What tripod do you use?

[leebert]

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Greetings,

 

I plan on taking extended exposures of several seconds or more with my M9 - which will require a tripod. I'd like to hear the forum's experience with tripods for the M9: brand, sturdiness (e.g. Gitzo 1 or 2 or 3 etc.), head type, etc. Your experience will help guide my purchase decision.

 

Thanks!

 

Lee

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[norbertnl]

Lee,

 

My experience with Gitzo GT 1550T is very positive. For me, the best tripod is the one I'm actually taking along when photographing. The Gitzo traveler fulfills that purpose. It is light, small (fits into a regular messenger bag or day pack), and amazingly sturdy although it has five sections. Only the head is a bit flimsy. My second tripod is a 7-year old Gitzo 1228. Very nice and compact; I basically use it for planned shots with medium format and light 4x5. Can also be used with an M camera of course ...

 

Best regards,

Norbert

[j_lir]

i've a gitzo traveler, it's light and as long as you hang something with weight from the hook it's sturdy as well.

 

works with my D3 as well.

 

i don't use the tripod very much, but when i do need it it's great to have such a light one.

 

cheers

 

jesse

[250swb]

Things change when you are making long exposures Lee, so I would go for a heavier rather than lighter tripod.

 

My most used tripod with my M9 is a Feisol 3441SB, a very light and compact carbon traveller style tripod. Its perfect for exposures of less than a second or two. But as soon as your are into many seconds or minutes you need the extra weight of a heavy tripod as the wind or even footsteps can deflect a light tripod. So you need a DSLR tripod, not one that can take a DSLR, but one that can take a DSLR and long lenses etc, the full kit. Then you can be sure the head and legs are up to the job. Be sure to get one with a quick release plate, its much kinder to the bottom of your camera.

 

Steve

[AbbeyFoto]

I recently upgrade to a carbon Gitzo Systematic with Acratech head - bit of an overkill for a M camera but I use it mainly for medium format. Highly recommended if you intend to make significant use of a tripod.

 

Chris

[MA-Sweden]

Hi Lee,

 

I´m using my tripod from when I have a Nikon D2Xs and heavy lenses. It´s a Sachtler ENG 2 CF HD and I have a Burzynski head and a Arca Swiss B1G head to go with that. This setup is way "overkill" for the Leica M9, but I´m very pleased with it. A negative point is that it have a weight around 6 kilograms, but I manage . The Burzynski head need to be used with "L-plates" like the one RRS do for the M9.

[archi4]

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Gitzo 1028 mkII think it was the smallest carbon mountaneer

light compact

[RockyIII]

I like my Gitzo GT0541 tripod and Really Right Stuff BH-30 ballhead.

 

Rocky

[EOTS]

For travel and hiking purposes, I have a Benro C-168m8 carbon tripod.

This is a clone of the Gitzo GT1541T. Both very lightweight, but nevertheless good tripods.

I use it with a Markins Q3T ball head, which is also extremely compact and lightweight.

I think the ReallyRightStuff ball heads are also great, if not even better.

This is good enough for many use cases.

 

For ultimate sturdiness/stability, I also have a Gitzo GT5541LS carbon tripod,

which I use for my Nikon equipment and if size/weight does not matter.

When I was not out in the field with this tripod, I placed it in front of my toilet.

So in the first week, each time I got out of the loo and saw this monstrosity,

I was always rolling on the floor laughing

(the legs are very thick, and the plate where the legs come together looks like a huge coffee saucer LOL).

However, if size/weight does not matter, this tripod rules. I'm really impressed.

Hard to get an unsharp image here.

It works for me even with wind, long focal lengths and long exposures.

 

To change between cameras and tripods, I like the Arca Swiss (AS) system.

The Markins on the Benro is AS, on the Gitzo I use a Manfrotto MA 140 with a Kirk adapter that make it AS compatible.

 

On the M9 and Nikon I have L-plates from ReallyRightStuff (also AS), which I really recommend.

With them, you can switch from portrait to landscape in no time. It's also more conventient in combination with ball heads.

Edited November 28, 2010 by EOTS

[IkarusJohn]

For travel, if I can find space for it, I take one of the little table top tripods that rotate into a package that's just too big for my Billingham Combination M bag (mine's branded Nikon, but I don't know who made it).

 

For home etc (family shots), or if I have room in the car, I have a full sized Manfrotto which works really well. It's big, but does everything I need and it's not too heavy that I wouldn't strap it to the side of a day pack if I really needed it.

 

With failing knees, I often tramp with a telescopic carbon fibre ski pole. If I can find one that fits, I intend to put a tripod mount on the top - my only reservation is that I'm not sure how much use I have for a monopod ...

 

To my mind, you need to ask yourself what you need the tripod for. At its simplest, it's a stable platform for your $7,000 camera and lens between $2,000 and $10,000. If it isn't rock solid, I wouldn't use it. The thought of some flimsy, wobbly thing with my camera on it is seriously not appealing!

 

The table top is a bit of an oddity, but it has one leg longer than the other, which generally supports the lens. I will then use whatever is available as a platform for it. So if I'm in the wild, it can be a rock or a ledge, a tree stump etc. The table top is surprisingly useful.

