Andy - Pimp My Tripod

Llywellyn

Hey Andy, while in Scotland you'd mentioned you could tell me everything I needed for a new tripod rig. Could you enlighten me? :ear I don't want to be laughed at again for having the world's crappiest tripod. :giggle

Moogle Pepper

Llywellyn wrote:

Hey Andy, while in Scotland you'd mentioned you could tell me everything I needed for a new tripod rig. Could you enlighten me? I don't want to be laughed at again for having the world's crappiest tripod. :giggle

Don't worry!! You aren't alone!! My current tripod is probably crappier than yours!

Andy

I'm really a fan of the Gitzo 2530. Three legs.

What's your budget?

Llywellyn

Andy wrote:

I'm really a fan of the Gitzo 2530. Three legs.

What's your budget?

$1,500. I want to buy everything once and never have to worry about it again!

Andy

Llywellyn wrote:

$1,500. I want to buy everything once and never have to worry about it again!

Sweet.

I'd recommend the Gitzo 2530. Do you have a ballhead and pano gear

Llywellyn

I have nothing! I may wait on the pano gear, but I do need a ball head and plate.

Out of curiosity, do any of the Gitzos have tabs instead of twists? I tried out some Bogen legs today and the twists irked me. If not, I'll adjust, I'm sure.

KED

Llywellyn wrote:

I have nothing! I may wait on the pano gear, but I do need a ball head and plate.

Out of curiosity, do any of the Gitzos have tabs instead of twists? I tried out some Bogen legs today and the twists irked me. If not, I'll adjust, I'm sure.

IMO, Gitzo legs, get used to the the "twists".. All else (your ballhead and whatever else, including your dream pano gear): Really Right Stuff. RRS is all-world, not only in quality but in customer service.

aktse

Have you read this?

And you can't go wrong with RRS.

Llywellyn

Oh, I'm sold on Gitzo and RRS, no question. I just wanted to be told, "Buy these specific Gitzo legs, this head, this plate, and this pano equipment." There's a lot of information here and on each of the vendor sites, but Andy's seen me work in the field (or wander around aimlessly in the field) and knows the gear and mentioned he'd tell me what I needed. I posted here in the hopes others would benefit.

So I'll cope with the twists. Legs down! Ball head y mas to go.

Cameron

Llywellyn wrote:

Oh, I'm sold on Gitzo and RRS, no question. I just wanted to be told, "Buy these specific Gitzo legs, this head, this plate, and this pano equipment." There's a lot of information here and on each of the vendor sites, but Andy's seen me work in the field (or wander around aimlessly in the field) and knows the gear and mentioned he'd tell me what I needed. I posted here in the hopes others would benefit.

So I'll cope with the twists. Legs down! Ball head y mas to go.

You won't be sorry. I'm a happy camper now with my gitzo 2530 and RRS BH-40 ballhead. I'd never used the twist locks before and now I actually prefer them. The RRS plates (camera specific) are also fabulous. Your budget certainly will allow you to do it right the first time!

pyry

Llywellyn wrote:

Oh, I'm sold on Gitzo and RRS, no question. I just wanted to be told, "Buy these specific Gitzo legs, this head, this plate, and this pano equipment." There's a lot of information here and on each of the vendor sites, but Andy's seen me work in the field (or wander around aimlessly in the field) and knows the gear and mentioned he'd tell me what I needed. I posted here in the hopes others would benefit.

So I'll cope with the twists. Legs down! Ball head y mas to go.

I'm gonna take this opportunity to mix things up bit and mention the Manfrotto Neotec. Now, I haven't tested it, but the leg extension mechanism is genius - no twists or tabs. Put a handle quickrelease ball on it and you should have the quickest support you can get.

DavidTO

Kerry,

Now that you're settled on the Gitzo, here's the rest of your shopping list (also add the L bracket designed for your specific camera):

Llywellyn

DavidTO wrote:

Kerry,

Now that you're settled on the Gitzo, here's the rest of your shopping list (also add the L bracket designed for your specific camera):

Perfect. Thanks, David!

davidweaver

I use a Nodal Ninja for a Pano head. Very effective. Easy to use. Good customer support. I don't use the arca-swiss/Kirk/RRS quick release on the NN. I just screw it to the bottom of the RSS L-Bracket.

