Got the TVC-33s. It is a beast of a pod. Kids are already hanging off it lol. Anyways, this thing has massive vibration reduction benefits from the quick test I did. A good knock and it settles downs completely within a second. This bests most of the carbon fiber tripods I have tested. Most of them are around 3-5 seconds and the aluminum is around 10-12 seconds. Very unscientific, but the large leg diameter really does help!

Got my CT414 and BHL-3 (I had sold the ballhead previously with my aluminum Gitzo) and first impressions are very good. I will do an objective review soon in another thread.

I have a Induro CT 213 carbon fiber tripod and it is strong and stable, I;ve been using it for a couple of years and find no problems at all. Induro carbon fiber is 8x compaired to Gitzo at 6x and cost is between $ 350.00 and $400.00.

The 8x and 6x don't mean anything if they can't handle the expected load well. I will find out soon how it behaves with my setup.

its how many layers of material are in the leg tubes.

with the weight and size of a CT414 it should handle a dump truck

I might be mistaken, but I believe the older Gitzo were 8X (thicker cross-section) tubes, and the newer are 6X. Take that for what it's worth, but with each successive generation they get both lighter and stronger. The G-Locks are a big upgrade.

dcains wrote:
I might be mistaken, but I believe the older Gitzo were 8X (thicker cross-section) tubes, and the newer are 6X. Take that for what it's worth, but with each successive generation they get both lighter and stronger. The G-Locks are a big upgrade.

So do the new gitzo's use a larger leg diameter and reduced layers of carbon? I think that is what RRS is doing as well.

CF comes in different qualities also. Just like every other material, there are better and not so good qualities. And in different thickness. In the same way as tripods made of Alu, wood or plastic.

I don't think Gitzo legs were ever 8X, I had an old series 3 CF with a big cross-section but it was just heavy and unwieldy. Large cross-sections need not have a direct correlation with CF layers, and as Lars pointed out- older CF tripods just were not as good as current generation CF.

I am working on a project wherein we are trying out carbon nanotube fibers with Kevlar or PAN (present day nanotube fibers are not strong enough yet) which are ridiculously strong and light weight. Perhaps in 10-20 years, CF is replaced by CNT

I've owned several Gitzos, still own a GT3541LS but sold the larger Gitzos and bought two RRS TCV-34Ls. I'm happy with the decision.

vsg28 wrote:
I don't think Gitzo legs were ever 8X, I had an old series 3 CF with a big cross-section but it was just heavy and unwieldy. Large cross-sections need not have a direct correlation with CF layers, and as Lars pointed out- older CF tripods just were not as good as current generation CF.



Sorry, I just can't find the reference, as the older Gitzo sites are gone, and 6x is no longer news. I seem to recall their older tubing was 8 layers and 1.5mm wall thickness, while the new is 6 layers and only 1mm thick. No matter, though, as the new are definitely better. I still have my old G1228 MkII, and it's noticeably heavier than my GT2540, which is two generations newer, but otherwise the same size.

RRS has also quoted that their CF tubing is also only 1mm wall thickness. Anyone measured one of the Chinese-made clones? Just curious.

I will get a caliper from my lab tomorrow and measure the thickness of my induro leg tubings. I know the Velbon CF legs are about 1mm as well but nowhere as tough as Gitzo/RRS.

I would expect thickness to increase with number of layers, but by how much is interesting to know.

Induro leg thickness is 1.15 mm

I don't think you can compare different brands when they don't use the same CF. 1 mm thickness in one brand can be better and stronger than 1,5 or 2 mm in another brand.
And it's the same with 6x or 8x or any other numbers. Only if the use the same CF and everything else is similar you can compare those numbers.

RRS must have built up some stock recently. I ordered 33 legs, a 55 ball head and a D4 L plate less then 9 days ago and it all showed up yesterday. Was quoted no more then 3 weeks, that was an understatement!