Travel Tripod and Heads?

[Jetl3on]

Halloo..... more questions.

I need an everyday Pod, something I can squeeze into my rucksack "just in case" a 30min clear sky makes an appearance. Looked at these, Giotto 9340B and the Frotto 190Xprob both with added functionality of the Horizontal columns. (I was trying to capture the Meridian Laser Line through the iron bars in Greenwich, a struggle getting the angle right).

Bad idea? It needs to be <£90 with folded height a priority.

My other question is about Heads, would you recommend the Ball Head? Been using one for 2 years, so might get another for the new pod, not a fan of the tilt design, but are they more susceptible to shake?

cheers

[K12beano]

Jetl3on said:

My other question is about Heads, would you recommend the Ball Head? Been using one for 2 years, so might get another for the new pod, not a fan of the tilt design, but are they more susceptible to shake?

Not sure about which sticks are best, but as far as doubts over a ballhead, they're pretty sturdy jobs and I can't see that they would contribute to shake in any significant way. I can't remember without going to look whether mine is a Kirk or a Real Right Stuff, but it's just the "normal" one so not designed for 600mm lenses on bricks, but - if you're the sort that can work with a ballhead - I don't think there's any better way to go.

Of course, it's virtually no use for video if you need a pan/tilt jobbie, but for stills I personally have tried P/T and action grips and they're not as simple and solid to me.

[Jetl3on]

K12beano said:

Not sure about which sticks are best, but as far as doubts over a ballhead, they're pretty sturdy jobs and I can't see that they would contribute to shake in any significant way. I can't remember without going to look whether mine is a Kirk or a Real Right Stuff, but it's just the "normal" one so not designed for 600mm lenses on bricks, but - if you're the sort that can work with a ballhead - I don't think there's any better way to go.

Of course, it's virtually no use for video if you need a pan/tilt jobbie, but for stills I personally have tried P/T and action grips and they're not as simple and solid to me.

Thanks for the feedback, I do prefer the BH, its so much quicker.

[DavidY]

Just bought one of these, very light! £10 over budget but £50 off on special pre-Christmas offer, well made and comes with a bag.

http://www.giottos-tripods.co.uk/index.php?page=co...

[K12beano]

Wow - that looks good for a CF.

Only two things spring to mind - it doesn't appear to be very tall (I'm 1.9m, so any 'pod is short to me), and it appears to say that it has a "fixed head" - does that mean it won't interchange? (That's a bit poor, if I read that correctly.)

[DavidY]

Yes head appears to be fixed, I wanted a lightweight tripod for day-hiking (I have a heavyweight Manfrotto 055 for serious stuff). The height wasn't an issue for me, I've learnt to bend my knees/stoop!!!!

I thought at that price, if I don't get on with it, I'll be able to sell it at decent money (especially after the pre-Christmas offer ends!!)

[LongQ]

A coupld of links that may be of interest.

http://www.ephotozine.com/forums/topic/giottos-car...

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread...

I have a couple of Giottos tripods - a larger CF than this one and a Vitruvian model (Aluminium) that folds up shorter for travelling. Both cost more than this special offer.

The smaller one came as a kit with a ball head which was OK for lightness but looked a little small I thought. Need not have worried it works very well and can readily support more than it looks capable of supporting.

Both tripods and the ball head for the smaller one are very usable top quality products. I would imagine that the offer kit is of the same standard. The height limitation seems to be the only compromise to consider. Maybe less of a concern these days if ones camera has Live View and/or an articulated screen?

(I have a heavyweight Gitzo ball head for the larger one. Works very well but may be OTT for the amount I use it. Great bit of engineering though.)