about the durability and long term performance.

So, if all you tripod and support guys could help me out and give me some input, recommendations and links to tripods and ball heads, I'd appreciate that.

If there are kits with the legs and head together that would be nice but otherwise I'm ok with pairing up a good combination.

Rob,

I understand about the budget limit. I have to buy camera equipment in sets...for the wife and myself. Some tripod brands you might want to consider: Induro, Benro, Flashpoint (from Adorama) or the Manfrotto 055proB that is carbon fiber. You could get a carbon model within your budget from one of them.

Strongly consider replacing any clamp (on the ballhead) and plate (mounts to the camera body), with a Arca-Swiss compatible set. My personal favorite is the RRS quick release clamp and an L bracket on the body instead of a flat plate. Using the L bracket lets you easily go vertical. An RRS QR clamp and L bracket together is probably $250 depending on the camera body. Not inexpensive....but dang well worth it.

The Feisol 3441S or 3441t reviewed here, depending on your height.

I hate to say this Rob.... But I think what you will find the more research you do is that tripods are going to be the same as all other areas of photography equipment where the "why go Elinchrom over AlienBees" questions will have the same outcome. Gitzo and Markins or RRS setups are just beyond excellent and literally the last tripod build you will ever do. They will out last you and do what they to the very best degree.

I say this to you only because I care and would rather see you empty your wallet once then to do what the rest of us did, which was build the $300-$500 setup only to not be satisfied with it for many different reasons, sell it and lose money only to rebuild the Gitzo setup we should have done in the first place.

That being said my suggestion to you would be something comparable to the Gitzo GT2541 legs with a Markins M10 ballhead and either the Markins or Really Right Stuff lever clamp. I think you would be in love with the quality and performance of that setup for all general stable support needs.

Just my 2 cents friend. You have helped me out on many occasions and now Im hoping I can do the same in return.

I went through a similar situation as you did about a year ago. I told myself a $300 setup would be more than adequate for me and those who spend $1000 on a Gitzo rig is silly and have too much money to burn.

Fast forward to last month, when I finally broke down and admitted my mistake, that yes, POTN was right, that I should have gone big or gone home instead of messing around with budget setups. Fortunately I was able to offload my previous rig with no loss. The difference between a Gitzo 1541t + Markins Q3t combo was night and day when compared with the Manfrotto 190XPROB + 498RC2 I had.

Buy once, cry once. Gitzo or nothing, baby! If you don't have to money for it now, save up for it until you can swing for the Gitzo (Feisol in a pinch should be alright), then you'll never replace your tripod again.

Crap! I knew this would happen.

I appreciate the honesty, guys.

Can you sum up what the benefits are and in what areas I would notice and appreciate the differences?

Well, first off theres is the IMO three most noticeable things people first realize when they first start using a higher end support setup. These are: 1) How amazingly light a Gitzo/Markins/RRS setup is for how much more load weight it is capable of holding. 2) The ZERO droop that most cheaper ballheads have when you have tightened them down. When these higher end heads or locked down, their as stable as youre gonna get! and 3) The fact that Gitzo legs have a lifetime warranty which basically means you will, if you want, have that tripod AND working like the day it was new, for a long as you keep it!

After that, its just as simple as seeing, touching, and using some more to fully understand how excellently machined and constructed these products are. Its like opening up and using an Apple product for the first time, you just know instantly what youve paid for and that its well worth it and youre gonna love it!

ben_r_ wrote in post #11889417
Well, first off theres is the IMO three most noticeable things people first realize when they first start using a higher end support setup. These are: 1) How amazingly light a Gitzo/Markins/RRS setup is for how much more load weight it is capable of holding. 2) The ZERO droop that most cheaper ballheads have when you have tightened them down. When these higher end heads or locked down, their as stable as youre gonna get! and 3) The fact that Gitzo legs have a lifetime warranty which basically means you will, if you want, have that tripod AND working like the day it was new, for a long as you keep it!

After that, its just as simple as seeing, touching, and using some more to fully understand how excellently machined and constructed these products are. Its like opening up and using an Apple product for the first time, you just know instantly what youve paid for and that its well worth it and youre gonna love it!

Pretty much sums it up right there.

The most different things I've felt since upgrading:

1) weight - more than halved from the Manfrotto setup
2) stability - have not noticed any shake even though it's half the weight
3) creep - Markins head = no creep, Manfrotto head = massively annoying creep (even though my heaviest were only 70-200 f/2.8 II or 100-400)
4) build quality - Gitzo/Markins are clearly well-built; to take nothing away from the Manfrottos but it is clearly inferior to the above; the Man. tripod would get scratched up pretty easily, and I don't see it as a problem that would happen with the Gitzo

As with all other gears (cameras, lenses, lighting, etc.) I try to go for the best quality ones, even though I can only afford so few (only 2 lenses for 2 bodies). I used to have a bundle of lenses but none of them were satisfactory, and were soon out the door. The same goes for tripods.

Do it once, do it right. Don't mind spending a bit more. Think of it this way: if you buy a top-notch setup now, you'll probably never have to buy another one for a couple decades.

I've got a Feisol 3442 with a Markins head and together they came in around $500. Yes, you can go the Gitzo route and spend twice as much and possible get a better tripod, but I have used my setup for 3 years without a single issue. It is light, stable and folds down to just about 19". I'd highly recommend the setup for travel. I've used it with lens ranging from a 17-40 right up to a 300mm and it accommodates this without problems.

Life is always a choice and money always comes into play when making these decisions. There are reasons why we all don't have a 1D4 along with 800L and instead choose to have a 7D and a 300 f4 with a 1.4x on it. The easy answer is always choose the Gitzo...but that is not always the right answer. For me, I could not justify twice the price and for me, I am glad I did not go the Gitzo route.

