Giottos Tripod Review
claudermilk
Registered Users Posts: 2,756 Major grins
No, not a "what tripod to buy" thread, but a review thread. 
: Now that I finally have my whole tripod setup in hand, I thought I'd post my thoughts.
The head needs no introduction, much less a review. I am using the wonderful RRS BH-40 (found at Andy-bay, thanks Andy! :andy ). All I really have to say is the reality matches reputation. I don't anticipate ever buying another ball head in this size class. I am also using matching RRS QR plates and L-bracket for the gear, works like a charm.
Now for the bit I think more people will want to hear about. I had researched legsets to death like most of us, and had been planning on buying the Feisol 3341 legs. However, I ran across some Giottos legs at the local pro shop and liked what I saw--and liked the lower-even-than-Feisol price, so I placed a set of MT-7261 legs on order. These are their "Lava" series, similar to the Gitzo Basalt--midway between CF and Aluminum. They are 3-section twist-lock legs, basically a Chinese Gitzo knockoff.
The good is it's fairly light (at least to me--keep in mind I happily drag a 20D+grip+24-70L around all day and don't worry too much when swapping to a 70-200/2.8L), and rigid. The center colum lock looks & works much like the Feisol or Gitzo; the column itself has a security lock ring at the bottom to prevent accidental removal--could be a very nice feature when using it inverted--and a spring-loaded retracting weight hook. The legs have an anti-twist feature, so you can unlock all sections at once, I have found setting up and taking down extremely quick; with this I am finding the switch from the flip-locks I'm used to quite painless. The twist locks themselves are large, rubberized grips, and are supposed to be sealed against the kind of grunge we will subject them to. The leg angle locks are fairly hefty pieces that work in compression (AFAIK this is in reverse of Feisols?), they look like they will be extremely hard to break. Included with the tripod is a nice, padded carry strap, a tool kit, and a carry bag large enough to leave the ballhead mounted.
The bad is there is no option for just having a mount plate with no column, and the column that comes with the tripod is one piece and a bit long. There is a shorter one available. There is also no leveling column option, you will have to buy a 3-rd party one like one of Manfrotto's or Acratech's.
So far I've only had one outing, shooting fireworks at the beach on the 4th. The tripod worked admirably. It even kept everything stable when my remote release didn't work (DOH! Not plugged in securely enough), and I resorted to using the regular shutter button. I'll post more as I take it out again.
: Now that I finally have my whole tripod setup in hand, I thought I'd post my thoughts.The head needs no introduction, much less a review. I am using the wonderful RRS BH-40 (found at Andy-bay, thanks Andy! :andy ). All I really have to say is the reality matches reputation. I don't anticipate ever buying another ball head in this size class. I am also using matching RRS QR plates and L-bracket for the gear, works like a charm.
Now for the bit I think more people will want to hear about. I had researched legsets to death like most of us, and had been planning on buying the Feisol 3341 legs. However, I ran across some Giottos legs at the local pro shop and liked what I saw--and liked the lower-even-than-Feisol price, so I placed a set of MT-7261 legs on order. These are their "Lava" series, similar to the Gitzo Basalt--midway between CF and Aluminum. They are 3-section twist-lock legs, basically a Chinese Gitzo knockoff.
The good is it's fairly light (at least to me--keep in mind I happily drag a 20D+grip+24-70L around all day and don't worry too much when swapping to a 70-200/2.8L), and rigid. The center colum lock looks & works much like the Feisol or Gitzo; the column itself has a security lock ring at the bottom to prevent accidental removal--could be a very nice feature when using it inverted--and a spring-loaded retracting weight hook. The legs have an anti-twist feature, so you can unlock all sections at once, I have found setting up and taking down extremely quick; with this I am finding the switch from the flip-locks I'm used to quite painless. The twist locks themselves are large, rubberized grips, and are supposed to be sealed against the kind of grunge we will subject them to. The leg angle locks are fairly hefty pieces that work in compression (AFAIK this is in reverse of Feisols?), they look like they will be extremely hard to break. Included with the tripod is a nice, padded carry strap, a tool kit, and a carry bag large enough to leave the ballhead mounted.
The bad is there is no option for just having a mount plate with no column, and the column that comes with the tripod is one piece and a bit long. There is a shorter one available. There is also no leveling column option, you will have to buy a 3-rd party one like one of Manfrotto's or Acratech's.
So far I've only had one outing, shooting fireworks at the beach on the 4th. The tripod worked admirably. It even kept everything stable when my remote release didn't work (DOH! Not plugged in securely enough), and I resorted to using the regular shutter button. I'll post more as I take it out again.
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Comments
for legs.
But... I got "buy it now" fever. I was in the local photography shop, they sell a few Gitzo and Bogen legs & heads. They had a Gitzo G2220, I tried it, liked it, couldn't afford their sticker price. I joked, will you take 25% off? ... they said yes. woe! I went to get a coke, decided buying from guys trying to get a business started in an area that really needs a photography store was more important that getting lava Giottos legs... went back and got the Gitzo.
I love this style of tripod. Will be looking forward to more info from you, as you use it in more shoots.
PS...If you need to get the short column for your Giottos, PhillyPhoto on ebay has great prices.
BTW... coke, as in at the old fashioned soda fountain down the street.
http://www.chrislaudermilkphoto.com/
I have been pining for a carbon fiber tripod which will not weigh a ton yet will support my 400mm f/5.6L on a Canon 30D. This is not the heaviest package in the world of photography but, I plan to add a Bogen/Manfrotto 3421 Gimbal Head to the rig which will add about 4.5 pounds to the load.
I opted for the Giottos 8180 and I am waiting anxiously for delivery. I am always happy to read good reports on a brand of equipment when I have bought (but have not yet received) an item from the company.
In fact, the ease of use and quality of build, combined with my overloading of my old cheap aluminum monopod has caused another case of G.A.S. and now I'm starting to shop for a new monopod. :help
http://www.chrislaudermilkphoto.com/
I have and use the Bogen/Manfrotto 681 monopod. It has no problem supporting my 30D with the 400mm f/4L lens.
http://www.bogenimaging.us/Jahia/site/bius/pid/6780?detailPid=8632&actualPathCategoryKey=1CAT:AAA1:2CAT:BB34&kindOfProductCollectionRequest=productDetail&marketList=MARKET:MKT1|
It has a nice wide plate surrounding the tripod screw which IMO tends to give additional support to the camera/lens.
I also like the wide diameter of the grip area, but I think that this grip might not be appropriate for a person with really small hands.
The 681, at 1.8 pounds, is not what you would call a light monopod but it is extremely sturdy even when extended to its longest length.
Well, I just ran into the first issue with the legs. One section's anti-rotate feature failed last night. It's more of an annoyance than anything else. This morning I took the offending section apart and found that basically this feature works in two parts: a) there's a ridge down the inside of each tube section, and b) at the top of each section is a wide plastic clip. This clip leaves a channel for the groove to travel in and is held in place by a couple of raised buttons that fit into corresponding holes in it's tube. One of these cracked, allowing enough flex that the ridge could pop out of the channel. I've epoxyed that part of the clip down. It seems to have fixed the issue so far--I have two more nights this weekend to use the tripod, so it wil lget tested very soon.
http://www.chrislaudermilkphoto.com/