Lightweight/Traveling Tripod

[HDNitehawk]

Actually, maybe I will now with a better tripod. But I am wondering, what would the double pan action gain you?

These legs are lightest of the light. Pano's might be a bit more difficult using them. But maybe not.

The double action pano, the second pano has a level in it as well. Your ball can be slightly off, you can make all of your adjustment pivoting the ball head and get the top pano perfectly level. You can then have a nice level pano action from side to side that is level. Where if you are just turning the ball head from its lower pano, if the ball isn't perfetly level it will tilt your camera as you swing. All you would need with the double pano head for a single row pano is a nodal slide to move your camera foward and back.

[Kayaker72]

Thanks Pat and Rick....That makes complete sense and is a great feature.

[Busted Knuckles]

Thanks Pat and Rick....That makes complete sense and is a great feature.

I have a pano plate on my ball head - works really well. I use the electronic level in the camera vs. the bubble to set level. Takes a moment but it works for my foggy eyes (have to set level then rotate 90 degrees and set again, and then return to double check but it is usally spot on)

[Kayaker72]

I've spent some time the last couple of mornings and nights looking into as much as I could find about ball heads for the GT1542T that I just purchased. I made the table below to help me keep track of the different physical characteristics of the ball heads I was reviewing and the Joby, just as a reference as I own it with my gorillapod:

Ball Head	Price ($-Jan 2013)	"Rated" Weight (lbs)	Ball Diameter		Ball Surface Area	Ball Head Weight		Ball Head Height		Base Diameter
			(mm)	(in)	(in2)	(g)	(lb)	(mm)	(in)	(mm)	(in)
Small Ball Heads
Joby BH1	$40	6.5	25	1.0	3.0	150	0.3	63	2.5	42	1.7
RRS BH-25 LR	$175	8.8	25	1.0	3.0	221	0.5	66	2.6	33	1.3
Gitzo Traveler Series Ball Heads
RRS BH-30 LR	$275	15	30	1.2	4.4	324	0.7	75	3.0	41	1.6
Markins Q3T	$310	65	38	1.5	7.0	375	0.8	89	3.5	50	2.0
Mid-sized Ball Heads
Arcatech GP-s	$430	25	38	1.5	7.0	400	0.9	98	3.9	53	2.1
RRS BH-40	$375	18	40	1.6	7.8	479	1.1	76	3.0	53	2.1
Markins M10	$370	100	44	1.7	9.4	490	1.1	98	3.9	62	2.4
Large Ball Heads
Markins M20	$410	110	48	1.9	11.2	555	1.2	102	4.0	68	2.7
Arca-Swiss Z1	$410	122	54	2.1	14.2	680	1.5	101	4.0	--	--
Kirk BH-1	$385	50	54	2.1	14.2	850	1.9	115	4.5	74	2.9
RRS BH-55 LR	$455	50	55	2.2	14.7	862	1.9	94	3.7	74	2.9

Of course, the "rated" weight is random as methodogies for determining the weight are often not known and seem to vary considerably between manufacturers. Also, base diameter doesn't include knobs and levers so it isn't representative of the total diameter of the ball head.

I found several who regarded ball size being a critical feature in terms of load bearing and stability. In fact, looking at the above table, regardless of the brand, the consensus seemed to be that people liked their ball head as long as it was 38 mm/1.5 in in diameter or greater. Which makes sense as that is about where you start seeing rapid jumps in the ball heads surface area. For example the RRS BH-30; everyone really likes (loves?) RRS, but I had trouble even finding very much online about the BH-30 and what I found was fairly evenly split between those that upgraded/thought it slipped too much and those that thought it was a great hiking/travel ball head. But as soon as you cross that 38 mm diameter line the significant majority of people liked whichever ball head they owned. Matter of fact, I only recall reading a few nit-picks (one thought the BH-40 sagged a little, another didn't like the tension in the pan control of the Markins, a few thought RRS weren't as smooth, etc). No real complaints.

Anyway, this wasn't an exhaustive evaluation, but I thought I'd share. It seems like there are several good brands out there but the secret is to get a good enough brand and a ball that is 38 mm or greater.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am focusing in mostly on the Markins Q3T or the RRS BH-40 as a combination of ball head size, general regard in what I read, and weight. There is still an off chance I'll get the BH-30 or even the BH-25 if I want to save weight and money. After all, I have taken several 30 second exposures with the Joby BH1 on a gorillapod that have come out just fine and I am sure the BH-25 and BH-30 are big improvments, especially mounted on a gitzo.

Thanks...Brant

Edit--it took me awhile to get the table in here and I lost most of my formating. Does anyone know how to get a formated table into a post? I tried uploading an image, but I seem to be limited to ~20KB, which isn't enough file size.

