47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I came across this article at the PhotographyLife website that while not making specific tripod and head recommendations, provides some useful considerations. The second link was contained within the original article and is IMHO more useful. Both are relatively quick reads.

https://photographylife.com/landscapes/tripods-and-heads-a-landscape-photographers-guide?utm_term=2018-05-11#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tripods-and-heads-a-landscape-photographers-guide

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

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

To me the issue is what do you want to spend. The top of the line is Carbon Fiber and Gitzo. Carbon fiber and modest price is Sirui in my opinion. Also I believe Photography Life gets something for glowing reports.

Fotoserj Loc: St calixte Qc Ca

I’d rather think of investment, a tripod will outlast many body and lens, and with good care pretty much retain is value, the one thing to remenber is, you get what you pay for, nothing more, nothing less

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I’ve also heard the compensation rumor as well. That might be why more articles are short on recommendations? Perhaps, an attempt to be objective.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I bought my first tripod, a Manfrotto-Bogen 3221W and 3030 panhead, for less than $200 more (?) than 20 years ago. For me, a little more than I wanted to spend. It’s far from light but has been a rock! Cameras have come and gone, but that the tripod remains more than just a closet occupier. I still use the head but not so much. Oh, there have been a couple light travel tripods as well, but both have new owners.

spencercoxphoto

Hi everyone! Thanks for linking to our article (I'm the author of the most recent one). This is my first post on Ugly Hedgehog (hi!), and I wanted to clear things up if you've heard rumors of sites getting paid to write glowing reviews or recommendations. At least in our case, that isn't how we earn our money. My understanding is that it is not true for a majority of photo websites either. However, what is true is that photography websites (including us) earn money by linking to a particular product on B&H, Adorama, or Amazon and having people purchase an item through that link.

So, there is some incentive (not explicitly stated, but there nonetheless) to write a good review so that people are more likely to buy a product. We try to avoid that bias, since websites that only post positive reviews have worse traffic/reputation in the long run, but that doesn't mean we always succeed or that the tendency is easy to ignore completely.

Still, you will note that the article I wrote does not have any of these affiliate links, and it really does exist just to be informative (and so that Photography Life pays me to write a good article)! I hope this clears the air and gives a quick snapshot of what it's like to work for a photography website

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Welcome to the hog, Spencer. Good general guidance article. Now, that we know who you are..... you're committed!! Your recommended carbon travel tripod is....?

spencercoxphoto

Thank you! I've never been disappointed by a Gitzo or RRS tripod (currently using RRS for my main setup, and I've used a Gitzo Series 1 extensively for travel), but especially RRS is beyond a reasonable budget, and you can get a great carbon fiber tripod for less. In terms of other brands, the only one I actively recommend staying away from is Oben. I'm not saying that all Oben tripods are bad, but the two I've used have not been sturdy, with legs that rotate from side to side while they're supposedly locked down.

So, Induro and Sirui would be the biggest two names for reasonable carbon fiber tripods, along with a few others like Benro, Manfrotto, and so on. Most are similar in quality at a given price, so it's not worth stressing from brand to brand. I'd get one with twist locks if I had the choice, and ideally one that can be taken apart and cleaned (adds a lot of years to the tripod's usability).

For travel, you'll have to decide how much stability you are willing to sacrifice in exchange for weight savings. The Gitzo Series 0 is about as light as they come, but it's far from flawless in the wind, for example. The Series 1 is a step up in both weight and stability, and might be a sweet spot if weight is your main concern.

If you're asking for a single tripod that I recommend regardless of price, it would be the RRS TQC-14 (or TFC-14 if you don't want a center column). Taking price into account, some of Gitzo's travel tripods are actually about the same price as carbon fiber options from other brands, like the four options at this link (not an affiliate link! ): https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1328230-REG/gitzo_gt0545tus_traveler_tripod_ser_0_4s.html

And if price is the main motivator, something from Induro or Sirui could save a bit more money over the Gitzo options, and, from what I can tell, they're also great in quality (only used those brands a couple times at a cursory level, so this recommendation is more based on what I've heard from others).

Hope this helps!

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Bravo Zulu, Spencer!! Hope you enjoy the Hog..... The forum is awesome as are 99% of those who frequent here. Make sure you sign up (if haven't done so already) for the daily digest. If it wasn't for that, I'd have nothing to do for a precious hour of each morning!

TheDman Loc: USA

I wish that were my experience. I'm just trying to find a tripod that can survive a single trip. So far a Gitzo and two Manfrottos have not been up to the task.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Could you/or would you give more info on the failures of these two tripods?
1: Camera & lens combo weight
2: tripod models that failed
3: how did they fail?

TheDman Loc: USA

Took the Gitzo mountaineer (1542 maybe?) to the Virgin Islands, sand quickly invaded all twist locks and ground several to the point where the threads were ruined and the leg sections fell apart. Plus, the RRS BH-30 ball head didn't seat well to the thing anyway and kept spinning off whenever I carried it with a camera attached, so I ditched the Gitzo/RRS idea and bought a Manfrotto MT190CXPRO4.

That lasted me a couple of years, but two years of intermittent use were too much for the flip locks, and one of them broke internally and the leg section fell out. Thinking that was just a fluke, I bought another one last year and took it on its first trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Third day out there I'm at Proxy Falls, I set up the tripod in the stream below the fall, take a few shots, and pick up the tripod to move to a new location. When I looked down, one of the leg sections did not come with me. Took almost an hour to find that leg piece, which to this day will fall completely out of the tripod if you unlock the lever.

Meanwhile, my 20 year-old Velbon El Carmagne 540 still works like the day I bought it. It's just too small.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Sounds like you need a set of fixed length tripod legs.
Or take the legs apart every evening and clean them.

While I don't do beaches I have used my Gitz, Manfroto carbon fiber and Bogen aluminum tripods in streams, muddy ponds and other dirty places and they have all served me well I did have a leg lock paddle (Poly-carbonate) break on one of the Bogens and never had a properly installed head spin loose.

TheDman Loc: USA

Those fixed length legs won't fit too easily in my backpack. And it doesn't help me to clean them every night if they don't make it past 10 am.

I wish I had your experience. I verified with RRS that the head was being installed correctly; it just would never tighten. It would hit the tripod base before the screw would tighten up.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

both Gitzo and Manfroto have a set screw /s in the tripod head mounting plate to keep the head from backing off. Has nothing to do with the brand of the head.