Lightweight/Traveling Tripod

[HDNitehawk]

Another consideration is maintenance. RRS (and maybe Gitzo - Rick?) legs can be easily disassembled for cleaning/drying - very useful after shooting at the beach, in the rain, etc.

I have never had to break it completely down. But the legs can be separated easily. It would be a simple process if you wanted to do a thorough cleaning.

[Poik]

Just to throw another option out there for ballheads since I haven't seen it mentioned, I've been looking at the Acratech GP. There is a review of the GV2 below, but the GP is basically the same but gives you the option to flip the head to use as a leveling base for panoramas. Seems like Arca Swiss, RRS, and Acratech are three of the best brands you can get.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ad-Review.aspx

They have a bunch of videos on their website demonstrating the use and durability of their ballheads:
http://acratech.net/pages.php?pageid=7
http://acratech.net/home.php?cat=1

[TheRoff]

The Manfrotto 190CXPro4 with the Manfrotto 496RC2 make up my travel tripod kit. It nicely fits in the suitcase we usually check when we travel, and it fits in a backpack. It does very well with the size of lens you said you mostly use. However, I have found the head slips a bit when I mount my 100-400. All in all, I am very pleased with it.

Larry

[Kayaker72]

Ok, I am convinced, there are a lot of good options out there.

In case anyone is interested, a few articles/semi-endorsements I found:
http://darwinwiggett.files.wordpress...ingtripods.pdf
https://www.thecamerastore.com/how-c...perfect-tripod
http://jefflynchdev.wordpress.com/20...ation-tripods/
http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

Thanks again for your comments, they are very much appreciated.

[HDNitehawk]

I looked up the Markins, and lost interest when I saw the Phillips head screw used to stop the plate from sliding. Maybe I am wrong but my first thought was "cheap".

Are you going to try and do Pano with this setup?

You could do Pano's with the a single ball like the RRS BH-30 if you are careful in the setup.

If so I would look at the weight of the combinations I would be using;

If you stacked a RRS PCL-1 Panning Clamp on top of the RRS BH-30 it would add 10.2 ounces. Total weight of 21.6 ounces.
I own a version of this Arca-Swiss which would give you the same function and the weight would difference would be less than an ounce if you were stacking the two RRS components,
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/469926-REG/Arca_Swiss_801113_Monoball_Z1_dp_with.html
Of course with the Arca-Swiss you have the heavy duty ball head for later. This head is like a little chunk of metal though, and ultra-light really can't be used to describe it.

I think for a light setup, the RRS BH-30 is the one I would vote for.

[Kayaker72]

I looked up the Markins, and lost interest when I saw the Phillips head screw used to stop the plate from sliding. Maybe I am wrong but my first thought was "cheap".

I finally came across an image with the screw. Looks like an old website (the newer websiteseems to be markins.com/4.0/…) and I haven’t seen the screw in any other plateimage nor heard it mentioned in any of the threads I’ve read on ballheads. Thus I doubt it is part of thecurrent design, if it ever was, but here it is:

http://www.markins.com/2.0/eng/feature_01.html

Everything I can tell is that Markins is a favored brand, andperhaps the "top" pairing with the Gitzo traveler series. This may be more of the case with the 1541T, 1544T, and 2542Tas the head could actually fit within the legs. The design changed with the1542T as they extended the center column to get some additional height and nowthe head is either just beyond the feet with the column fully extended, or, withinthe feet but the center column sticks out the other side. To keep the most compact set up, this designchange, which many do not seem to like, favors shorter ball heads for the 1542Tvs narrow ball heads on the 1541T. For example, the RRS BH-40 is shorter but wider than the Markins Q3T. So, for the 1542T, without modification, the BH-40 would likely result in a more compact final collapse travel kit.

Here is a picture of the GT1542T without a ball head-- http://www.flickr.com/photos/chub84/5838235248/and the GT1541T with the markins Q3T http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerryart/3386113601/. Actually, I wonder if I they are phasing outthe GT1542T in favor of the GT1544T, which again seems to have room for theball head within the legs. But I amworking on a fix for the the GT1542T. Seems the center columns for Series 1 tripodsare interchangeable, so I’ve emailed Gitzo to see how much a “replacement”center column for the GT1541T would cost. First I have to decide how important it is to have the head between thelegs.

Some of the more interesting links regarding Markins I’vecome across:
http://www.hossedia.com/reviews/gitzo-traveler-markins-q3t/(later-- lost the tripod combo and replaced with RRS BH-40 and legs-seecomments—preferred the BH-40)
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=538298
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-999885.html
http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/non-nikon_articles/markins/index.html
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/610121/0
http://photo.net/filters-bags-tripods-accessories-forum/00YCLS
http://adaynotwasted.com/2010/08/the-perfect-travel-tripod/
http://www.wilsonism.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&EntryID=19

It may seem that I am trying to sell, myself or you, on Markins, I am not. They simply kept coming up in my searches, even for RRS, and I hadn’t heard of them before and, from what I can tell the Markins Q3T and RRS BH-30 were the only ball heads designed for the Gitzo traveler series with most people I can find selecting the Q3T between the two.

