Tripod for travel

[cottonfoo]

'Evening,

I'm looking at carbon fibre tripods for travelling with because of their lightness. I mostly do landscapes so simple levelling would be nice, but would also need something I can easily point directly skywards for astro. I will also need a head. I doubt I'll ever have a heavy telephoto so it doesn't need to be able to support an elephant. I would like a damped head, and something I can easily pan/tilt with.

I'm often on rough ground, literally I mean I will be packing it in a suitcase on flights. I'm only 5'9" so don't need anything too tall. My budget is between 200-250 for both tripod and head.

Anything I need to look out for, or recommendations?

[GetCarter]

Benbo Trekker is great for rough ground (I mean even sides of mountains - you can have two legs on the ground and one by your shoulders!) - It's light, but doesn't pack up really small though. There are usually some on e bay for pics.

ETA http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p390...

Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 11th February 09:41

[thatone1967]

does a gorrila pod help?

http://joby.com/gorillapod/slr/features/

[Nick M]

I've got a gorilla pod (the SLR zoom one, but without a ball-head on it) and I have to say it's fine with my D3 and a 17-35 zoom (quite a heavy combination).

My *only* issue with it is that it's too short sometimes, and I end up looking for places to put it to get the view I want.

But other than that, it's a great bit of kit

[rhubarb]

It's a bit more than you want to spend but I have a Gitzo GT1541T - it weighs less than a kilo and is great. I bought it for travelling and becuase I've done my back in. Holds everything I've got. There about 330 at warehouse express, but I'm sure there are sellers on eBay or second hand would be cheaper.

My problem at the moment is my manfrotto head weighs almost as much as the tripod. But I've been looking at heads at www.reallyrightstuff.com (sounds dodgy) but I'm told their products are second to none - and light too.

[CVP]

How about one of the smaller Gitzo CF tripods. Expensive yes, but should be doable inside your budget and you should only need to buy once in a lfetime.

In terms of heads I went with a Markins ball head last year and it's been absolutely faultless. I got the slightly larger version as occasionally it has the 200-400 & D3 on it and I did not want to risk the smaller version for the sake of a small bit of weight. They are pretty light though and their smaller one is, if I recall correctly, lighter & cheaper than the RRS stuff. I would certainly recommend them very much.

However if you do head off to RRS gear, I can vouch for that too as have one of their plates on my Xpan and it is a beautifully crfted piece of kit and fits perfectly on the whole base of the Xpan.

Chris

[SamHH]

You could try one of the smaller carbon fibre Giottos or Manfrotto tripods:

http://www.morrisphoto.co.uk/ProductDetails~man~Gi...
http://www.morrisphoto.co.uk/ProductDetails~man~Ma...

As for the head, a ball-head is probably best and the bigger the better but obviously you'll have to decide how much you're willing to carry.

[itsnotarace]

Gitzo all day long

[cottonfoo]

Thanks all, I will check those suggestions out tonight.

I already have the Gorillapod SLR and it is a great bit of kit. Unfortunately I find it a PITA to use for astro or anywhere I don't have something to put it on, and getting it level isn't easy (I have no virtual horizon, nor even a hot shoe level), since if I have to put it on the ground pointing up I can't see through the viewfinder Shooting landscapes over immediate obstructions like tall grass is impossible with the Gorillapod.