Gitzo GT-1541T

TexPhotog · January 3, 2011

Howdy y'all... First off, Happy New Year...

Now, I'm in the market for a new tripod and I'm looking at the following...

Gitzo GT-1541T Traveler 6X

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/548364-REG/Gitzo_GT1541T_GT_1541T_Traveler_6X_Carbon.html

Any thoughts/comments on this set of legs??? As for a head, that will probably be a whole other thread... :scratch

Thanks in advance for all your help with this...

kdog · January 3, 2011

You can't go wrong with Gitzo if you can afford it. Whether or not this particular tripod is a good choice for you would depend entirely on your application and budget. For example, it would be an especially poor choice for a wildlife photographer. I might consider this tripod if I wanted a lightweight hiking tripod for landscape use, and money was no concern. For me, where Gitzo tripods really pay off are on the heavy-duty wildlife types of setups which leverage Gitzo's excellent strength-to-weight ratios. Spending $500 on a lightweight landscape set of legs seems like a bit of an extravagance. But, it's almost guaranteed that you'll be extremely pleased with it, as long as you've carefully considered your application.

TexPhotog · January 3, 2011

Thank you very much for your input...

As for application, it would be used as an all around purpose tripod for work. Landscapes, product, fashion/editorial, news and such...

Gear wise, it'll be used with a Nikon D300/D50 and several normal, wide and small zoom lenses...

Wildlife photography, as awesome as it is, is not something that I'll be tackling for a while, as those pretty lenses and great locations are pretty expensive at the moment... but hopefully and eventually I'll get there too...

Andy · January 3, 2011

I would get a 2531 model. The 1-series is really much more suited to traveling and use as a 2nd tripod when you don't want the bigger one. The 2-series is much much more stable than the 1-series. I own both 'pods.

knapph · January 3, 2011

I will second what Andy wrote. I have both a 1541 and 3541 Gitzo. While the 1541 is OK for use when weight is all that matters, it is not very stable with a D300 size camera especially when you put any larger lens, 70-200 for example, on it.

TexPhotog · January 3, 2011

Thanks guys... so I went to Gitzo.com and found three versions of the 2531 model.

I've gone back to BH and found this, which by the way it looked on the Gitzo site, it can be used for still as well as for video with a change of heads...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/568869-REG/Gitzo_GT2531LVL_GT2531LVL_Leveling_6X_Carbon.html

Also, from reading up on this model, this can basically fit the bill as an all around workhorse... thoughts/comments???

Thank you guys...

billythek · January 5, 2011

Or consider the 3 or 5 series.

Icebear · January 5, 2011

I think the price just dropped on the GT2531. Both Adorama and B&H have it for $510.00. Free shipping. Plus (or minus) there's an $80.00 rebate from Gitzo. So your Gitzo GT2531 ends up at $430.00. Duh . . . Easy decision for me. Pair it with my Acratech GP ballhead, I don't need levels on the legs. Woo-hoo!

TexPhotog · January 21, 2011

billythek wrote: »

Or consider the 3 or 5 series.

Gee... thanks Bill... now you got me more confused... hahaha...

I was liking the legs that Andy suggested because it can be used for both still and photo by changing the head, but now that you threw the 3/5 series into the mix, there is the GT3330LS that can also be used for video with the right adapter/head combo from Gitzo...

TexPhotog · January 21, 2011

Icebear wrote: »

I think the price just dropped on the GT2531. Both Adorama and B&H have it for $510.00. Free shipping. Plus (or minus) there's an $80.00 rebate from Gitzo. So your Gitzo GT2531 ends up at $430.00. Duh . . . Easy decision for me. Pair it with my Acratech GP ballhead, I don't need levels on the legs. Woo-hoo!

Thanks... I was looking at the Acratech site and I'm not sure if I'm reading it correctly or not... and since you said that you already have this, I thought I should ask you about it...

Does the GP ball head come by itself or with the quick release clamp??? I know that I'll need the quick release plate (2164) which is the one for the D300 w/grip... but if I add the GP to the cart, the pic on the cart shows both, the head with the clamp... so as usual, now I'm confused...

scratch

Icebear · January 22, 2011

TexPhotog wrote: »

Thanks... I was looking at the Acratech site and I'm not sure if I'm reading it correctly or not... and since you said that you already have this, I thought I should ask you about it...

Does the GP ball head come by itself or with the quick release clamp??? I know that I'll need the quick release plate (2164) which is the one for the D300 w/grip... but if I add the GP to the cart, the pic on the cart shows both, the head with the clamp... so as usual, now I'm confused...
scratch

Yes, the GP does include the QR Clamp.

JimKarczewski · January 22, 2011

I like the 3 series. I got the GT3541XLS because of it's height (due to my height.. I've never had a tripod tall enough for me!)

I like their leveling head design in the 3 series, makes shooting a breeze and leveling a no brainer. Especially when you are in a hurry!

TexPhotog · January 23, 2011

JimKarczewski wrote: »

I like the 3 series. I got the GT3541XLS because of it's height (due to my height.. I've never had a tripod tall enough for me!)

I like their leveling head design in the 3 series, makes shooting a breeze and leveling a no brainer. Especially when you are in a hurry!

Thanks for the input Jim... I looked up the specs on your tripod and it seems a bit of overkill for what I'm looking for, as I don't have those sweet but expensive 300mm-500mm lenses... and the price of the legs are also a bit too much for me at this moment...

JimKarczewski · January 23, 2011

, Miguel, they make a shorter version. Not sure what else they have in the 3 series, but really, that leveling head has saved me some serious time. Manfrotto also makes the same kind of head and I've been told they are interchangeable with the Gitzo.