 

Cheers

John

[Nicoleica]

With failing knees, I often tramp with a telescopic carbon fibre ski pole. If I can find one that fits, I intend to put a tripod mount on the top - my only reservation is that I'm not sure how much use I have for a monopod ...

 

John, you might wish to look at the Gitzo Monotrek range of monopods. They are very good 3-section telescoping monopods, with a built-in ball head that has a handy little cover. They are also very useful walking poles, and have a contoured handgrip with a wrist strap. I've had one for several years, and keep it in my car so that it is always nearby.

[LeicaBraz]

There's a Giotto carbon fiber tripod, very light and folds to a very convenient size, which has a detachable leg than can be used as a monopod. It is the VGR 8255-5310-630.

Use it with a small Manfrotto ball head (492).

[chuckw]

I use a Gitzo G1228 Carbon tripod. I think that that size tripod is a very good compromise between an extreme light weight tripod that can vibrate in the wind and a heavy weight tripod that one is reluctant to carry. The ball head that I have is a Really Right Stuff BH-55. That head is a hold over from the days when I used some heaver Canon glass and some day I will replace it with one of RRS's lighter heads.

 

Also, as has been mentioned previously, a solid monopod is a good alternative in situations where you do not want to carry a tripod.

[farnz]

Gitzo GT1550T with a Novoflex Magic Ball head; quite sturdy enough for multiple-second exposures and even so in light wind with a weight hung from the hook.

 

Pete.

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello leebert,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

I have a Gitzo full sized tripod that I have had for many years & use occasionally. Mostly when I have the luxury of working w/ more equipment than I might want to take w/ me when I prefer to be more mobile.

 

A number of years ago I made my own version, a little smaller, of a Leitz table tripod for about 7 Euro. I use that w/ a Leitz large ball head.

 

Tripods need to be rocks. They can't move at all & must be able to remain steady & support a substantial load. Mine is quite happy supporting my friend's RB 67 w/ lens, back,etc . I find I can usually find something solid to put it on so much so that I don't use the Gitzo much anymore for years. Gitzo makes a good tripod though.

 

I can also use the table tripod as a chest pod which I find usually gives me about 2 stops conservatively when there is no place to support the small tripod.

 

Basically there is usually someplace somewhere to put a table pod. You just have to look & as everyone knows a picture always looks better taken w/ a tripod than w/o. Even @ high shutter speeds. I try to carry it always & use it whenever I can.

 

I also find that because it looks like a toy as does an M3 people are not so threatened & are liable to not mind you using it in situations where they might mind the presence of a full size tripod.

 

The world is full of trees, rocks, doorways, walls & all kinds of other solid surfaces that you won't mar since you will put non-discoloring, non-scratching rubber/plastic feet on your small tripod if it doesn't already have them.

 

I use 2 cable releases. 1 is a Linhof 25cm. It is like an overbuilt version of a Leitz/Leica equivalent. The second is a Kodak #1. This allows me to have a "T" along w/ the "B" the Linhof, like the Leitz/Leica affords.

 

Cable releases are like tripods. You get a better picture with them than without. I sometimes use one in certain situations w/o any tripod when they allow a better picture on a table, pile of books, etc or even hand held.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[pico]

IMHO, the tripod is anathema to Leica 35mm photography, unless it is a little thing like the Leica table-pod. If your photography is largely tripod-based, it would benefit most by placing a medium-format camera on the tripod.

[leebert]

To all: thank-you for your posts. I've decided to go with a Gitzo GT1541 and an appropriate ball-head with quickrelease - something light, but capable of holding the camera reasonably still for the longer exposure shots I intend to take.

 

I do appreciate your comment, Pico; prior to my current move into 35mm, I shot large format exclusively. It was in that medium I came to appreciate one should not skimp on the quality/sturdiness of a tripod, and also came to appreciate that they can be a pain in the a$$ when it comes to more spontaneous shots. So now I get to lament the other side of the equation

 

Anyway, thanks again to all - I have found this forum to be a helpful resource.

[250swb]

IMHO, the tripod is anathema to Leica 35mm photography, unless it is a little thing like the Leica table-pod. If your photography is largely tripod-based, it would benefit most by placing a medium-format camera on the tripod.

 

Well, what rubbish. Luminous Landscape disagree with you as well, they included the M9 in their Medium Format Shootout, so you might say it does have MF status, meaning a tripod is appropriate.

 

2010 Mini Medium Format Shoot-out

 

Steve

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[masjah]

IMHO, the tripod is anathema to Leica 35mm photography, unless it is a little thing like the Leica table-pod. If your photography is largely tripod-based, it would benefit most by placing a medium-format camera on the tripod.

 

So there never was a role for the Leica R system (or, for that matter, any other SLR system)?

[farnz]

IMHO, the tripod is anathema to Leica 35mm photography, unless it is a little thing like the Leica table-pod. If your photography is largely tripod-based, it would benefit most by placing a medium-format camera on the tripod.

Hogwash.

 

A tripod is a tool as much as a filter or a grip is a tool. I understand the Leica 'ethos' about being small and lightweight but if a person allows this to prevent him from taking some photographs, eg stopped down low-light landscapes, then he's not using the camera to its full capability to express himself photographicaly and what does that say about him as a photographer?

 

Pete.