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Replace tripod and ball head
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Aug 6, 2022 14:52:47   #
vbhargava Loc: San Diego
 
I was in crater national park and left my gitzo traveler 1545T along with the Really Right Stuff BH 55 ball head. Had hoped for a good Samaritan to turn it in to lost and found, but no such luck. I am considering replacing the tripod and ball head. Tripod choice would be a sturdy, light weight, compact and quick setup. Ball head should be arca compatible. stable with heavier lenses on both DSLR and mirror less cameras. I did consider Peak Design carbon fiber but the reviews for the ball head are poor including no panning. Any recommendations based on your personal experiences? Thanks

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Aug 6, 2022 15:19:17   #
ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca
 
SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS --
The ball head I'm using with a Gitzo (G1127 Mk2 -- Don't think they still offer it) is an Acratech -- Lightweight (1lb) Zero creep with the canon 100-400II - Well made -- Not inexpensive but really worth it
Gitzo + Acratech = Great Combo

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Aug 6, 2022 16:10:06   #
ClaudiaA Loc: Venice, FL
 
Love my Peak carbon, I got the adapter and put a gimbal on it with a 200-600 lens. No problem.

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Aug 6, 2022 16:22:54   #
jcboy3
 
vbhargava wrote:
I was in crater national park and left my gitzo traveler 1545T along with the Really Right Stuff BH 55 ball head. Had hoped for a good Samaritan to turn it in to lost and found, but no such luck. I am considering replacing the tripod and ball head. Tripod choice would be a sturdy, light weight, compact and quick setup. Ball head should be arca compatible. stable with heavier lenses on both DSLR and mirror less cameras. I did consider Peak Design carbon fiber but the reviews for the ball head are poor including no panning. Any recommendations based on your personal experiences? Thanks
I was in crater national park and left my gitzo tr... (show quote)


I have the PD carbon, and I really like it for it's compact size. The ball head is minimal, and I usually carry a real ball head. You can get a separate ball head platform to replace the PD ball head; I have one but don't use it often. Instead, I treat the PD ball head as a leveling base with quick release. I use an Arca adapter plate that screws onto the bottom of my ball head and mounts in the Arca clamp of the PD ball head. I makes carrying the tripod and ball head separately a breeze for setup.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LGDGF4L/

That said, there are cheaper and stiffer tripods available. But none that have the compact size of the PD tripod.

What I don't like about the PD tripod is that there aren't any large foot options for it that make it more stable on sand. And swapping the rubber feet for spikes is a time consuming job.

It is definitely a love it or not piece of gear.

I did have the PD aluminum, and while it has all of the same features, I just didn't like the weight.

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Aug 6, 2022 16:34:45   #
vbhargava Loc: San Diego
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I have ambivalent about the series 1 Gitzo and PD carbon fiber. For both I will need a ball head. I loved my RRS BH 55 with lever lock.

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Aug 6, 2022 16:36:23   #
vbhargava Loc: San Diego
 
Looked for it on Amazon but did not find it. Thanks

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Aug 7, 2022 08:15:40   #
TerryVS
 
[quote=vbhargava]I was in crater national park and left my gitzo traveler 1545T along with the Really Right Stuff BH 55 ball head.


You had a first class setup for a light weight rig. Your best bet may be to replace it with what you had.

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Aug 7, 2022 10:31:27   #
Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC
 
I've been using a pan and tilt head for years over a ball head.
LEOFOTO VH-10S Monopod Two Way Tilt Head Arca/RRS Compatible w Large Comfort Knob
4.4 out of 5 stars 54

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Aug 7, 2022 11:00:26   #
photoman43
 
I suggest you check out the Induro carbon fiber tripods, either a series two or series three, depending on the weight it will be bearing. Induro is now owned by Benro. Go to the Benro website and look under tripod collections. They have many different models for you to consider.

Ball heads would be another RRS BH 55 (or the smaller BH 40) or one from Kirk Enterprises. My light weight ball head is a Kirk BH-3, but it is being redesigned by Kirk. If you want one buy it used. I love it for travel and hiking. I use it on my Induro.

Here is what I think Benro is now calling what I own and use:

https://benrousa.com/induro-classic-carbon-fiber-tripod-2-series-4-section/

Or the newer designs from Benro:


https://benrousa.com/induro-hydra-2-waterproof-carbon-fiber-tripod/

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Aug 7, 2022 11:04:16   #
47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range
 
ken_stern wrote:
SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS --
The ball head I'm using with a Gitzo (G1127 Mk2 -- Don't think they still offer it) is an Acratech -- Lightweight (1lb) Zero creep with the canon 100-400II - Well made -- Not inexpensive but really worth it
Gitzo + Acratech = Great Combo


Big fan here of Acratech as well. https://www.acratech.net/
I have a GV2 series ballhead, a leveling head, and panoramic head.
So, I guess you might say, I really like their products, and their customer service is superb.
Also, when shopping Acratech, it never hurts to call them and check availability of factory seconds (think discount). We’re talking cosmetic issues only. I bought such an item that is my pano head. I couldn’t tell where the “issue” was/is.

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Aug 7, 2022 11:31:49   #
imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida
 
If budget may be a concern, here is what I like - https://www.ebay.com/itm/255494003447?epid=25035396962&hash=item3b7ca11af7:g:fSMAAOSwuOphtq7d

Ball head - https://www.ebay.com/itm/134180404183?epid=691412116&hash=item1f3dc67bd7:g:F~oAAOSwd9Bi3FIa
.

