Tripods - What's the best?

The best is Gitzo. Period.

My best set up that is good for everything up to and including a 300mm lens is the Gitzo 1258 with a RRS BH40 head with a lever release.

I beat this thing and it doesn't even show the wear. I've skied with it, I've put it in fast moving trout streams 2' deep in water (freezing my butt off too), I've had it in sand, I've backpacked it, I've lugged it through airports. It is really amazing.

For example, in that trout stream I had a wake coming off of each leg. I was taking a 5 shot panorama and it came out so crisp and clear. You just know that the legs were taking a pounding from the water streaming past them, yet they damped out the vibration and made sure the camera platform was steady. Really nothing short of amazing in my book.

I'd recommend this combination as the sturdiest lightest weight combo that I know of - it weighs in at around 4lbs. Nothing else in this load range weighs as little.

Highly recommended.

Taking a step up, I'd go for the upcoming Gitzo 3540 with a RRS BH55. That is slighly more weight, but it will take a load of 39lbs. That is a ton more than I expect to ever put on it.

J.

Gitzo has a superlative reputation, and a corresponding high price. Manfrotto/Bogen has a super reputation, and lower price than Gitzo. But for me, one of the considerations that causes Gitzo to not be suitable is the leg lock mechanism, a twisting action that I consider inferior to the lever action quick release locks of Manfrotto/Bogen. My point, apart from drawing attention to the leg locking mechanism, is to point out how key it is to be in a store handling the tripod you are thinking about, as there can be a number of factors that makes or breaks a specific tripod (or brand) for you, over and above what WE think!!!

Gitzo and Manfrotto really don't compete head to head.

For example, the Manfrotto 055MF3/4 is about the same size, height, and load rating as a Gitzo 1258. But the 1258 weighs a full pound less and therefore costs more. A Gitzo that weighs the same as a the 055MF will hold almost twice as much and probably stand taller too and so, costs more again. So, it is sort of apples to apricots.

The point about trying something out and then getting it from a place that has a generous return policy is good advice. Using ANY tripod is a hassle, but necessary if you want to get the most out of your lenses. The better gear is just that much less of a hassle and works better.

Here are my favorite tripod links:

Why you should get a good one
http://bythom.com/supp​ort.htm

How important they are in the scheme of things.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/t​ripods_&_heads.shtml

Explanation of what a tripod really does, how important the engineering is that goes into one, and factors that differentiate tripods.
http://markins.com/cha​rlie/report4e6.pdf

On the leg locks -
I'd take the opposite view. I really, really like the Gitzo ALR legs with the twist locks and I don't like the manfrotto flips (have them on a monopod). But, the strong feelings that surround these probably mean that (a) the benefits of one over the other have not been well advertised by the manufacturers (i.e. which is stiffer, etc..) or (b) it really doesn't matter - the tripod equivalent of "Less Filling" vs "Tastes Great" - which is most likely the case.

J.

JohnJ80 wrote in post #2287651
But, the strong feelings that surround these probably mean that (a) the benefits of one over the other have not been well advertised by the manufacturers (i.e. which is stiffer, etc..) or (b) it really doesn't matter - the tripod equivalent of "Less Filling" vs "Tastes Great" - which is most likely the case.

In my case, as a pre-teen with exposure to photography, I used the tripod my dad had purchased, a Tilt-all. It had the twist-type locks. And very often it was very difficult to unlock the legs to collapse them, so my own experience with the genre is 'slow and difficult' in the field, even if it seemed OK in trial. Given the expense of the Gitzo, I could never bring myself to spending the money and then discovering similar problems to that which I encountered early in my exposure to photography and having to deal with the time and aggravation of a purchase return. And given the fact that my own use of the Bogen has been problem free, and the locks are extremely rapid to set up or put away, there has been no reason to dive into the unpleasantry (in my memory) of twist locking legs.

"Less aggravating, works great!"

