Tripods. Which one? I am off for Alaska agin - to see the scenery and wildlife. One of my instructors recommended I get a new tripod (old one has broken) and recommended a Feisol 3442...

Cylus Loc: Maryland

I am off for Alaska agin - to see the scenery and wildlife. One of my instructors recommended I get a new tripod (old one has broken) and recommended a Feisol 3442 and their ball head too. Having a hard time finding recent reviews of them. Anyone familiar with the brand? Thank you!!

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

Cylus wrote:

I am off for Alaska agin - to see the scenery and wildlife. One of my instructors recommended I get a new tripod (old one has broken) and recommended a Feisol 3442 and their ball head too. Having a hard time finding recent reviews of them. Anyone familiar with the brand? Thank you!!

Yes, I bought mine after getting feedback from several people on this forum. I have been very happy with its sturdy build quality and light weight. It fits inside my carryon bag and has its own heavy duty nylon/canvass cover and carry strap. I just recently used it for many of the photos I took in Australia and was very pleased with it. I purchased a Siriu ball head for it and find the combination to be quite durable and easy to use and setup.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Tripod selection is hard. In my view there are two major groups: (1) beefy enough to hold a camera perfectly for a long exposure and (2) sufficient to hold the camera when I can't. Then, in each of those two groups are two subgroups: (1) light weight and folds up enough to make it easy for travel and (2) minimum number of moving parts for ease of operation.

Since I no longer pretend to be making 30x40 prints and don't like heavy gear, I've moved on to a Sony RX100 VII being my primary camera. With that small size and weight, my most used tripod is not made by a recognizable brand, weighs near nothing and was under $30 on Amazon.

Rather than buying a Feisol 3443 on a single recommendation, my suggestion is to log on the the B&H website and use their selection and elimination tools to zero in on what will work for you!

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Complete-Tripods-with-Heads/ci/2635/N/4075788742

NateB

Cylus wrote:

I am off for Alaska agin - to see the scenery and wildlife. One of my instructors recommended I get a new tripod (old one has broken) and recommended a Feisol 3442 and their ball head too. Having a hard time finding recent reviews of them. Anyone familiar with the brand? Thank you!!

I’ve never heard of that brand before, but if you’re looking for more recommendations, I’d recommend 3 Legged Thing.

Cylus Loc: Maryland

Thanks. I will do that

MJPerini

Just a reminder if this trip has a cruise component, a tripod or monopod on a ship transmits vibration very well, so sand bag or hand held.
Feisol is a good brand, as is sirui, or benro or the major brands , Just stay away from really light ones, and divide "Weight Capacity" by 2 or even 3. Get one tall enough so you can use it without the center column.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

MJPerini wrote:

Just a reminder if this trip has a cruise component, a tripod or monopod on a ship transmits vibration very well, so sand bag or hand held.
Feisol is a good brand, as is sirui, or benro or the major brands , Just stay away from really light ones, and divide "Weight Capacity" by 2 or even 3. Get one tall enough so you can use it without the center column.

Your advice is perfect for the photographer that needs rock solid so the camera can't move for long exposures. I go the other way and like them to be light and compact, especially for travel. Any tripod will be tenfold steadier than I am, which is good enough to make a huge improvement for anything close to common shutter speeds.

One from Manfrotto folds up to almost a foot, only weighs under three pounds and costs $100. For me, that's a tripod that would actually get some use on a cruise! Big, beefy and heavy would stay in the stateroom!

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1296077-REG/manfrotto_mkeles5rd_bh_element_small_aluminum_traveler.html

Bruce T Loc: Michigan

I agree. I have two tripods, one heavy and one light enough for my backpack.
The light one,B&F, has a leg that can be removed as a monopod.
The one thing that I keep in mind is to always make sure that the tripod is taller that I am. My first tripod was short and when it sank into the snow or sand, I had to bend over to get my shots.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Like bsprague I also go with something simple that will hold my camera. My carbon fiber tripod is a Desmond DCF 432, a tripod that has not disappointed me in its performance and it costs me less than $100. It is not the most expensive tripod out there but it does the job.
When I need to travel light and especially if I am using my Olympus cameras then I take with me a small aluminum made Dolica tripod that costs me $40. With good tripod techniques the tripod has served me well, even when I used one of my Nikon dSLR bodies.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Cylus wrote:

I am off for Alaska agin - to see the scenery and wildlife. One of my instructors recommended I get a new tripod (old one has broken) and recommended a Feisol 3442 and their ball head too. Having a hard time finding recent reviews of them. Anyone familiar with the brand? Thank you!!

