Travel tripod - cf - (Got tripod, now need a head)

mipevo6

mipevo6

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,624
Name
Martin
Edit My Images
Yes
Folks,

Been looking at the :-

Giottos Vitruvian VGRN8265 Carbon Fibre Tripod with MH5501 Head - approx 340

Carbon fibre weights about 1.7KG, 40cm when collapsed...

Anything else come close?
Anybody used one?
Positive or negative comments?

Thanks in advance
 
Last edited:
I found the aluminium vitruvian I had light, small but not up to bigger weights. It may also have trouble in inclement weather. I would be spending a little more on something more sturdy if you want it to take anything of a decent size.
 
Gitzo 1542T plus Markins Q3T weighs in at 1.3kg

Someone was selling this combo on the classifieds last week
 
Last edited:
I have used the giottos vitruvian aluminium version, And tbh its not a bad tripod for travel use but dont expect the supplied head to hold a heavy telephoto lens. I would upgrade it to the giottos MH1312-652 ball head.

I've been looking at recent magazine article and the Giottos Vitruvian come out tops out of 8 tested tripods, 2nd to it was the Benro Flat Traveller 2 but thats aluminium and weighs a bit more obviously but its cheaper.
 
Thanks for all the answers folks.... A busy couple of days so I haven't had a chance to do the digging....

Time to do some more research I guess...

More comments once I have looked at the suggestions....


I did look at this one as well which looked pretty decent as well....

Benro_C2682TB1_Travel_Angel_II_Carbon
 
Last edited:
I've just bought the Manfrotto 190CX Pro3 Carbon Fibre Tripod for a 6 week trip to New England in Sept/Oct just need to get a head to go with it.

It's very light and feels steady.
 
jacob12_1993 said:
Gitzo traveller 1542T...simply the best if you can afford
Click to expand...

I need to see one of these... Looks like more than I really wanted to spend, but looks decent..

Any suggestions of a decent ball head to support something like a 5D III and 24-105 / 16-35 then maybe occasionally a 100-400

s70rmp said:
I've just bought the Manfrotto 190CX Pro3 Carbon Fibre Tripod for a 6 week trip to New England in Sept/Oct just need to get a head to go with it.

It's very light and feels steady.
Click to expand...

I am looking for something that is even smaller than this folded if I can...



I was looking at about 350-400 as a budget but not thinking I might need to go higher...

Thoughts?
 
mipevo6 said:
I need to see one of these... Looks like more than I really wanted to spend, but looks decent..

Any suggestions of a decent ball head to support something like a 5D III and 24-105 / 16-35 then maybe occasionally a 100-400



I am looking for something that is even smaller than this folded if I can...



I was looking at about 350-400 as a budget but not thinking I might need to go higher...

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

If you are spending that sort of money I would go for the gitzo everytime. I would probably omit the gitzo traveler ball head and go for the markins Q3T ballhead tijuana taxi mentioned above or the RRS BH-30 head :thumbs:
 
jacob12_1993 said:
If you are spending that sort of money I would go for the gitzo everytime. I would probably omit the gitzo traveler ball head and go for the markins Q3T ballhead tijuana taxi mentioned above or the RRS BH-30 head :thumbs:
Click to expand...

I am looking at this combination and it isn't cheap...

485 ish for the tripod
The Q3T appears to be about £330
The RRS is about $230

That ends up being about £800 ish... which is almost double what I wanted to spend.....

Think it might be a bit to far.....
 
The tripod and RRS head would come out under £650 and it would be something you would never need to buy again and would hold value incredibly. However if that is too much check out the Benro (which are basically a cheaper copy of the gitzo, however having never used on I can't pass judgement)
 
jacob12_1993 said:
The tripod and RRS head would come out under £650 and it would be something you would never need to buy again and would hold value incredibly. However if that is too much check out the Benro (which are basically a cheaper copy of the gitzo, however having never used on I can't pass judgement)
Click to expand...

650 would be a stretch but as you say a good investment....

Where can you buy the RRS stuff in England?

Cheers
 
mipevo6 said:
Looks like he sold the head already..... and if I am buying a tripod that is 484 delivered new, I would rather buy new as 80 quid off isn't much....

Cheers
Click to expand...
Available via Ebay at £385 (Korea) but taking a chance in costs via HMRC
 
GeordieStew said:
Fair comment. It hasn't even been out of the house though. But if you'd rather pay the extra £80 it's understandable. And yeah, the head is going out today!
Click to expand...

If you had both I might have been very tempted...

SussexBlue said:
Available via Ebay at £385 (Korea) but taking a chance in costs via HMRC
Click to expand...

Wouldn't risk the import tbh.. and always wonder about stuff from the far east...

So now where do I get a decent head.....
 
I've heard of a few people who don't actually take a tripod with them whilst actually travelling.

Instead they just buy a cheapish one whilst in their destination, use it for the week/fortnight or so they are out there and then just give it away to a random person before they leave.

That way they don't have to worry about the weight and size whilst travelling to/from their destination.
 
SussexBlue said:
I use the Gitzo GH2780QR and can't fault it. Have you seen the Gitzo scrappage scheme http://www.wexphotographic.com/webcontent/pdf/gitzo/Gitzo-scrappage-scheme-2012.pdf
Click to expand...

That looks cool, I have a rubbish old Tripod and head I can trade in...

Will have to take a look at the Giottos

The GH1780QR looks more than man enough... only weighs 0.3 and holds 10KG

Will pop into SRS and have a look :)

Ploddles said:
I've heard of a few people who don't actually take a tripod with them whilst actually travelling.

