I rarely use the centre column of my tripod, so am thinking of getting one of the systematic tripods from Gitzo as my next tripod. These have no centre column. Can someone explain how you attach a ball head to these tripods? A photo of the top of the tripod without head would be helpful.
Here's the top of my 1410, which I recently replaced with a 3541LS. I can strongly recommend the 3-series CF legs -- really amazing.
The 3530LSV is a bit of an oddball, in that it comes standard with a video bowl. It's supposed to also include a flate plate, but you should check to make sure.
I suspect you're interested in the 3-section legs for stability, but my initial reactions -- and lots of more extensive reviews -- suggest that the 4-section legs are just as stable. I prefer the shorter collapsed leg length both for carrying and for low-level shooting (macro, etc.).
Thanks, I think I got confused because I was looking at the wrong model on the Gitzo web site. I was looking at the LSV model which is for video. I should have looked at the 3531S
Nov 22, 2008 at 01:00 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
It is RRS BH-55 with a lever clamp. In the meantime, I replaced my clamp from the picture with the same clamp as Lars'. I added a leveling base on my tripod for the gimbal setup, it makes leveling a breeze.
Both ballheads are very good. And I prefer screw type QR most of the time. I would probably recommend the M20 with screw QR. The price is also lower on that one
I was doing some outdoor product type shooting with my BH-55 and the RRS lever type QR clamp. I was going from portrait to landscape a bit, and was using a short lens, so was mounting via the RRS L plate on my camera. For that scenario, I really enjoyed the lever clamp for the speed. With the lever in the half closed position you can still slide the plate within the mount. With it full open it's easy to drop right down into the clamp. If you're mostly using collared lenses and mounting that way, or not changing orientation much, the screw type is probably superior.
I also don't use a center column a lot. I recently bought a GT3531, and it has the rapid column. It comes out pretty easily and converts to use without a column pretty quickly. I especially wanted the column for when I'm shooting with the tripod in the middle, lower position. It makes getting the right height a bit easier. If you ever use a column, it may be another way for you to think about going. After having been a Bogen tripod user for quite a while I can't see myself ever going away from Gitzo now.
The Gitzo S series tripod legs have a removable top area where you can mount the flat plate to use various heads directly, or buy a column assembly that mounts where the plate normally goes. This allows easy changing between both methods of use. The non S series have a column mounting system built in. The new series do have a way to remove the column, but it leaves the full column nut and clamping system in place, and is not quite as rigid as the S series when in the non column mode. Also, the non S units with the column removed do occasionally work loose in the field, so you need to keep an eye on them and keep them tight.
I would strongly recomend the S series to give the best stability for no column, and with the full versitility to add a column to the legs if you want it. You get a faster and easier change between column and no column, and you also can add a Gitzo leveling head to the S series.
Screw clamp vs lever clamp is a personal choice, but I find I really like the RSS lever clamps for speed and ease of use. Lots of opinions both ways, but you will find each works very well.
Lars, those are great set ups. I'm leaning towards a BH-40 rather than the 55 although not for sure yet. I think the 40 handles 18 pounds if I remember, that's seems enough. My question in the meantime is how "straight up" can you can that set up with the long lens? I'm other words, could you shoot the moon if it was almost directly overhead?
Nov 23, 2008 at 04:42 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
BennyR wrote:
Lars, those are great set ups. I'm leaning towards a BH-40 rather than the 55 although not for sure yet. I think the 40 handles 18 pounds if I remember, that's seems enough. My question in the meantime is how "straight up" can you can that set up with the long lens? I'm other words, could you shoot the moon if it was almost directly overhead?
Don't look to much about the weight limits for heads and tripods. Most of them are just ridiculous. And you can't really use 18 pounds on a BH-40. I would not use anything close to 18 pounds on my BH-55
Yes I can shoot the moon with that setup. I can raise the lens all the way up until my camera stop against the tripods legs.