It's a shame you do not have the time, buying a tripod is just like buying shoes, if you don't try them on first, you will probably be disappointed.
When ever I am in the market for a new tripod, I go to B&H and try them ALL, last time it took me 3 1/2 hours to find the perfect fit and cost for me. I am 6'3" and yes, I need a tall one.

And traveling with any tripod, in my opinion, will only slow you down, and if your on a tour with a group, I strongly suggest you leave it at home.

Canisdirus

Make sure you get one that gets tall. Forget a center column if you can.

Any terrain that is uneven...you want that tallness...so you can extend at least one leg far enough on the down slope to maintain level.

This is my main primary (I have others)...very nice tripod...rock steady and tall if I need it to be.

Just keep that in mind...

https://leofotousa.com/products/leofoto-usa-dealer-leofoto-lm-324cl-long-tripod-with-video-bowl-and-case

Cylus Loc: Maryland

I do have some time and plan to be in NYC and go to B&H. How can you check stability? I would prefer NOT to bend over when taking my pictures too. Stick with name
Brands or ok for unknowns? Trust the salesmen at B&H??

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Cylus wrote:

I am off for Alaska agin - to see the scenery and wildlife. One of my instructors recommended I get a new tripod (old one has broken) and recommended a Feisol 3442 and their ball head too. Having a hard time finding recent reviews of them. Anyone familiar with the brand? Thank you!!

Alaska travel restrictions may weigh heavily on YOUR tripod options - the 3442 gets highly recommended - it has a high stability to weight ratio - I had one for awhile. For me, I wanted a bit more stability and did not mind extra weight. You will have to decide where YOUR priorities are - stability or weight ? The size/weight of your camera/lens is a large component of stability requirements. The 3442 has been around for quite a while now - today there are many competitors and maybe cheaper as well. Same with their ball head - many cheaper competitors now - stick with at least 40mm diameter ball. I like tripods with at least 20mm smallest leg section. I also like tripods with centerpost to fine tune height quickly - and yes, I know it hurts stability - but not much in a small rise.
.

photoman43

Cylus wrote:

I am off for Alaska agin - to see the scenery and wildlife. One of my instructors recommended I get a new tripod (old one has broken) and recommended a Feisol 3442 and their ball head too. Having a hard time finding recent reviews of them. Anyone familiar with the brand? Thank you!!

This article may help you pick the tripod you need. Check out all of the tripods made by Benro as they have purchased some brands recently like Induro. I suggest to buy a tripod with a greater weight rating than the weight stated by the company. If you need 12 pounds, get one rated for 24 pounds.

I use ball heads with Arca swiss clamps as all of my cameras and lenses have arcs swiss plates or L brackets on them.

https://photographylife.com/how-to-choose-and-buy-a-tripod-for-a-dslr-camera

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

Aren’t we all just spinning our wheels here, since the OP never mentions what the gear he will be supporting is (MFT or small ff mirrorless with short zoom or Z9 with 400/2.8?), what type of visit this will be, i.e traveling alone, hiking, cruising, large group or small, geared toward ordinary citizens or photographers, etc?

Without knowing those parameters, especially the weight of his rig and distance to be carried , how can one suggest a specific tripod? Suggestions to shop around to find best fit ergonomically are right on regardless of any parameters, but seems to me that suggesting specific models aren’t very useful. And, incidentally, what head to mount?

Btw - count me in the group that considers tripod use on a boat pretty much useless since the rocking of the vessel and/or vibrations caused by the engines are not mitigated by using a tripod placed on a deck (or bracing it on a ships railing). On a vessel, my experience has taught me that best practice is to select shutter speed high enough to overcome such movement and hand hold.