[andnowimbroke]

Could you save it as a jpeg/bmp and post it that way.

[Kayaker72]

Thanks. Happy to hear it. I am still working on resolving a few things, but promise to follow up with my thoughts on the final set up.

[Kayaker72]

I wanted to update this thread on the Arca-Swiss plates and the tripod. I am still evaluating two ball heads, the Markins Q3T and the RRS BH-30. I'll post about those soon. But for now, a few thoughts on what this amateur photographer learned in assembling a traveling tripod system.

First, I have taken the advice given earlier in this thread and both ball heads I am evaluating mate with Arca-Swiss style plates. I have read that if you are going to use plates from multiple manufacturers (RRS, Kirk, Arca-Swiss, Markins, Wimberley, etc) that it is important to use the screw in release for the plates and not the quick release clamp. Even though they are all Arca-Swiss style, it appears that there are significant enough differences in plate dimensions between the manufacturers that the quick release clamp will not mate with all plates whereas the screw in clamp is essentially adjusted to each plate each time you screw it in. For example, RRS, whose quick release clamps are not adjustable, recommend that you only use RRS or Wimberley plates withthe RRS ball heads. Markins, whose quick release clamp is adjustable, still recommends that use only one brand of plate so that you do not have to adjust the set screw each time you switch plates.

With this in mind, I decided to use RRS plates. Their plates seem to be held in high regard. At some point I will likely buy a “L-plate” right now I am using a borrowed B7D plate (thanks Greg) for my 7D and the L84 for the 100-400L.

RSS Plates-1462 by kayaker72, on Flickr


RSS Plates-1459 by kayaker72, on Flickr
The plates are impressively light. I also like that there is a place for my Black-Rapid strap to screw right into the bottom of the plate. The B7D can also have straps attached. The only item that surprised me was that you need an allen wrench to screw the plate into your camera. Both plates came with allen wrenches, but that is something that I will now have to remember to keep with me at all times. My understanding is that RRS feels that this is a more secure design as you can better tighten the screw.

Also, coming from Manfrotto/Joby plates, which are universal in that they can be adapted to anything that fits a 1/4" screw, I learned during this process that RRS and certain other plate manufacturers I looked at customize their plates to fit each camera/lens. The key is the vertical edge that should help prevent rotation if the camera/lens is ever at an angle. This needs to be a specific distance from the screw, which is specific to each camera. This is nice as I often fought rotation with the Manfrotto/Joby plates. But it seems like several manufactuers also make universal plates.

[ahab1372]

RSS Plates-1459 by kayaker72, on Flickr
The plates are impressively light. I also like that there is a place for my Black-Rapid strap to screw right into the bottom of the plate. The B7D can also have straps attached. The only item that surprised me was that you need an allen wrench to screw the plate into your camera. Both plates came with allen wrenches, but that is something that I will now have to remember to keep with me at all times. My understanding is that RRS feels that this is a more secure design as you can better tighten the screw.

Why would you want to take the plates of the camera? Ideally they stay on the camera all the time, and you just plug them into another clamp.

[Kayaker72]

Why would you want to take the plates of the camera? Ideally they stay on the camera all the time, and you just plug them into another clamp.

Those with more experience may be able to answer this question better. All I can say is that I've previously only had the Joby or Manfrotto plates on the 7D when I am using the tripod. I've never left either of those plates on my camera long term. I can say that I've been testing simply leaving both plates on my 7D and 100-400L. Thus far I think they get in the way. For example, the 100-400L no longer fits easily into my Think Tank Holster 30. I either have to force it a little, and then just barely does it fit, or I am playing with rotating the collar. But I've yet to find a solution I think I'll carry forward with me long term. For just general use, both plates make setting the cameras on a surface less stable, which is another concern. If you look at the bottom view of the L84 plate for the 100-400L, the screws on either end of the plate intentionaly stick out from the base (that is their function, to prevent sliding off the ball head). They are removable, but right now you can't set the plate flat on a surface, say, as I am doing right now downloading photos. While the plate on the 7D doesn't have the screws, it does making setting the 7D on a surface less stable.

So, I don't know if I will be leaving the plates on all the time. If I do, I will likely need to change my habits.

[Kayaker72]

I purchased the Gitzo GT1542T traveler tripod. There are a couple of “traveling” tripods out there. In addition to the tripods mentioned earlier in this thread, I would also take the time to look at the RRS TQC-14, Feisol 3441s,and others in the Gitzo traveler series (GT1544T, etc). Of course, there are many other tripods that are very close to the “traveler” types. In the end, my decision came down to the GT1542T and the GT2541, even though it isn’t a “traveler” it seemed to be a favorite tripod for hikers/backpackers (3 lbs, closed length of 21.85”) and is rated to support more weight.

