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Gorillapod or anything else for a city tour with my M10?


Lufizer

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Hello everybody,

 

for an upcoming city tour I am looking for a small, reliable, transportable, discreet and also in crowded places approved mini-tripod o. Ä.

I take a Leica M10  through the city and use the lenses Summarit 50 and 90 and a Elmar 3,8 / 24.

Does anyone of you have experience with gorilla pods in interaction with the M? Which model would I have to take? Or are there alternatives?

A tripod, even a light one, is excluded because it is not allowed in too many places I want to visit. For example, I would like to photograph on skyscraper observation platforms.


I would be most grateful for any tips.

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I would use the bean bag approach, O.K., not an actual bean bag, but rather wad up your jacket and rest the camera on that.  Nothing additional to carry, and the cloth will absorb any vibrations from the surface you're putting it on.

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I have a couple of Gorillapods for various cameras, they are useful but not wonderful. Because of their design they are not particularly stable, you need to either use a 10 second timer or a remote control to fire the shutter, even then about 50% of long exposure shots fail due to camera shake.

 

A beanbag or a rigid desktop tripod would be better. I use a vintage Hama tabletop tripod with a built in clamp, it'll hold a DSLR or my M2.

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Leica has a very nice and super-stable table tripod, add a ballhead (Leica or RRS) and you are there. It can also be used as a chest support for extra stability.

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/30592-REG/Leica_14100_Table_Tripod.html

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/29953-REG/Leica_14110_Large_Ball_And_Socket.html/pageID/accessory

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I second the concern about stability of the Gorillapod. I had one once, got rid of it, never got another.

 

The Manfrotto tabletop tripods are much more stable. The all-plastic ball head they use is not great, but it's serviceable in most situations.

 

Platypods are great if you want something you can actually strap securely to trees, etc. It's a little more involved/less plug and play than the typical tabletop tripod, but it does work in more types of environments.

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Leica has a very nice and super-stable table tripod, add a ballhead (Leica or RRS) and you are there. It can also be used as a chest support for extra stability.

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/30592-REG/Leica_14100_Table_Tripod.html

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/29953-REG/Leica_14110_Large_Ball_And_Socket.html/pageID/accessory

 

That is what I use.  Works well with walls, railings, tables, and as a chest support.  

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The MeFoto line is indeed very light, but as a result it can have the drawback of exhibiting shake in high-wind environments. I took one with me to the Mongolian Steppe and it was a nightmare. More my fault than the tripod's for not realizing I needed something a little stouter due to likely wind.

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I'm a  user of Jaap's Leica set for long time and a happy user. It is a little bit heavy but with my canana solution it's OK.

 

Francisco

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I would second the Manfrotto table-top mini tripods. I have a Pixie which is small enough to easily travel with and well built. On mine, the ball-head is aluminium, but a little rough compared to a full-size ball-head (but then the whole tripod and head cost only 20ukp :-) 

 

I have tried the GorillaPod type tripods before, but have never been very happy with the stability for longer exposures. For an M camera you would likely need the 3k model, which weights at least the double of a conventional table-top tripod.

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Hello Everybody,

 

I prefer a larger & more solid Ball Head on a small, solid Table Tripod. For many years I have used a medium sized version of the Leitz/Leica Large Ball Head which has come in a variety of sizes over the years. Unlike the Leitz/Leica Small Ball Head which seems to have only come in more or less 1 size over the years.

 

Don't forget to have soft & non-marking slippers on the tripod feet for when you want to put the tripod against a wall, in or at the top of a doorway, against a tree or a rock, or on a car with the engine turned off.

 

Also don't forget a cable release which not only makes a tripod easier to use but is also sometimes handy on the camera by itself, without a tripod, in some situations.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

Edited by Michael Geschlecht
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I recommend the wonderful little Minox tripod.  It screws up inside itself so it takes up little more space than a ballpoint pen, is all metal so is rigid and will easily hold a M camera and lens, and has a remote release built into it.  They go for £30 to £40 on ebay and I've carried one in my camera bag permanently for the past 15 years or so - I wouldn't be without it.  I recommend watching the video clip at the link.

 

Pete.

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