BennyR wrote:
Lars, those are great set ups. I'm leaning towards a BH-40 rather than the 55 although not for sure yet. I think the 40 handles 18 pounds if I remember, that's seems enough. My question in the meantime is how "straight up" can you can that set up with the long lens? I'm other words, could you shoot the moon if it was almost directly overhead?
I just traded out a BH-40 in favor of a BH-55 for a reason that my be relevant to you. While the BH-40 is a very fine product and works well, I found that as a result of being shorter and narrower, and using a rotating lever instead of a large knob, it had limitations on tilting. Whenever I needed a higher tilt, it seemed that the clamp would bump into the lever or a tripod part and I would have to rotate the whole head to find a spot where I could get full tilt. With the BH-55, the controls are more recessed and the whole ball/housing is wider, resulting in fewer opportunities for interference.
BTW, RRS was fantastic to deal with. Just about the best customer service anywhere.
Roland W wrote:
The Gitzo S series tripod legs have a removable top area where you can mount the flat plate to use various heads directly, or buy a column assembly that mounts where the plate normally goes. This allows easy changing between both methods of use. The non S series have a column mounting system built in. The new series do have a way to remove the column, but it leaves the full column nut and clamping system in place, and is not quite as rigid as the S series when in the non column mode. Also, the non S units with the column removed do occasionally work loose in the field, so you need to keep an eye on them and keep them tight.
I would strongly recomend the S series to give the best stability for no column, and with the full versitility to add a column to the legs if you want it. You get a faster and easier change between column and no column, and you also can add a Gitzo leveling head to the S series.
Screw clamp vs lever clamp is a personal choice, but I find I really like the RSS lever clamps for speed and ease of use. Lots of opinions both ways, but you will find each works very well....Show more →
Thanks, really helpful post. I am leaning towards a lever clamp, as I like the idea of rapid switches to vertical shooting. Sliding the dovetail in at the end of a screw clamp sounds fiddly to me. The S series legs also sound like the best way to go. I can't remember the last time I used my centre column. I am generally not that fussed about the rig being eye level. If I have to stopp a few inches then so be it.
Andrew,
I wouldn't trust the lever clamp if I had to leave a heavy lens (anything heavier than the 300mm f/2.8 plus a 1D series body) and if I had to carry the tripod with the gear on it on my shoulder but I would do that with a sturdy screw clamp. Except for that kind of situation, the lever clamp is really convenient to use. Changing from vertical to horizontal and vice versa is a snap.
AGeoJO wrote:
Andrew,
I wouldn't trust the lever clamp if I had to leave a heavy lens (anything heavier than the 300mm f/2.8 plus a 1D series body) and if I had to carry the tripod with the gear on it on my shoulder but I would do that with a sturdy screw clamp. Except for that kind of situation, the lever clamp is really convenient to use. Changing from vertical to horizontal and vice versa is a snap.
Thanks, I am planning this particular setup mainly for wide to short telephoto landscape use. It would see an 70-200 f2.8 at most. When I am lucky enough to be in a position to get a 300 f2.8 I will probably also get a separate tripod for this with wimberly type head.
BennyR wrote:
Lars, those are great set ups. I'm leaning towards a BH-40 rather than the 55 although not for sure yet. I think the 40 handles 18 pounds if I remember, that's seems enough. My question in the meantime is how "straight up" can you can that set up with the long lens? I'm other words, could you shoot the moon if it was almost directly overhead?
I use a BH-40 and an RRS Ground Pod as my hiking setup. This http://www.pbase.com/tamerlin/image/98904550 is a 1-second exposure... with a 500 mm lens on a 6-pound 4x5. I've been able to use my 720mm lens on it, which makes the setup close to 18 inches long. That ballhead is very underrated, and next to the BH-55 it looks too puny to be a 40mm ballhead
Stability isn't a problem with RRS products, though I wouldn't recommend the BH-25 to anyone using an SLR.
BTW, you CAN get RRS clamps to put on ballheads from other brands, including Markins.
