Italy for 2 weeks.

EZPZ

Leaving in September and I will definitely want to bring a tripod since I would like to take some long exposures in Venice and some landscapes in Tuscany.

Weight is the number one issue. Does anyone want to relate their experiences with travel tripods capable of holding up my 5D Mark II and 16-35L.

zoomer

You pay my ticket I will carry your tripod for you all over Italy for two weeks.

Sorry no help at all...just jealous. That should be amazing!

EZPZ

zoomer wrote: »

You pay my ticket I will carry your tripod for you all over Italy for two weeks.

Sorry no help at all...just jealous. That should be amazing!

, now that's an idea. Really, it's going to be fantastic. I am torn between taking advantage of every chance to capture the beautiful views and the need to experience it unencumbered or distracted by my gear. I guess it's a good problem to have.

I hope you get to go someday.

coldclimb

I just took the beefiest of the gorilla pods through Asia as my only tripod. I really loved it for its size and versatility, but it does require that you be near a tree, or a low wall, or an odd-shaped protrusion in a cave wall if you want photos that aren't from ground level, and sometimes you have to get creative with setup. All told, I'm sold on leaving the rigid tripods at home.

I took these ones with it:

Perched on a trash can:
http://www.morffed.com/2009/Beijing-China/10526479_PDnah#731475010_6RLuX
Latched onto a rock in a cave:
http://www.morffed.com/2009/Yangshuo-China/10644029_eZsdp#753655745_oDMYg

gembobs

I take my Manfrotto 190 XProb with 486 RC2 ball head with me when I got travelling - it fits in my suitcase, and I find it light enough to carry around all day. I attached my old camera strap to it, and carry it over my shoulder with the ball head pointing down.

Had it with my in Venice a few years ago in July, and I didn't find it to be an issue, the only time it was potentially in the way was when I was on the packed water buses, but to be honest, it was probably less annoying than people who had big backpacks on their backs.

ABCL

I have this problem too, but I've had to learn to live without one, personally, I feel they hinder me too much, and since I'm a fan of the 5 footers, makes them one heck of a beast to carry. I'll presume your aren't in Europe Zoomer, I was about to say it's only a 1hour 30min plane flight to Pisa

dadwtwins

I always regret it when I do not bring a tripod with me on my travels. I now carry thanks to a very generous friend, a travel tripod made by Feisol

It is extremely light, very compact and it holds my D3 w/14-24 with no problem. This tripod with the use of the compact RRS ball head makes me a happy camper while traveling or hiking.

EZPZ

GorillaPod
Those look great. Which Joby did you take? What type of gear were you supporting? I'll admit that the little pod is definitely more convenient.

Mike

coldclimb wrote: »

I just took the beefiest of the gorilla pods through Asia as my only tripod. I really loved it for its size and versatility, but it does require that you be near a tree, or a low wall, or an odd-shaped protrusion in a cave wall if you want photos that aren't from ground level, and sometimes you have to get creative with setup. All told, I'm sold on leaving the rigid tripods at home.

I took these ones with it:

Perched on a trash can:
http://www.morffed.com/2009/Beijing-China/10526479_PDnah#731475010_6RLuX
Latched onto a rock in a cave:
http://www.morffed.com/2009/Yangshuo-China/10644029_eZsdp#753655745_oDMYg

EZPZ

Manfrotto

gembobs wrote: »

I take my Manfrotto 190 XProb with 486 RC2 ball head with me when I got travelling - it fits in my suitcase, and I find it light enough to carry around all day. I attached my old camera strap to it, and carry it over my shoulder with the ball head pointing down.

Had it with my in Venice a few years ago in July, and I didn't find it to be an issue, the only time it was potentially in the way was when I was on the packed water buses, but to be honest, it was probably less annoying than people who had big backpacks on their backs.

That's good to know gembobs. I count the 190 as a full sized tripod. It would definitely be easier to setup than taking a reverse folder travel angel out of the bag. I'm impressed that you had no problem carrying it in Venice.

What types of shots did you find it most useful for? Were you doing architecture or night shots?

mike

EZPZ

ABCL wrote: »

I have this problem too, but I've had to learn to live without one, personally, I feel they hinder me too much, and since I'm a fan of the 5 footers, makes them one heck of a beast to carry. I'll presume your aren't in Europe Zoomer, I was about to say it's only a 1hour 30min plane flight to Pisa

Boston, Massachusetts. USA. That's one for no tripod at all.