In the end, I went with the GT1542T as it closed to the smallest length (16.7” with the legs folded back over the ballhead/extended center column), was among the lightest I found (2.2 lbs), and it was going for the “reasonable” price of$448 after rebate. These factors were important to me as I decided I wasn’t only trying to replace my old aluminum Bogen/Manfrotto tripod, which only traveled with me occasionally, but also Iwas trying to replace my gorillapod, which travels everywhere with me. I also decided that not only did I want to have my tripod fit in carry-on luggage, such as a suitcase or my pelican storm im2500, but also, potentially, on the inside of a backpack. I don’t know if I’ll ever do that, but I’d like the option. Looking around, the longest backpacks I found were about 20” with it more common around 17”. Of course, this will never happen with my current Lowepro Fastpack 350, but I am already planning on getting a second backpack later this year.

So, with all that I bought the GT1542T, and I am very impressed and happy with the purchase. It seems very well made. It is very light. It is much more stable than my old aluminum tripod. Below are a few pictures:

Set up with withe the RRS BH-30 and center column at it’s highest point

Gitzo-1432 by kayaker72, on Flickr

Set up as close as it can get to the ground with center column removed

Gitzo-1434 by kayaker72, on Flickr

Of course, I went with the traveler because of its weightand collapsed size (with and without the BH-30 attached):

Gitzo-1441 by kayaker72, on Flickr

Gitzo-1442 by kayaker72, on Flickr

A few posts ago, I mentioned I was leaning toward the RRS BH-40. My mind began to change as I started considering ways of getting the ballhead to fit within the 16.7” and not stick out. So, I know this is a little crazy as ~20” with a ballhead attached is still very compact, much more compact that most tripods. Also, if I ever needed it to fit within 16.7," I could just take the ball head off and travel with them separately.

The ball head fitting between the legs when the tripod was collapsed was the design of the other Gitzo traveler series, as their center columns are shorter. It seems that with the GT1542T they extended the center column to 15.7” to get additional total height which I don’t need. I’ve read that the center column of the GT1544T/GT1542T is 12.7”. So, while I don't necessarily need to be able to fit the ball head between the legs while traveling, I decided that would be nice and moved off the BH-40, as it is too wide to fit between the legs, and started looking for ways to decrease the length ofthe center column.

I’ve come up with thefollowing:
· The center columns from other Gitzo series 1 6xcarbon fiber tripods are interchangeable. So, the shorter center column used on the GT1541T/1544T/1541/1531 can be purchased from from Gitzo, www.gitzospares.com, or B&H. The part number is d1155.08 and costs about$120. Even if I bought this, I would still have spent less on my kit than a new GT1544T currently costs.
· Gitzo sells a “Low to medium level” centercolumn (GS1510KB). It is available at adorama/B&H/amazon for about $71 new. It is about 2 inches shorter than I would like, but does work and also gives me ~3-4” to adjust the column height when working close to the ground.
· Go with a DYI option and cut the current GT1542T center column to the length I would like. The primary issue I see with this is the plug that allows you to screw the hook into the bottom of the center column is glued in. So you would either lose the hook, need to buy and glue in a new plug, or somehow cut/dremel out the current plug and re-glue it. I haven’t been able to get Gitzo to respond about selling me a new plug, but I have found some glues for carbon fiber. I know DYI may seem crazy, but as an engineer that designs and builds remediation systems, it actually seems pretty easy to me.

But, in the end I found a used “low to medium level” center column on amazon for $35, bought it and intend to use the kit as it is for a while before trying either of the other options. I am 5’9”, and wish the smaller center column was about 2” longer. I used this set up last Friday to take the long exposure pictures in Boston and it worked really well.

A few pictures with the GS1510KB and Markins Q3T:
At full height (about 52.2 inches with the Markins, 48.7 inches without)

Gitzo-1450 by kayaker72, on Flickr

At it's lowest height; the short center column will provide ~3" of height adjustment:

Gitzo-1448 by kayaker72, on Flickr

And in the collapsed setting with the Markins Q3T:


Gitzo-1444 by kayaker72, on Flickr

Below are a comparison of the center columns. Top, what comes with the GT1542T, the GS1510KB, and then the two ends that can be combined to eliminate the center column.


Center Column-1453 by kayaker72, on Flickr

I also bought a "snoot boot" from Op/Tech to cover the ball head, especially when between the legs so as to not wear on the legs and vice versa.

Thanks,
Brant

Edit: To answer a few questions from earlier in the thread. The legs and feet do detach. As of now I am not too worried about the feet detaching as they seem very solid but I guess that has been a concern for others.