Hi Guys,

I'm a big believe in "buy once and do it right". I haven't always followed that advice but I understand the concept all too well.

By the same token, I find it interesting that a Gitzo $1,000+ system is the only answer.

I understand the advantages of great build quality with a great warranty but I'm not sure I'm buying the fact that Gitzo is THE answer and nothing else will do.

That may very well be the case for many people but for everyone? So you guys are saying that with all the tripods out there, nothing else is worth looking at? Seriously?

I'm not sure the "why go Elinchrom over Alien Bees" argument applies here. That statement doesn't discount all other strobes and is only an argument for one brand over another.

Manfrotto isn't worth looking at? Induro isn't worth looking at? Really?

I'm honestly not trying to act like I know more than you guys and I'm not making an argument against Gitzo. I'm just trying to understand how everything else out there can so quickly be discounted and Gitzo is the only brand remaining that's worth the investment.

I'm also not saying that I wouldn't appreciate an amazing tripod like a Gitzo but do I really need one? Are all the Manfrotto tripod owners unhappy or regretting their purchase. Are those that spent $500 or $600 on a great tripod suffering because they didn't cough up the extra ~$500 for the Rolls Royce of tripods?

I'll always buy what's best for me but I'm really not so sure that a $1,000+ tripod is really the only solution for me.

Can someone shed further light on this issue? Perhaps some non-Gitzo owners can give some feedback.

u can get a gitzo build system but at 1/3 of the price with Sirui.

http://www.siruiusa.co​m/

I'm not sure whether can u get this brand where you stay but right here in Singapore, people are fast replacing their gitzos with Sirui. In terms of builds, Sirui has models that are very similar to a Gitzo equivalent model. Eg. their traveller series, Sirui is about there with better features as well.

Take a look at the site and read some reviews. I own many gitzos before and I'm still using some. I came from the old film era so I'm growing my system based on Gitzo tales. But every time when I go to my local photo shop who stocked up both brands to compare, I feel so silly that I'm paying 3 times the price for something that is probably 1/20 times inferior to a Gitzo. (I'm still not sure is that so as many Sirui users claims they are just as good).

Recently I was looking for a light weight travel monopod. By instinct I went to gitzo and was looking at the build and quality, test around. Then I caught sight of a Sirui equivalent model....at more than 1/3 of the price with better features. 5 mins later, I got the Sirui back home.

ben_r_ wrote in post #11887006
I hate to say this Rob.... But I think what you will find the more research you do is that tripods are going to be the same as all other areas of photography equipment where the "why go Elinchrom over AlienBees" questions will have the same outcome. Gitzo and Markins or RRS setups are just beyond excellent and literally the last tripod build you will ever do. They will out last you and do what they to the very best degree.

I say this to you only because I care and would rather see you empty your wallet once then to do what the rest of us did, which was build the $300-$500 setup only to not be satisfied with it for many different reasons, sell it and lose money only to rebuild the Gitzo setup we should have done in the first place.

That being said my suggestion to you would be something comparable to the Gitzo GT2541 legs with a Markins M10 ballhead and either the Markins or Really Right Stuff lever clamp. I think you would be in love with the quality and performance of that setup for all general stable support needs.

Just my 2 cents friend. You have helped me out on many occasions and now Im hoping I can do the same in return.

This is sage advice. If indeed $500.00 is your limit, for whatever reason and only you can answer that, some of the suggestions made as alternatives will work. If however you can find a way to add $$ to that $500 you will in fact save money in the long run and be better served.

My first ballhead was my Arca, so I never used a cheap one to compare it to. For what you're looking to use it for, I would invest in a good head first. You don't want to spend the time in setting up a shot, compose and focus, find something is wrong and you have to re-position folks or something and find that the head completely dropped. Really frustrating.

Then to the legs. Those I have gone through a ton of. You're asking for alternatives to Gitzo. But then you also mention CF for the weight. Unfortunately, there's a reason why Gitzo legs cost what they do. Workmanship, quality, warranty, etc. All of those things contribute to how expensive the sticks are. Sure, you can go with Induro or whomever that make cheaper sticks, but when you have to buy another set in 2 years because the leg locks or whatever have given way, then suddenly, the "cheaper" legs don't seem all that cheap.

I mentioned carbon fiber because I'm aware that the material is lighter and that is somewhat appealing, but I see tons of carbon fiber tripods that fall well below $1000 and there must be some good ones in there. Again, I'm having trouble believing that a non-Gitzo tripod is the crap that you guys are making them out to be.

I have a feeling that this, like many things, can only be resolved by seeing and messing around with the different makes and models. Every one has different tastes and needs and I'm just not convinced that the views being expressed are or will be mine.

TMR Design wrote in post #11892189
I mentioned carbon fiber because I'm aware that the material is lighter and that is somewhat appealing, but I see tons of carbon fiber tripods that fall well below $1000 and there must be some good ones in there. Again, I'm having trouble believing that a non-Gitzo tripod is the crap that you guys are making them out to be.

I have a feeling that this, like many things, can only be resolved by seeing and messing around with the different makes and models. Every one has different tastes and needs and I'm just not convinced that the views being expressed are or will be mine.

Rob, you could be well-served with a Feisol or a Manfrotto (carbon) tripod and it can end up to be a perfect setup for you, while saving some coin.

The perspective that some of us proffer to you is just that if you DO get a Gitzo, you will NOT be disappointed and will not feel that you bought wrong, because it is simply the best.

There is nothing wrong in being prudent with your research and wanting to save some money in the process. There is also nothing wrong with shelling out once and be done with it, because you know you have the best. In the end, it all comes down to money and personal preference. I probably would have been 90% as happy with a Feisol, but that 10% of me would always have wished that I had a Gitzo. Now I don't have to feel that 10%