EZPZ

dadwtwins wrote: »

I always regret it when I do not bring a tripod with me on my travels. I now carry thanks to a very generous friend, a travel tripod made by Feisol

It is extremely light, very compact and it holds my D3 w/14-24 with no problem. This tripod with the use of the compact RRS ball head makes me a happy camper while traveling or hiking.

That's a nice looking 'pod Dad. It's a little bigger than the Benro travel Angel I've been auditioning. The Benro folds up to 13inches, with the ball head on it. The downside is that setup is a little slower than I would like. How about the Feisol? Does it setup pretty easily?

coldclimb

EZPZ wrote: »

Those look great. Which Joby did you take? What type of gear were you supporting? I'll admit that the little pod is definitely more convenient.

Mike

I have the biggest one I could find, which from their website I believe is the "Focus" version: http://joby.com/gorillapod/focus/

It holds my Canon 40D and 28-135 without being stressed at all, and it fits inside my Lowepro. I was quite impressed.

Here's another shot, this one I wrapped the gorillapod around the railing of the balcony with the lens between the bars. I think a conventional tripod would have been impossible here:
http://www.morffed.com/2009/Beijing-China/10526479_PDnah#735235453_uL3fq

Oh, and here's one of the setup I had in the cave for the shot above.
http://www.fuzzytravel.com/tracy/pictures/yangshuo/205230-.html

gembobs

EZPZ wrote: »

That's good to know gembobs. I count the 190 as a full sized tripod. It would definitely be easier to setup than taking a reverse folder travel angel out of the bag. I'm impressed that you had no problem carrying it in Venice.

What types of shots did you find it most useful for? Were you doing architecture or night shots?

mike

It was a few years ago, so I can't honestly remember now. I think I used it mainly at night, but I may have used it for a couple of day shots over on one of the other islands too for shots of the canals.

One thing I found in Venice, was due to the all the bridges having pretty wide hand rails / parapets, there was plenty of space to balance a camera on even for slow shutter speeds (most of mine over the canals were done this way)

As for carrying my tripod without any problems, I wasn't carrying much - I literally had a regular large hand bag with my camera, a 10-22 and a 17-85, a CPL, my purse / wallet, and my mobile phone.

I bought this tripod specifically to be able to travel with it, and I only wanted one tripod (not loads for different situations), so this was my best compromise. I quite happily hike with it for up to 8 hours too.

EZPZ

coldclimb wrote: »

I have the biggest one I could find, which from their website I believe is the "Focus" version: http://joby.com/gorillapod/focus/

It holds my Canon 40D and 28-135 without being stressed at all, and it fits inside my Lowepro. I was quite impressed.

Here's another shot, this one I wrapped the gorillapod around the railing of the balcony with the lens between the bars. I think a conventional tripod would have been impossible here:
http://www.morffed.com/2009/Beijing-China/10526479_PDnah#735235453_uL3fq

Oh, and here's one of the setup I had in the cave for the shot above.
http://www.fuzzytravel.com/tracy/pictures/yangshuo/205230-.html

Holy mackerel! That is impressive. Maybe you should send that shot into Joby. I bet they'd love to see it. I'll think I'll get one and try it out in the city for a while and see how I like it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Mike

EZPZ

gembobs wrote: »

It was a few years ago, so I can't honestly remember now. I think I used it mainly at night, but I may have used it for a couple of day shots over on one of the other islands too for shots of the canals.

One thing I found in Venice, was due to the all the bridges having pretty wide hand rails / parapets, there was plenty of space to balance a camera on even for slow shutter speeds (most of mine over the canals were done this way)

As for carrying my tripod without any problems, I wasn't carrying much - I literally had a regular large hand bag with my camera, a 10-22 and a 17-85, a CPL, my purse / wallet, and my mobile phone.

I bought this tripod specifically to be able to travel with it, and I only wanted one tripod (not loads for different situations), so this was my best compromise. I quite happily hike with it for up to 8 hours too.

That's usually how I like to travel. Light. I've been trying out carrying the gear I plan to take around town and frankly I am overloaded. I will be rethinking this stuff until I leave in September.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I've got plenty to think about.