Yay, new tripod

[dendronepthya]

My old tripod was a $30 Vivitar from Walmart, which did a pretty decent job all things considered. Now that I'm all done with school and actually get to travel occasionally, I wanted a really lightweight tripod to take with me. I ended up buying a Gitzo 1550T ("T" for Traveller) and so far, I'm pretty impressed with it.

The bag in the picture is made by Kata. This is their smallest sling bag the 3N1-10. If you search for Kata 3N1 in youtube, there are some nice video reviews of it. I had to buy the optional tripod holder from Bogen.

You can see how small the Gitzo is when it is retracted. The thing weighs about 2 pounds.

The last pic is the tripod fully extended. The bag is hung from a retractable weight hook to give you a size comparison.

The only downside is the Gitzo head provided. It's not all that great, and I hope to replace it in a month or two with a Markins. I like its size and weight, but it's definitely not that easy to use.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Schwaaaang! That thing is rockin', I've got a little envy stirring! How much did the bag/holder/tripod/head set you back? $700?

Congratulations dude, you have a great setup. I may follow suit since I like going on long hikes. If I plan to go 10 miles or more I just leave my manfrotto 055X ProB home. I can carry it about 5 miles without regret and it functions perfectly, but eventually on long-term treks it becomes a burden.

 

[dendronepthya]

I think the whole thing was about $700. The bag is a tight fit, but I like that. It will be able to hold my camera with a lens attached plus two other lenses. It can't hold the 70-200 f/2.8L, but it can probably hold the 70-200 f/4L. I'm probably going to stick to the primes though and finish the holy trinity. The bag is going to be plenty heavy at that point though

 

[dendronepthya]

The next step really is to exchange the ball head on the tripod with something more robust and ergonomic. The one that came with the tripod is bare bones and has a lower weight carrying ability than the rest of the tripod. I also don't like how I have to screw the camera onto the tripod.

This is the ball head I'll probably go with:

This is the quick release plate:

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

I think primes are a great option. That new ballhead looks slick as well.