Is this a good tripod deal for travel

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marvf

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I saw this on the B&H website while back and it's still available apparently. It's for a Gitzo series 2 Mountaineer tripod along with a couple of heads. There's a substantial discount and I'm wondering whether this is a discontinued item or whether it's not very popular hence the need to move it along with a large discount.


I'll be traveling to New Zealand shortly and I was thinking about taking a tripod along. I only have an old manfrotto aluminum currently, and I was wondering if it's time to get into a better quality tripod for landscape pictures. Any help is appreciated very much.
 
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What camera and lenses will you be using? Will you be doing landscapes, wildlife, or ???? Do you usually use a tripod? The ball head looks relatively small......but that may or may not be an issue depending on your ear.
 
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I own a Gitzo which I love to use, but I also own a number of other smaller tripods as well. When I look at upgrading, I try to think about what problem it will solve or what it offers that I do not already have. Given that the model you linked to is $850USD, you have a number of choices to consider that may meet your needs better, at a lower price or possibly both.

What gear do you plan on using on this trip? And how much tripod/ballhead are you willing to carry on the trip? The answers to these two questions will start to help you narrow down your options for consideration. Again, not knocking the Gitzo, but it is the right tripod for your needs?

--Ken
 
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Haven't quite decided yet but I would have the z14-30 mm lens for my Z8 and I will have the DX 12-28 PZ lens for my Z50 Mark II as well as the kit DX 16-50mm. At 12(18)mm and 16(24)mm the DX lenses are at f/3.5 whereas the FX 14-30 is constant f/4 (on the Z8). So in low light I might really need a tripod although IBIS (Z8) or lens VR (Z50II) might be good enough. My primary focus (PI) has always been four and two-legged creatures, but with my new ML systems, and with NZ's famous landscapes, I thought I might take a shot at subjects that ordinarily don't move.
Marv
 
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Replytoken said:
I own a Gitzo which I love to use, but I also own a number of other smaller tripods as well. When I look at upgrading, I try to think about what problem it will solve or what it offers that I do not already have. Given that the model you linked to is $850USD, you have a number of choices to consider that may meet your needs better, at a lower price or possibly both.

What gear do you plan on using on this trip? And how much tripod/ballhead are you willing to carry on the trip? The answers to these two questions wills tart to help you narrow down your options for consideration. Again, not knocking the Gitzo, but it is the right tripod for your needs?

--Ken
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That is the question. Is lens or camera stabilization good enough? And if not? Which tripod or heads?. I already have a manfrotto 3000 or something like that. And a manfrotto ball head. But Hudson Henry recommends panheads and I looked into that a little bit and that looks very attractive. So do I want to drag more equipment or rely on lens stabilization or camera stabilization?
 
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marvf said:
I saw this on the B&H website while back and it's still available apparently. It's for a Gitzo series 2 Mountaineer tripod along with a couple of heads. There's a substantial discount and I'm wondering whether this is a discontinued item or whether it's not very popular hence the need to move it along with a large discount.

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I noticed that deal too, very good! As I do not like the Gitzo company, I can't force myself to buy it. Likely a great deal for you and others that grab the deal. B-H will accept it back if you dislike, usually have a 30 day trial on tripods.
 
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i got back from the south island of NZ recently. I used my canon 6D dslr with a 24-70, 16-35 and 70-200. My tripod is a 3 legged thing carbon fibre. It worked perfectly for all my landscape images. It cost me $AUD500 around 15 years ago or more. You won't need a heavy one.
 
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marvf said:
Haven't quite decided yet but I would have the z14-30 mm lens for my Z8 and I will have the DX 12-28 PZ lens for my Z50 Mark II as well as the kit DX 16-50mm. At 12(18)mm and 16(24)mm the DX lenses are at f/3.5 whereas the FX 14-30 is constant f/4 (on the Z8). So in low light I might really need a tripod although IBIS (Z8) or lens VR (Z50II) might be good enough. My primary focus (PI) has always been four and two-legged creatures, but with my new ML systems, and with NZ's famous landscapes, I thought I might take a shot at subjects that ordinarily don't move.
Marv
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None of your lenses are that long in FL, but your Z8 body is a bit on the larger side. I do not know how long you are expecting your exposures to be, but if they are longer than 1/2 sec. or so, I would not necessarily rely on IBIS or VR if you are looking to make 20x30 prints. None of your lenses, however, have collars for a plate, so your load will be carried by the Z8. If you are shooting from lower heights and do not need to fully extend your tripod, you may may be able to get by with a smaller set of legs. If you want to work at standing height and are working in a windy environment, then you may want a more substantial set of legs so that you are not worrying about your gear tipping over when a gust comes along.

I also think that you should be evaluating the ballheads and legs separately. Not that combined packages are bad, but you may be able to select a ballhead that best meets your needs that is not sold in a package. But really, it comes down to what you are willing to carry. The old adage was that when it comes to tripods, pick two - price, size/weight, quality. You are not necessarily going to get all three.

I bought my Gitzo about 14 years ago and still find it a pleasure when I need a full-size rig with a long lens and FF body and am travelling by car. But when I travel by plane and have to carry my gear around with me, it stays at home and I try to find what is the smallest thing that I can carry that gets the job done. But I also do not do landscape photography.

I recommend going to a local store if possible to put your hands on some gear, especially ballheads. A ballhead that you like and that works well is its own reward. A bad one is a major pain in the backside, and you will not want to use it again. If you do not have a store nearby, watch some additional videos from folks like Hudson to see how the gear operates. Then buy from a place that has a good return policy. I know that many stores offer extended return dates during the holidays, so you may be able to take advantage of that.

