Bobarino Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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Hi Finnskeeper,
Sorry to hear about your negative experience with your current set-up, but the positive side of this is, you're now headed down the right track.
Now, it would be easy for me, or anyone else for that matter, to suggest "buy this,,,,no,,buy that", but there's a few more hurdles to clear before deciding on an ultimate solution that'll best match your personal needs. A few questions need to be addressed before continuing.
1. Are you looking to have only one do-it-all tripod? "Travel tripods" and "wild-life/big-glass" tripods are often (but not always) at opposite ends of the spectrum.
2.How flexible is your budget?
For ultimate stability, you may want to get something like a Gitzo 5-series Systematic tripod with three-section legs. Standard height will do, as those generally measure 53" tall with no center-column. By the time you've added a leveling base and your gimbal (or ball-head), your cameras' viewfinder will be at roughly 63" of height,,,, or, slightly taller than you are. This class of tripod truly excels, regardless of brand. (Gitzo, RRS, PMG, FLM, JobuDesign, etc). Naturally, they tend to be a bit heavier than most of the "Traveller" type tripods. (roughly 4.2-4.7 lbs), and with only three leg sections, they fold a bit longer than the 4 and 5 leg-section tripods, but with fewer leg-joints, the 3-section tripod will generally tend to be stiffer. (not all leg locks are created equal)
Living with only one tripod can present challenges,,, and you may be forced in some cases, to decide which characteristics are most important to you,,,, stability,,,weight,,, height,,, folded length, etc. That said, Gitzo offers within their Systematic family of tripods, several versions of "Travel Systematic" tripods,,, which offer all the beefiness of their 4 and 5-series Systematics, in a 5 or 6 leg-section tripod(GT-4553TS and GT-5563TS), which fold to 18". These tripods can easily handle weight exceeding 55 and 88 lbs. respectively. I own four Gitzo tripods,, including the 4-series GT-4552TS,, and can highly recommend it for all of your stated needs.(weighs 4.7 lbs/payload 55 lbs/ 18" folded)
My stiffest tripod, is a 5-series 3-leg-section GT-5532S Systematic, which doesn't fold quite as compactly,, but the GT4552TS is more than adequate for the gear you're contemplating.
Regarding dedicated "Traveller series" tripods, I went with a Gitzo GT-2545T with the Gitzo GH-1382QD head. That's fine for lenses up to 200mm or so,,, and in good weather, can handle more,,, but it simply is not as torsionally ridgid as the 4 and 5 series tripods I've mentioned above.I wouldn't recommend this set-up for your stated application with long glass nor gimbal heads.
I've also got a 3-series extra-tall Systematic (GT-3542XLS),,, and for the most part, it's fine with a gimbal head and long glass, but again, not quite as supportive as the 4 and 5 series models. My 5-series for example, has a lowest leg-section that's as big in diameter as the top leg-section of the 3-series.
Regarding gimbal heads; look at the offerings from RRS, PMG, Wimberley, and JobuDesign. I went with a Jobu Design BWG-HD3 gimbal head, and I'm completely happy with that unit. It'll probably out-live me, and Jobu Design is a great company to deal with. Excellent product and customer support. They also offer a heckuva good tripod in their heavy-dutyAlgonquin and Killarney models, which are roughly equivalent to a 4-series Gitzo. They're essentially the same tripod, except the Algonquin is the taller of the two. Jobu Design is a Canadian company, so the currently weaker Canadian dollar makes their offerings particularly attractive if you're in the U.S. (B&H also sells Jobu Design products). Product build-quality and construction is absolutely top-notch.
Don't forget a good leveling base. On the tripods which have non-removeable top-plates, you might want to consider something like the Acratech 1117 leveling base. On my Gitzo Systematics, I use the Gitzo GSLVLS leveling base. That unit also requires that you get the appropriate 75mm half-bowl adapter. There's one version of 75mm half-bowl that fits the series 2-3-and 4 Systematics,,,, and a larger-diameter version 75mm half-bowl that fits the 5-series Systematic. I have both, so I can swap my levelling base in seconds, from the series 3, or 4, or 5. Great to have, and a pleasure to use.
Good luck.
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