It's all about what your needs are that'd determine the number of tripods. For a heavy load, I rely on my Gitzo GT4553S Systematic. This is assigned to my basement home studio work, around the house, road trips, etc. where I don't have to carry far.
For air travel and hiking, I rely on Gitzo GT1545T Traveler Tripod which I place in my carry-on backpack. I consider this an ideal travel tripod, because it's collapsed length is short, light in weight, yet sturdy in use.
For table top and macro photography, I rely on Benro 75mm Hi-Hat Tripod.
- a heavy articulated Gitzo for macro work
- a heavy standard Gitzo for landscapes and waterfalls (without big hikes)
- a wonderfully light Gitzo basalt for hiking and backpacking
The number of tripods that I've gone through to get to this temporary equilibrium is embarrassing
Bob_S wrote:
OK, I've tried a few times and failed to be able to get through 30min of that.
Actually quite annoying, is it one of those horrible marvel comic movies?
Am I just old?
I think so.
I love British comedy. I am a HUGE fan of Monty Python, have been since I was a kid. I could recite most of their skits and scripts from memory. Have all of the Fawlty Towers series on DVDs. I also loved Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - read the book decades ago, played the Infocom text game, loved the movie when it came out years later.
But... just tried for half a week to listen to the Audible book (almost typed "book on tape" - I'm old too!), and the humor just didn't make me laugh like it used to. I guess that I'm getting too old too (58) - beats the alternative.
Yeah crazy to think how many I have gone through over the years. I'm currently down to 3. I always have my RRS pocket tripod on me as it is so small. For travel or just when I need small I use a RRS ultra light tripod. It was a different name couple years ago but looks the same. Very strong and stable, 4 section, carbon fiber only about 48" to the plate though. With Both RRS tripods I use the Panning Micro Ball Clamp From RRS. Can't beat a 4.4oz ball head that has panning built in and can hold 5lbs. Super compact and light.
For everyday use and hiking I come to find the perfect compromise for me is the Benro Mach 3 carbon fiber. What I love about this is you can take the center out, flip it over upside down, It runs 51-63inches high, very light and stable. The killer feature for me that sealed the deal is one leg unscrews for a mono pod. So what I did was ordered a second Mono pod leg so now I use the mono pod legs as my hiking poles. Looks alittle funny when you strap a one legged tripod the the back pack but has been working great. The legs are extended anyway for use as poles so setup is pretty quick when needed. Throw on the spike on the bottom and it has turned into my dream tripod. I forget what the weight different was between the legs and my dedicated hiking poles but it was not much difference.
Only two right now, though I think I've used a tripod six times in the last 13 years. I've been considering getting a monopod but fear I'd never use it, too.
3. One lightweight one that I have had for MANY years. One heavy duty one that I inherited from my Father-in-law who was bird photographer. One table tripod that is pretty easy to pack. I seldom use any of them.
I just sold my Gitzo series 2 and Gitzo Series 3 legs, had a Gitzo series 1 travel tripod as well. Now I have:
RRS TFC-34, it's an overkill for what I use it for, but I couldn't find a series 2 RRS that gives me the ideal combination of height, folded length, for me.
RRS Ascend-14, pre-ordered, this will be my travel/hiking tripod, stronger than the Gitzo 1 series travel tripod but a bit heavier and thicker. I didn't like the Gitzo's skinny legs.
RRS Pocket pods.
JOBY GorillaPod
The Gitzos I had were great tripods but the max. usable height and folded length of the two RRS I just bought/pre-ordered just work better for me. I had no reason to replace the Gitzos other than that.
I used Feisol CT3301 for very long time. Then I got an old metal Manfrotto 475B with geared column and 400 geared head and it changed everything. Yes heavy for outside but for my home/studio use, it is so nice. geared columns with geared head makes it precise. Since I am getting into landscapes etc and I hate flimsy travel tripods, I went with Leofoto systematic 324CL which goes to 7 feet. Added Sunwayphoto geared head and it is go now. I am thinking of adding a geared center columns to it as adjusting legs in the field is pain IMHO.
Hiking (Long) / Travel - Feisol CT-3441S + Acratech GXP
Hiking (Short) and general purpose - RRS TVC24L + Arca Swiss Cube C1
Studio - Older set of Manfrotto 055XPROB legs and a cheap Benro HD3A pan-tilt head
I'm actually not getting a ton of use out of that Cube, thinking of putting it on the B&S forum. I love it to death, the gears are awesome, it's just big and heavy.
Vinnie_VdB wrote:
You know that the answer to all questions is 42, right?
Bob_S wrote:
I don't get it
Can you let me in on the joke?!
naturephoto1 wrote:
Hi Bob,
"What does 42 mean in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", calculated by an enormous supercomputer named Deep Thought over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately, no one knows what the question is."
Hope this helps.
Rich
Bob_S wrote:
Ah, got it.
Never saw that movie, sorry.
I never saw the movie, but you know it was a book.
SchoolRumble96 wrote:
Is it better to have more than one? I guess it all depends on what you'd need it for.
It's difficult to find one set of legs or one head that is a good compromise for everything.
It's not unusual to have 2-4 sets of legs and 3-4 heads of different sizes and types for different sets of cameras/lenses and subjects.
I have one tripod, a Silk Professional 4. It's as big as a house and weighs about as much. It's about as sturdy as they come. I'll probably be selling it soon as I haven't used it in years.
EB-1 wrote:
It's difficult to find one set of legs or one head that is a good compromise for everything.
It's not unusual to have 2-4 sets of legs and 3-4 heads of different sizes and types for different sets of cameras/lenses and subjects.
Right, exactly. There are special situations which require a tripod and head with the right characteristics. Usually one doesn't want to carry any heavier gear than necessary but this can sometimes mean a compromise on height and stability. A smaller and lighter tripod may be okay for hiking and use of a short focal length lens (such as wide angle or 24-70). Longer lenses generally necessitate a larger tripod leg diameter for improved stability. To follow a moving subject with the lens mounted on tripod requires different kit than landscape photography. To make video also may require different heads than stills. Macro photos may require the camera to be positioned low to the ground, or if photographing details on a cliff, one may need a lateral arm. If photographing subjects in or over water, a tripod that can stand immersion into water or a head mounted on a floating hide or boat may be needed. There are so many situations where tripods and heads are used.
I usually only have one at a time that I use heavily and right now that's a nice, light FLM CP26-S4S. It's wonderfully overbuilt in the classic German fashion and it reverse folds over the head so it can be made very small for travel. I also bought a few FLM heads to go with it, the incredibly small and light CB24 with it's unique QR system and the mid sized CB32 with QR system. The only issue I came across was that that FLM's QR system is not really Arca but more Arca-like so thicker, standard Arca style plates and brackets like mine from RRS don't actually fit. I finally lost it and bought one of their narrow screw knob clamps and now it's fully Arca compatible.
FLM is not very well known but in the 6 years I've owned mine, I've never had an issue and I'm always impressed by its size and stability. The distributor here in Canada is very responsive, so that's great. It's build is second to none and it's only about 1200 g's so it's easy to take anywhere. I could use a larger tripod, though, so I may look at a bigger RRS.
1 Feisol 33272, 2 old Amvonas (remember those?) and a tabletop tripod (Baaland) from amazon. Someone borrowed my Koolhaeda(sp?) midsizeand I may never see it again.