Instead they just buy a cheapish one whilst in their destination, use it for the week/fortnight or so they are out there and then just give it away to a random person before they leave.

That way they don't have to worry about the weight and size whilst travelling to/from their destination.
Click to expand...

Interesting idea, I tried a gorillapod , was too hard to use really...
 
Last edited:
Looks pretty good to me, when I was looking for a tripod the Feisol one I wanted was out of stock with a lead time of four to six weeks

If they had it in would have definitely bought it, answered my emailed questions very promptly too
 
tijuana taxi said:
Looks pretty good to me, when I was looking for a tripod the Feisol one I wanted was out of stock with a lead time of four to six weeks

If they had it in would have definitely bought it, answered my emailed questions very promptly too
Click to expand...

I wonder if anybody has tried one....

video review
 
I've a Feisol. Not sure of the exact model but I bought it during a trip to the US and have been very happy with it. I don't use tripods as often as I should so I'm no expert but it is super light, very stable and excellent value.
 
ianmarsh said:
I've a Feisol. Not sure of the exact model but I bought it during a trip to the US and have been very happy with it. I don't use tripods as often as I should so I'm no expert but it is super light, very stable and excellent value.
Click to expand...

Interesting...

I would like to see one before I commit, very light compared to the other options, think I need a better head than the one it comes with though....
 
Another very happy feisol user here. Mines a 3301, I bought it without a head and put a redsnapper rsh12 ball on it.

The Rapid feisols look good, but I'm happy enough with mine not to want to upgrade.

I'm in north herts (royston-ish) if you want to see one in the flesh!
 
mikeyt said:
Another very happy feisol user here. Mines a 3301, I bought it without a head and put a redsnapper rsh12 ball on it.

The Rapid feisols look good, but I'm happy enough with mine not to want to upgrade.

I'm in north herts (royston-ish) if you want to see one in the flesh!
Click to expand...

Thanks.... going to pop into SRS and check out the Gitzo I think...

I may take you up on your offer if I don't like the Gitzo
 
I popped into SRS in Watford....

I had a play with the

Benro Travel Angel II carbon
Giottos Vitruvian carbon
Gitzo 1542T carbon

I was shocked at how stable the Gitzo was even with the column up... I bought one :)

I have a 460mg head which is a bit large for travelling... Looking for a decent quality small head (only needs to hold 10kG) any suggestions ?
 
Just my two pennies worth, but don't compromise with the head otherwise you have wasted a lot of cash on the tripod.


My choice would be the Markins. haven't got the Q3T, but the larger M10 and that is solid as a rock. RRS are also supposed to be very good as are some of the Swiss Arca range
 
Last edited:
tijuana taxi said:
Just my two pennies worth, but don't compromise with the head other wise you have wasted a lot of cash on the tripod.


My choice would be the Markins. haven't got the Q3T, but the larger M10 and that is solid as a rock. RRS are also supposed to be very good as are some of the Swiss Arca range
Click to expand...

Certainly sound advice... difficulty appears to be they are all needing import into the UK..

Just getting upto speed with this technology...

Looks like I have to get special plates for lenses and cameras?

Confusing

This looks interesting...

Q3Travel
 
mipevo6 said:
Wow that looks amazing.....
Click to expand...

They do several other versions with quick release plates, however they are not the standard Arca Swiss sized plates (which is odd), I have the larger Z1 Arca Swiss and they are superbly made heads.

I have had one of these P0 heads on my wish list at Robert Whites for a while as I have been looking for something lightweight, I just have not got around to actually buying one. I would go for the version linked with just the basic screw stud fitting to the camera, as it is not much hassle fitting the camera this way.
 
Just getting upto speed with this technology...

Looks like I have to get special plates for lenses and cameras?
Click to expand...

Arca Swiss plates fit most of the quality heads I mentioned earlier including L brackets which are great for going from Landscape to Portrait.

The Q/R plates are camera model specific (with or without grip) from people like RRS, Kirk etc and fit better than the generic type

You will hear the term "sweet spot" mentioned, its when you adjust the friction control so the camera will be locked in position, but can still be moved for fine adjustment with a certain amount of force

Need to be careful with the tripod you bought that the head you get is small enough for the legs to be able to fold back through 180 degrees

Importing from Europe is a lot less hassle and cheaper than from elsewhere so that link to the Q3T is fine and where a lot of people purchase from.
 
Last edited:
tijuana taxi said:
Arca Swiss plates fit most of the quality heads I mentioned earlier including L brackets which are great for going from Landscape to Portrait.

The Q/R plates are camera model specific (with or without grip) from people like RRS, Kirk etc and fit better than the generic type

You will hear the term "sweet spot" mentioned, its when you adjust the friction control so the camera will be locked in position, but can still be moved for fine adjustment with a certain amount of force

Need to be careful with the tripod you bought that the head you get is small enough for the legs to be able to fold back through 180 degrees

Importing from Europe is a lot less hassle and cheaper than from elsewhere so that link to the Q3T is fine and where a lot of people purchase from.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input, I really do appreciate the effort.

It is bewildering the number and type of combinations that are possible, but also of course the costs involved in all the plates etc...

The interesting bit with this one is that the legs just touch the plate that the head mounts on so should miss the head, but I want something that obviously is small and neat as I won't be hanging anything large off it so just want the stability and secureness of a decent quality head...

I do wonder if that P0 is worth a punt without a q/r head to keep the cost and weight down...

Thanks again
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top