--Ken
 
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At f/3.5, I don't think I will try anything that requires more exposure than perhaps a 20th of a second at an ISO of 1600 or so on the DX camera and maybe a little more on the z8. I will experiment at home to see what light levels I can capture with those kinds of settings. This would be handheld with IBIS or lens VR or possibly restng on something. I'll find a bean bag so I can shoot from my car window if I come across a beautiful landscape.
 
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But I do appreciate all the helpful comments and they will be preserved in my memory hopefully such that at a future time I will possibly buy a tripod and get used to setting it up and using it for landscapes.
 
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marvf said:
I certainly have learned a lot from these forums.
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Buy a small tabletop tripod that is reasonably well made and bring it with you. Here are two for consideration. The first, from SmallRig, is quite stable as its legs do not expand and it only opens to one position - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...30_tabletop_tripod_with_arca_swiss.html/specs . The ballhead is okay, but could be replaced for better performance. This is the kind of thing that you bring when you want to set the camera on a surface and make a few adjustments to frame the image.

The other is from Oben and is here - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1431254-REG/oben_ctt_1000_carbon_fiber_tabletop.html . This has expandable legs with three positions. The ballhead is not as good as the one I mentioned above, but it can also be replaced. They also make a longer legged version of this model, and both are on sale for the holidays. There are others that also fill the bill (i.e. Feisol TT-15 Mk ii, Leica Tabletop, Kirk Photo Tabletop, and many others). If you do not need height, and load it up properly, and do not need any extreme angles, these pack down to almost nothing and can come in quite handy. And they make great light stands or will hold a webcam if need be.

--Ken
 
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marvf said:
Ken, thanks for those suggestions. Those seem like a good idea to have along! If you had to pick, which would you buy?

Marv
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The SmallRig is fast to set up and the ballhead has a slightly larger diameter ball. It is quite stable, but offers no height. Great if you only need to put the camera on the ballhead, set up the shot, and then close it back up.

The Oben is like a CF tripod in miniature. It offers legs that extend and have three positions. It becomes a bit less stable as you extend the leg sections unless you spread them out. It is still nice for a small unit, but deploying it is not as fast as the SmallRig. If kept to its first legs only, it is probably as stable as the SmallRig. The ballhead is not as nice IMHO, but would probably suffice. In both cases, they ballheads can be replaced. The Oben is about twice the price of the SmallRig. Both are about the same size, with the SmallRig being a bit more compact. There are other compact legs that you could consider that are more stable, like those from Slik - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1438849-REG/slik_613_501_pro_dxshort_tripod.html , but the two I mentioned are about 10" long and weight under a pound. B&H has a lot of other models as well if you want one to always have with you in your bag. But these two are reasonable models that should not cause you grief is used properly.

--Ken
 
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One other consideration. Many areas of NZ have dark skies with little light pollution - it can be a great place for night sky images which would certainly be easier with a tripod.
 
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I have owned several Gitzo tripods and currently have their 2531LVL that has been discontinued. The 2531LVL has a quick leveling mechanism that makes it great for landscape photography but its collapsed length of 25.2 inches means it would need to go inside a checked bag for air travel. I now use a Feisol 3472 with the Feisol quick leveling base that collapses down to 20.5 inches and can fit inside an overhead compartment in the main cabin of a passenger plane. The Feisol tripods all include an excellent carry case, unlike the Gitzo (and RRS) tripods that provide only a cardboard box and a carry case is an additional expense.

My last Gitzo tripod was a 3 series and it arrived with one of the leg lock levers broken off. The part was cast from pot metal and so this was a design defect. I returned the tripod and bought the Feisol. The Feisol CT-3441T is a great travel tripod and collapses down to 18.9 inches and weighs 2.6 lb and has a working height of 57 inches.

A ball head is a good general purpose head but I only use one on a ground pod. The rest of the time I am using a gimbal head with my telephoto lenses or a video fluid head. For landscape photography nothing beats a Arca-Swiss D4 GP head for speed and precision of alignment of the camera.
 
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pomkiwi said:
One other consideration. Many areas of NZ have dark skies with little light pollution - it can be a great place for night sky images which would certainly be easier with a tripod.
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Is it possible using a f/4 lens to get good astronomical photos assuming you need to take at least 15 to 30 second exposure or more? And with earth's rotation, at a certain point the starry skies will be blurry skies. I would imagine a very high ISO could counteract that effect somewhat but then you're dealing with lots of noise.
 
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marvf said:
Is it possible using a f/4 lens to get good astronomical photos assuming you need to take at least 15 to 30 second exposure or more? And with earth's rotation, at a certain point the starry skies will be blurry skies. I would imagine a very high ISO could counteract that effect somewhat but then you're dealing with lots of noise.
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Yes it is - wide angle night sky images will be ok using the f/4 zoom. 20mm focal length would allow a 20-25 second exposure based on the 500 rule.
Deep sky images would not be possible without using a tracker and stacking images but pleasing night sky images are perfectly possible.
 
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marvf said:
Is the 500 rule millimeters seconds I (i.e. fl x ss) for pinpoint stars at 100% crop?
And could I photograph the milkyway with this?
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FWIW, I find the 500 rule just adequate for mid resolution full frame cameras as in 24 megapixels or so. When shooting higher resolution cameras like 45 megapixel or higher I'd shorten that closer to a 400 or 300 rule and shorten exposure times accordingly. That assumes you actually want to print those images large, if it's web use or small print uses and the images will be downsized for final use the 500 rule is fine in my experience. But if you plan to print large or crop deeply for some reason or prefer to evaluate your images at 1:1 pixel view (100% zoom in a tool like PS or LR) then I'd go with shorter exposure times to avoid visible star streaking.
 
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