TexPhotog · February 1, 2011

Ok gang... so after looking at all the options that were posted, I think this should be a good set up... what do y'all think???

knapph · February 1, 2011

I have both the Acratech and the RRS ballheads. If I were to to it again, I would only have the RRS ballhead. The RRS moves less after I tighten it down.

bobpal · February 1, 2011

Here's another vote for RRS. For just about the same price you can have the RRS BH-40 ball head. I have the BH-55 but saw both at RRS a couple of months ago and can tell you the BH-40 would be perfect for the 25 series Gitzo. You will not believe how well made the RRS gear is.

FIGHT ON · February 2, 2011

Icebear wrote: »

I think the price just dropped on the GT2531. Both Adorama and B&H have it for $510.00. Free shipping. Plus (or minus) there's an $80.00 rebate from Gitzo. So your Gitzo GT2531 ends up at $430.00. Duh . . . Easy decision for me. Pair it with my Acratech GP ballhead, I don't need levels on the legs. Woo-hoo!

Icebear:

I also was looking at this tripod and was ready to order it. then I saw this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8t9XRiYStg
What do you think? Is this guy abusing, opening and sliding the legs too hard? I've read a lot of other reviews and haven't found any similar complaints.
I also was about to get an Acratech gp as well but after reading knapph and bobpal's comments about rrs ballheads... I decided to wait.
I like to hike and take panos on mountain tops.
Did you get the tripod and ball head yet? if so how is it working out?
Thanks.

ziggy53 · February 2, 2011

Nobody, and I mean nobody, is harder on equipment than a news crew. They are always on the run and equipment gets slammed and man-handled and abused all the time. It's just the nature of the business.

This guy does seem to know tripods and if he is a long time Gitzo user then I suppose that you could listen to his advice.

TexPhotog · February 2, 2011

ziggy53 wrote: »

Nobody, and I mean nobody, is harder on equipment than a news crew. They are always on the run and equipment gets slammed and man-handled and abused all the time. It's just the nature of the business.

This guy does seem to know tripods and if he is a long time Gitzo user then I suppose that you could listen to his advice.

Well... having worked TV news for a while, while the gear does get used and used again, most photogs that I know tried to NOT abuse our gear... sure, we had an engineering department that would fix stuff that got broken... but we'd usually get a write up if they determined that it wasn't normal wear and tear...

Most of my work experience with tripods have been with pro video tripods, such as Sachtler and Vinten... and I know those are heavy duty names... One of the other stations was lucky enough to get brand new gear when there was still $$$ in the newsroom budgets for the transition from analog to digital and their chief photog went with Gitzo's as their tripods... And after reading/researching a lot, a lot of people like the Gitzo's for stills also... which is why I'm leaning towards it...

FIGHT ON wrote: »

Icebear:

I also was looking at this tripod and was ready to order it. then I saw this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8t9XRiYStg
What do you think? Is this guy abusing, opening and sliding the legs too hard? I've read a lot of other reviews and haven't found any similar complaints.
I also was about to get an Acratech gp as well but after reading knapph and bobpal's comments about rrs ballheads... I decided to wait.
I like to hike and take panos on mountain tops.
Did you get the tripod and ball head yet? if so how is it working out?
Thanks.

1.- Although this guy states that he's been a long time user of Gitzo tripods, with just about anything, there are times when even brand new stuff goes bad... but I do think this guy maybe abusing his gear instead of just using his gear...
2.- I also have been unable to see any other bad reviews on this...
3.- I'd also would like to hear how Icebear's doing with this set up...

kdog · February 3, 2011

I have a couple of problems with that YouTube video. First of all, he doesn't say what model that is. Carbon 6X is what they call their new carbon technology and spans the range from the 1 series through their 5 series. So he's saying don't buy ANY Carbon 6X tripod? And yet, the parts that broke weren't the carbon parts. He's claiming that the cast magnesium tripod spider broke at the top by just opening the tripod normally. Yeah right. Then he goes on to say that he's been using other Gitzo tripods for years and haven't had this problem. But again, we don't know what models those were either. I can tell by looking that this is one of their lighter weight tripods in the review. To Ziggy's point, maybe he should be using one of the stronger models. Regardless, the video is pretty much worthless without mentioning model numbers. It's basically just a pointless rant.

FIGHT ON · February 5, 2011

what do ya make of this set up?

The Gitzo Explorer Tripod with offset ballhead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFHm1q6nxc8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ihCvDN6I_Q

Icebear · February 8, 2011

Sorry to be so long getting back. I've been away. I watched that video. I'm certainly not in any position to say the guy's not telling the truth about his experience, it's just not mine. I've had no probs with the Gitzo or the Acratech GP. I'd buy the same setup again.

FIGHT ON · February 12, 2011

Andy wrote: »

I would get a 2531 model. The 1-series is really much more suited to traveling and use as a 2nd tripod when you don't want the bigger one. The 2-series is much much more stable than the 1-series. I own both 'pods.

Andy, I just got back from Sammys Camera to see if there is a difference between the 2531 and 2541. So I set them up sided by side and messed with the tops.
There is but I don't know if it is significant enough to make a difference in what I am going to do which pretty much panoramas on peaks. I mean the 41 wiggles just a bit more. But the 31 sure is strong. I know you have the 31 but have you ever felt the 3541?
It would be nice to have the smaller size when it's all closed up when I hike but if it's going to be a problem then I'll go with the 2531. Thanks for any advice. I have a nikon d70 and d7000 with no special lens.

Gitzo GT-1541T

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