Llywellyn

Everything finally arrived, so I put it all together to play around with it. My first reactions:

1. Ugh! This is HEAVY! My other tripod may be crap, but at least it's superlight (making it likely to blow over with a sigh).
2. I really don't like where the quick-release lever is located. It royally bugs me. It also rubs my L-plate! I just forked over a lot of money for this, there should be no rubbing. :nono
3. Okay, the ballhead is just cool. Oooooh, angles. Ooooh, quick vertical flip.
4. I need more arm muscle, because opening the legs on the Gitzo takes way more effort and pull than anticipated.
5. I can flip my central column upside down! Or remove it entirely and make my tripod go almost completely flat. Cool!
6. Quick column--wow! No more turning a lever to get some extra height. Sweet. :seamus

So there are perks, but I'm not in love with this set-up yet. I'm a creature of habit, so changes in my daily routine aggravate me a little. I'm sure once I grow into this set-up I'll be more enamored. I have a month to adjust to using it well.

Pindy

Loving the 2531 and BH-40 setup. Thanks again Andy.

zacker

kerry... i hate to say it but, this is why you need to go to the camera shops and do your own homework as what is great for some is not great for others... thats why i didnt make any suggestions in this thread.. its ok to get suggestions but you should really go check things out for yourself first.

Andy

Llywellyn wrote:

It also rubs my L-plate!
there should be no rubbing.
I need more arm muscle,
because opening the legs
takes way more effort and pull than anticipated.
So there are perks,
but I'm not in love

...

Andy

You got the bh40 and which camera/lplate?

Llywellyn

zacker wrote:

kerry... i hate to say it but, this is why you need to go to the camera shops and do your own homework as what is great for some is not great for others... thats why i didnt make any suggestions in this thread.. its ok to get suggestions but you should really go check things out for yourself first.

I did play around at my fave camera shop, but they didn't carry Gitzo at all. It was nigh impossilbe to find somewhere local that carried Gitzo in the store, so I just needed to bite the bullet. I'll adjust--this is a huge change where my gear is concerned--and I'm certain once I wear it in I'll be very happy.

Llywellyn

Andy wrote:

...

Okay, I've already been accused on Twitter of building a man slave because of my new "legs" and "ballhead." You're not helping that rumor, bucko. :giggle

Andy wrote:

You got the bh40 and which camera/lplate?

I have a Nikon D80 and bought the L-plate for that make/model.

Llywellyn

RRS rocks with the telephone customer service. We discussed the problem of the lever rubbing the L-plate, and they are sending a replacement with return label so I can exchange this in time for the Moab trip.

They were so super helpful and nice. A+!

Jay_Z

Hey Andy - or others,

I am sold on the RRS head (BH-40) - although, this along with the Gitzo 2531 might be a little pricier than I need (not want, but need).

In order to shave this a bit or even get down to half (maybe 600 +/- 150) what changes would you make to this ideal Gitzo 2531/BH40 setup? I have a Canon 40D and would use it with a max lens of 70-200 f4 IS lens.

Any suggestions to cut some costs for a good setup? Good, Better, Best ... maybe a 'Better'? Not sure if that means an alternative to the BH-40 or just the legs...

Thanks!

JETA

I own the gitzo GT3530s, rrs bh-55 & l-plate. The customer service was wonderful in helping me pick out exactly what I needed and didn't need. However, when my tripod bag arrived ripped their cs was horrible and nothing was ever done about it. Be aware or beware, if anything arrives damaged they will not help because thier stance is we check everything before it's shipped. Period. It's either an issue you take up with the shipping co or warranty issue. Bogen never returned my calls and rrs did nothing.

Yes, it's just a tripod bag, but when I paid over $1200 of my hard earned money for this tripod system I expected everything to be in perfect brand new condition.

denisegoldberg

Jay_Z wrote:

I am sold on the RRS head (BH-40) - although, this along with the Gitzo 2531 might be a little pricier than I need (not want, but need).

In order to shave this a bit or even get down to half (maybe 600 +/- 150) what changes would you make to this ideal Gitzo 2531/BH40 setup? I have a Canon 40D and would use it with a max lens of 70-200 f4 IS lens.

I had the same issues, was looking at the BH-40 with the Gitzo 2541. Problem was, that was a bit more than I wanted to spend at the time. I ended up with the BH40 with a Slik PRO 814 CF-II CARBON FIBER 4-SECTION. I know, I know, everyone recommends 3-section legs, but I wanted the collapsed tripod to be as short as possible so I can carry it on my bicycle. So far, I'm very happy with my choice.

I found this thread to be helpful - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=98867.

--- Denise