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My problem is that I am 6'6" and the Gitzo 3543 XLS goes up to 79.5" eye level, which gives me some "extra" room if I am on a slope or looking at a bird/monkey in a tree or at an airshow looking up. The RRS 34L, only goes to a maximum of 68", which is 4" below my eye level. I'd love to have a shorter tripod for travel and weight, but don't see an option. Don't know why Gitzo has a 22" gap between their 3543 LS (57.7") and their 3543 XLS (79.5")?I replaced a series 3 Gitzo and RRS tripods with a Feisol CT-3472 tripod. Important for air travel to have a tripod that collapses to under 22 inches in length so it fits inside the overhead bin crossways. The Feisol supports 66 lb (30 kg) loads and weigh 1.8 kg and has a native working height of 147 cm which can be readily increased to over 170 cm with their Center Column Kit and this center column is considerably larger in diamater and so the carbon fiber tube is far more rigid than what is found with outdoor tripods. There is also an inexpensive quick level base that can be installed in seconds in place of the standard base plate. The cost for the tripod with both adapters was still half the cost of the RRS or Gitzo tripods and the Feisol tripod comes with an excellent carry case unlike Gitzo and RRS where all I got was a cardboard box.
I have Wimberley and a Custom Brackets gimbals but they now sit in my cabinet as I find the Gitzo fluid dampened gimbal to be superior for both still and video shooting. The Custom Brackets is better for air travel as it comes apart without tools to make it easier to pack into nooks and crannies and it has a lever that can be flipped into position to keep the lens from crashing down if one forgets to lock the gimbal before removing the camera, as when adding or removing a teleconverter.
My problem is that I am 6'6" and the Gitzo 3543 XLS goes up to 79.5" eye level, which gives me some "extra" room if I am on a slope or looking at a bird/monkey in a tree or at an airshow looking up. The RRS 34L, only goes to a maximum of 68", which is 4" below my eye level. I'd love to have a shorter tripod for travel and weight, but don't see an option. Don't know why Gitzo has a 22" gap between their 3543 LS (57.7") and their 3543 XLS (79.5")?I replaced a series 3 Gitzo and RRS tripods with a Feisol CT-3472 tripod. Important for air travel to have a tripod that collapses to under 22 inches in length so it fits inside the overhead bin crossways. The Feisol supports 66 lb (30 kg) loads and weigh 1.8 kg and has a native working height of 147 cm which can be readily increased to over 170 cm with their Center Column Kit and this center column is considerably larger in diamater and so the carbon fiber tube is far more rigid than what is found with outdoor tripods. There is also an inexpensive quick level base that can be installed in seconds in place of the standard base plate. The cost for the tripod with both adapters was still half the cost of the RRS or Gitzo tripods and the Feisol tripod comes with an excellent carry case unlike Gitzo and RRS where all I got was a cardboard box.
I have Wimberley and a Custom Brackets gimbals but they now sit in my cabinet as I find the Gitzo fluid dampened gimbal to be superior for both still and video shooting. The Custom Brackets is better for air travel as it comes apart without tools to make it easier to pack into nooks and crannies and it has a lever that can be flipped into position to keep the lens from crashing down if one forgets to lock the gimbal before removing the camera, as when adding or removing a teleconverter.