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Aug 7, 2022 11:57:58   #
jcwall396 Loc: Roswell, GA
 
jcboy3 wrote:
I have the PD carbon, and I really like it for it's compact size. The ball head is minimal, and I usually carry a real ball head. You can get a separate ball head platform to replace the PD ball head; I have one but don't use it often. Instead, I treat the PD ball head as a leveling base with quick release. I use an Arca adapter plate that screws onto the bottom of my ball head and mounts in the Arca clamp of the PD ball head. I makes carrying the tripod and ball head separately a breeze for setup.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LGDGF4L/

That said, there are cheaper and stiffer tripods available. But none that have the compact size of the PD tripod.

What I don't like about the PD tripod is that there aren't any large foot options for it that make it more stable on sand. And swapping the rubber feet for spikes is a time consuming job.

It is definitely a love it or not piece of gear.

I did have the PD aluminum, and while it has all of the same features, I just didn't like the weight.
I have the PD carbon, and I really like it for it'... (show quote)


This is off the main topic, but thanks for posting this information! I have the PD carbon fiber tripod and love it for travel, but having to swap out the top for a ball head that pans adds weight and is a pain. This little gadget from Amazon is perfect! Just ordered it.

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Aug 7, 2022 13:50:26   #
M1911 Loc: DFW Metromess
 
I like the Arca Swiss p0 ball head with the lever clamp lock. It is like an upside down head with the pan movement right below the camera clamp. This is nice because if you level the head, it is level for panning 360 degrees. It is rated for 44 pounds. https://www.amazon.com/Arca-Swiss-Monoball-Ballhead-Classic-Release/dp/B074MG2DZN

I also use two Arca Swiss monoball B1s which is more traditional in style but rated at a load of 90 lbs. There new Z1 (replacement for the B1) is rated for 120 lbs as I recall. These are available used on e-bay. Roberts camera has a B1 for $166.86

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Aug 7, 2022 13:59:15   #
amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
 
vbhargava wrote:
I was in crater national park and left my gitzo traveler 1545T along with the Really Right Stuff BH 55 ball head. Had hoped for a good Samaritan to turn it in to lost and found, but no such luck. I am considering replacing the tripod and ball head. Tripod choice would be a sturdy, light weight, compact and quick setup. Ball head should be arca compatible. stable with heavier lenses on both DSLR and mirror less cameras. I did consider Peak Design carbon fiber but the reviews for the ball head are poor including no panning. Any recommendations based on your personal experiences? Thanks
I was in crater national park and left my gitzo tr... (show quote)


Sorry to hear about the loss of your tripod.

I looked up the Gitzo model and it's one of their lightest.... Seems odd to fit it with a head like the RRS BH55 that probably weighs almost as much as the leg set!

Honestly, I'm not a fan of the 0 and 1-Series Gitzo. To me they just seem too light. I would want at least the 2-series and I actually use several Gitzo 3-series.

There are many good tripods out there. What I recommend looking for...

1. Look for a kit of legs with head, especially with travel tripods because they need to be matched sizes to fold properly. It's also usually a better deal to buy a kit, instead of purchasing individually.

2. Get a tripod with as few leg sections as possible. In a travel tripod that probably means 4-section. Any legs with more sections than that, the lower sections are very spindly and there can be a lot of flex.

3. Travel tripods almost always use a center column. My most stable tripods have no center column at all and are sufficiently tall without need for one. But that's not likely to be possible with a travel tripod. So look for one that's tall enough with as little center column as possible. Some travel tripods now even have multi-section tripods, which can't be good for stability! I'd avoid those!

4. Carbon fiber is your best bet, but you probably already know that.

5. Personally I prefer a tripod with twist type leg locks, like your Gitzo had. Those are low profile, self-adjusting for wear and reasonably resistant to water and dirt intrusion. Levers can be faster to set up than the twist type of locks, but do wear and need adjustment and/or replacement eventually. Both levers and thumbscrew locking mechanisms also typically protrude and are more prone to catching on branches and such, while carrying them in the field.

Even if I shop around elsewhere eventually, initially I like to use the B&H Photo website because they list virtually every known tripod and have a lot of search filters that can narrow down the selection to just what I want to see. For example, I did a search there for carbon fiber travel tripod/ballhead kits that have similar weight capacity to your Gitzo (22 lb.) and have Arca-Swiss quick release compatibility. B&H lists nearly 1300 tripods! By using those search filters I pretty quickly narrowed it to 28 possibilities:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Complete-Tripods-with-Heads/ci/2635/N/4075788742?filters=fct_head-type_4106%3Aball-head%2Cfct_leg-lock-type_4128%3Atwist-lock%2Cfct_material_774%3Acarbon-fiber%2Cfct_quick-release-system_7375%3Aarca%2Cfct_reverse-folding-legs-travel-design_7236%3Ayes%2Cfct_support-weight_4142%3A18-lb%7C20-lb%7C22-lb%7C25-lb%7C26-lb

Many of those tripods reverse fold to be as compact as possible (one of the reasons the head and legs need to be a matched set). Below is the result. It includes a Gitzo Series-2. Others that have impressed me are the Benro Travel Angel Series-2. (Their Bat and Rhino might be fine, too... I just haven't had any experience with them.)

Also note that I couldn't narrow the above search to 4-section legs or by maximum height or other factors that might be important to you. If something on that list appeals to you, I'd recommend further online search for reviews and such.

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Aug 7, 2022 14:07:17   #
uhaas2009
 
I got the peak design tripod. My Nikon 810 with the 200-500 it will hold it without creeping so far. The tripod head is so friendly to use. It’s least a tripod I’m talking with me, my other stayed always at home….lol
Sorry for loosing your tripod

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