Wilt wrote in post #2288940
In my case, as a pre-teen with exposure to photography, I used the tripod my dad had purchased, a Tilt-all. It had the twist-type locks. And very often it was very difficult to unlock the legs to collapse them, so my own experience with the genre is 'slow and difficult' in the field, even if it seemed OK in trial. Given the expense of the Gitzo, I could never bring myself to spending the money and then discovering similar problems to that which I encountered early in my exposure to photography and having to deal with the time and aggravation of a purchase return. And given the fact that my own use of the Bogen has been problem free, and the locks are extremely rapid to set up or put away, there has been no reason to dive into the unpleasantry (in my memory) of twist locking legs.

"Less aggravating, works great!"

Presuming that you are a bit away from being a pre-teen and that multiple years had elapsed and that Gitzo is not Tilt-all, then the question becomes, have you even tried something current from Gitzo?

I can set my 1258 up in 15-20 seconds (I've timed it for kicks - is that sick or what?).

J.

JohnJ80 wrote in post #2288990
Presuming that you are a bit away from being a pre-teen and that multiple years had elapsed and that Gitzo is not Tilt-all, then the question becomes, have you even tried something current from Gitzo?

I did once, in a store, to see if my memories of 'slow twist locks' really applied. My experience indicated that it was slower, even if it was free from jamming like the Tilt-all.

JohnJ80 wrote in post #2288990
I can set my 1258 up in 15-20 seconds (I've timed it for kicks - is that sick or what?).

Challenge taken! I'll time myself when my Bogen 3021 is available to me.

The new ALR twist locks are much faster than the old style (1228 vs 1258).

See - flip locks vs twist locks is true grist for controversy amongst tripod Kool-Aid drinkers.

J.

JohnJ80 wrote in post #2289116
See - flip locks vs twist locks is true grist for controversy amongst tripod Kool-Aid drinkers.

Sorry, ain't been near Koolaid in many decades. Gin and tonic has been my drink of choice since the year of the Winter Olympics in Sapporo Japan!

Gin and tonic has the effect of slowing down your use of locks of either type. A true competitor even forgoes caffeine before a leg lock time trial.

J.

JohnJ80 wrote in post #2289332
Gin and tonic has the effect of slowing down your use of locks of either type. A true competitor even forgoes caffeine before a leg lock time trial.

J.

He's gonna have a time fight on his hands...I can put together a softbox in signficantly under a minute.

I thought this would be hands down to the Manfrotto but obviously not... keep your thoughts coming

Great thread here.

What's the difference between the Manfroto 488RC2 and the 486RC2 heads? From what I can see everyone is using the first for their tripods and the latter for their monopods (i'm after a head for my tripod).

The ball is larger on the 488 and it has a separate control for panning.

JohnJ80 wrote in post #2288990
Presuming that you are a bit away from being a pre-teen and that multiple years had elapsed and that Gitzo is not Tilt-all, then the question becomes, have you even tried something current from Gitzo?

I can set my 1258 up in 15-20 seconds (I've timed it for kicks - is that sick or what?).

J.

OK sicko is as sicko does! I have a hard time believing 15-20 sec. setup for twist locks. I did a test with my Bogen 3021, from fully collapsed to full up and ready to accept a camera...17 sec. Scarcely time to flip 6 levers from closed to open, let the leg sections extend all out, then flip the 6 levers from open to closed. In other words, 12 things to open then lock, 6 sections to extend, and 3 legs to splay out, in 17 sec. That's 21 actions in 17 sec. I repeated the test for collapsing everything, virtually same amount of time. Opening or closing a lever is a fraction of a second...has Gitzo improved twist locks to be that speedy, too?

The new Gitzo twist locks where the legs don't rotate (ALR on the 6X) are much faster and far less mistake prone than the non ALR version. They are very fast. You can open all of them with one hand (which you couldn't do with the old style - easily)- pull the entire leg out and then quickly tighten each of them on the leg.

J.