The Tripod -
I'll come out and say it right away .... the Feisol is NOT a Gitzo. But that doesn't make it a bad tripod. Quite the opposite - it's a seriously nice one at 2/3rds the cost. And this particular model fits my needs better than I had hoped to be able to find.
- No center column (optional center column or leveling base available)
- Full height = 54.3"
- Folds to just under 19"
- Weight = 2.3 lbs
- Folded diameter is about 4.5" - 5" at it's widest spot to the outside of the legs.
It came with wrenches to fit basically every screw on it, as well as a nice padded tripod case. The case is made to *just* fit the tripod, so if you add spikes to the legs you need to find a different solution. It also has an outside pocket that's large enough for the wrenches, as well as a couple extra batteries, some film, etc.
I ordered it from Kerry @ ReallyBigCameras. Level of service and communications were outstanding, and he it got here so quickly it made my head swim.
Speaking of getting here - to give a sense of size: It was shipped in the Feisol box, and the mailman left it in our rural box (door closed) when he delivered it!
At full height, the viewfinder is right around 64" (+/- depending on how level the ground is) -
The Acratech GP-S fits nicely between the legs. The limiting bit would actually be the clamp, not the base. That could be fiddled with to maximize how tightly things fold up, but worst case is one leg is parallel to center rather than angled in towards the center. It never exceeds maximum diameter of the tripod without a head.
They use twist locks on the leg joints. This one is the 'Rapid' version, meaning that the legs don't twist as you lock/unlock them. You can just unlock all three joints and pull the full leg out.
And no. I have no idea what kind of tournament they're talking about.
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The Head -
I dealt directly with Acratech on the ballhead. I bought one from their pile of 2nds for 10% off, and I've still not sorted out exactly how it ended up in the 2nds pile. I dealt with Chrys at Actratech and so far the service and support has been just as amazing as Kerry @ ReallyBigCameras. Extremely easy to deal with and quick to deliver.
The head came in a very well padded box with instructions and a wrench for removing the clamp.
The first thing that struck me after taking it out of the box was how light it is. I knew it was only 0.9 lbs, but until I actually felt that it just didn't register. The fit and finish on this thing is outstanding. As taken aback as I was by the weight, I was just as startled as to how smoothly it operates. Both the ball movements and the panorama base. And this is coming from a long time Arca-Swiss user.
The drop slot. You can see the head has far more room for normal movements than a "standard" ballhead design, but if you need to drop the camera to do a portrait mode or some such, here's the slot.
When the head is dropped into the slot, it's fairly well limited to 90 degrees.
There is a bearing surface on the stem of the ball visible in this photo, as well as a pin on the bottom of the ball. That allows the head to be used as a gimbal head. I don't believe you want to use an extreme lens, like a 500/4, but a 300 (or 400?) 2.8 shouldn't present a problem
Actually, the larger issue with using it as a gimbal head is that it's not over the center of the tripod. That puts the weight to one side, but that can be at least partially overcome by hanging your bag from the removable gear hook on the bottom of the baseplate (included with the tripod).
The other issue is probably unique to a pod w/o a center column. Some motions are limited by how closely you're operating to the tops of the legs. Not a huge deal, but one to be aware of.
Something else you can see in the photo above, is the lugs on the bottom of the clamp. The GP-S is designed so you can remove the clamp and put it on the bottom of the head (I'll do more photos later if someone want's to see that) and mount the head upside down on your legs. That allows you to level the clamp and shoot single row stitched panoramic shots.
Since the clamp is removable, the lugs are there to prevent the clamp from twisting on top of the ball stem by someone moving their long lens or camera.
The GP-S is a redesign of the GP, but for use with traveler type tripods. For that, they made the pano base a bit smaller in diameter. But more importantly, they moved the pano knob. On the GP, that knob is on the base smack dab in between the main and friction knobs. By moving it over 90 degrees they left room for one of the tripod legs to fold into that spot.
