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Abbott Schindl wrote:
The only thing I'm not sure about is the new tripod's "Big Foot" pivot, but it looks interesting enough that I just ordered one from Manfrotto/Gitzo. If you don't like it, look at RRS's tripod feet, which I prefer over Gitzo's standard ones. Again, changing the foot is a matter of taste, I think.
I just bought a 3-foot set of Gitzo's new 50mm ball/swivel feet for my GT-3542XLS, and these things REALLY stay put on smooth surfaces. The ball/swivel action has just the right amount of tension to prevent them from flopping around, and there's a notch on the top-side edge of the foot, which allows the foot to tilt virtually 90 degrees, much like a ball-head tilt-notch, for tilting from landscape to portrait mode. Very handy when you're shooting a ground-level set. That said, this feature probably wouldn't help on your monopod.
Now, to be completely honest, I haven't installed those feet yet,,, I JUST got them from GitzoSpares.com
When I received them however, I examined them closely, and when I placed one on my dining room table, I tried moving the foot side-to-side and that foot stayed put as if it was glued to the table. I was shocked at the holding power.
Now, this of course was on a smooth flat surface. I presume they'll perform almost as well on other surfaces such as wood, tile, linoleum, and vinyl floors, as well as on concrete, asphalt, and stone surfaces.
The reason I ordered those feet in the first place, was because I sometimes found my 3-series Systematic (GT-3542XLS) unstable on a wood floor, especially if the floor had a bit of dust. That tripod stands close to 7' tall, and it has a very wide footprint when the legs are fully deployed. When I looked very closely at the root cause of the instability, it was down to the rubber-capped spiked feet sliding across the smooth surface of that floor;,, very skittish.That rounded and tapered rubber-capped foot has very little actual contact surface with the floor,,, probably less than 1/4 sq.in. The new 50mm "BigFoot" has a flat bottom, with 3.14 sq.in. of contact area. The rubber that Gitzo chose for this foot, has just the right amount of 'tack", so it really sticks. I'm reasonably convinced that these feet will greatly help stabilizing that tripod on smooth surfaces. (I like my spikes outdoors/grass, etc)
If you're going to order one for your monopod,,, you may be better off ordering a set of three. The reason I say that is because when I ordered mine, the price of a single foot, was almost the same as a set of three. I paid $50. CDN for a 3-foot set. Money well spent in my opinion.
Gitzo now includes those feet as standard equipment on all their latest series Systematics.
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