[HDNitehawk]

Actually, I wonder if I they are phasing outthe GT1542T in favor of the GT1544T

Someone can correct me if I am wrong but, I think the 1,2 and 4 digit are the release dates. The GT1544T being the newest and replacing the older models. This may be why the GT1542T is $484 and the GT1544T is $739.00, the cheap price is probably a clearance price. I looked at the GT1542T last summer before I went to yellowstone, I thought it was priced over $700 at the time.

I think I would still stick with the RRS head because of reputation. The other brand may be great, and sometimes I am the last to move on a great new item. I tend to let others be the test subjects. But I read many good reviews about the RRS head, and honestly this is the first time I have ever even looked or heard of Markins.

[Kayaker72]

Someone can correct me if I am wrong but, I think the 1,2 and 4 digit are the release dates. The GT1544T being the newest and replacing the older models. This may be why the GT1542T is $484 and the GT1544T is $739.00, the cheap price is probably a clearance price. I looked at the GT1542T last summer before I went to yellowstone, I thought it was priced over $700 at the time.

I think I would still stick with the RRS head because of reputation. The other brand may be great, and sometimes I am the last to move on a great new item. I tend to let others be the test subjects. But I read many good reviews about the RRS head, and honestly this is the first time I have ever even looked or heard of Markins.

Rick, I think you are dead on, the 1, 2, and 4 are the sequence that they were released. What I want to know is what happened to the GT1543T? I can only find a reference to it in old ebay sales. Must have been pretty short lived.

Regarding Markins, I've convinced myself that even though I've never heard of them before, that they are one of the established high end brands. That is one of the reasons that I posted all the links. I am preparing another post on the ball heads (waiting on RRS website to work again), but I'll steal the following from it:

I did a quick survey of the GT1542T reviews on BH to see what it was paired with and the Markins Q3T came out on top. Of the 44 reviews, 19 people identified theirball head:

1. Markins Q3T: 6
2. RRS BH-40: 4
3. Arcatech GP-s: 3
4. Different Manfrotto: 2
5. RRS BH-30/Gitzo/Kirk BH3/Markins M20: 1 each

I did a similar search through the BH comments on theGT1541T:

1. Markins Q3T: 7
2. Gitzo 1780QR: 4
3. Misc Gitzo: 4
4. RRS BH-25: 3
5. One each for Markins Q3E, RRS BH-30, and KirkBH-3

Ok, as I was finalizing this post, my GT1542T just showed up. Oh, first impressions are very good. It is so small and light, yet, fully extended, it is much more solid than my old tripod.

As for the ball head...I am going to test a few things with the tripod, but where I think I am at is BH-40 if I don't replace the center column and Q3T if I do so that it can fit within the legs. I am also toying with the idea of buying both and returning the one I don't like.

[Kayaker72]

Hi Rick,

Very cool Arca-Swiss ball head. Currently, I don't take panning shots. Maybe I should. Actually, maybe I will now with a better tripod. But I am wondering, what would the double pan action gain you?

Regard the Markins, I am not seeing a screw....maybe I am missing something, but I am looking here:
http://markinsamerica.com/MA5/Q3T.php?req=Q3TSK

It was mentioned several times in the user reviews (3 on the first page) for the GT1542T on BH and I've found a couple of other references to Markins being one of the top brands (http://www.bythom.com/support.htm).

That said, I am pretty sure I'll end up with the RRS BH-30. I just haven't looked at all the ball heads enough to satisfy my various disorders ( ) and am busy getting ready for tonight. I think much of my debate will be between weight/performance and a little on cost. For example, RRS BH30 LR is 0.71 lbs at $275 and the RRS BH40 is 1.05 lbs at $375 and the Arca-Swiss Z1-sp is 1.3 lbs at $410. Giving 0.1 lb for the plate, the difference in the set up weight would be 3 lbs with the BH30 up to 3.6 lbs with the Arca-Swiss. But I like how the BH-30 is designed to fit within the Gitzo traveller legs and, ultimately, the BH-30 is rated for about the same weight as the GT1542T. All these trade offs....

[conropl]

...But I am wondering, what would the double pan action gain you?

Your tripod is rarely level... so you set your camera relitive to the horizon with the ball. Now the camera is at a different angle from the base of your ball head. Therefore, if you rotate the camera under the ball, then the camera changes angles relitive the the horizon constantly as you rotate. However, if you rotate above the ball, then the camera retains its orientation relitive to the horizon as you rotate 360 degrees.

Pat