Gitzo or Sirui for travel tripod? Dear All, I am searching a travel tripod with a head. I owned Gitzo GT3541L and it works well with Wimberley Gimbal head Version II. I would want to...

Richard HZ Loc: Indiana, US

Dear All,
I am searching a travel tripod with a head. I owned Gitzo GT3541L and it works well with Wimberley Gimbal head Version II. I would want to have a lighter tripod for travel. I am still considering Gitzo brand. But after searching, I have found out that Sirui brand is a pretty good, at least from various reviews. I am considering Sirui T-1204 SK Tripod withG-10KX Ball Head https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1569525-REG/sirui_t1204sk_g10kx_travel_tripod_kit.html
Gitzo GT1545T Series 1 Traveler Carbon Fiber Tripod with Center Ball Head
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1328227-REG/gitzo_gk1545t_82tqdus_traveler_tripod_kit_gt1545t.html
or better/stronger option: Gitzo GT2545T Series 2 Traveler Carbon Fiber Tripod with Center Ball Head
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1328229-REG/gitzo_gk2545t_82qdus_traveler_tripod_kit_gt2545t.html
However, one of the comparisons from Youtube has made me think further whether to continue with the Gitzo brand for my current needs. I do not want to spend more intended for a better quality and end up lower quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn1BRfp-mw8&list=RDQMY5432KaHaYs&start_radio=1 The cost is another factor but the main factor is the quality. Between Sirui and Gitzo for the travel tripod, any experience or suggestion? Thanks!

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Richard HZ wrote:

Dear All, br I am searching a travel tripod with a... (show quote)

Well Richard
I have figured out over the years its best to stick with what you know!!! unless it is no longer available.

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

Be advised that due to covid B&H has a shortage of tripods due to supply chain issues from China. I was at the store 2x in last 3 weeks and spoke to a great sale person named Michael. If your local go and see and look in person. Its a temporary situtation. look into Benro also.

Jim70 Loc: Delaware

I went through this search about 2 years ago. It seems as though the Gitzo is worth the extra $$ if you plan to hike mountains or similar terrain. I chose the Sirui because of my level of usage for a travel tripod. Haven't looked back. Good luck.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Richard HZ wrote:

Dear All, br I am searching a travel tripod with a... (show quote)

The review of the 4 tripods is a bit misleading. First of all the Gitzo is not $900, it's $600. Second, it's a Series 1, with 25.3 mm diameter top tube, the same as the Sirui. Typically, and according to Gitzo's literature, you should get reliable, repeatable results with up to a 100mm lens with a Series 1. If you go longer, you'll need to employ some stabilizing techniques. I usually drape my left arm over the camera and lens, and gently press my face to the back of the camera - which helps a lot more than hanging a bag of rocks from the hook and using a "hands off" approach. The Gitzo GT2545T is a Series 2 and a much more substantial tripod, being fine with up to a 200mm lens. I believe the others have thicker tubes. A better comparison would have been to compare all the tripods with the same leg thickness. Thicker leg tubes generally mean more torsional rigidity and more stability.

The ball head has a lot to do with camera stability as well. Using 4 different ball heads does not isolate tripod stability as a variable. For example, the Sirui G10KX ball head certainly sells that tripod short. The much better K30X, which is the least expensive of their line that does not have the dreaded "creep" after you lock it up would have been a better choice. I suppose they do that to make it lighter and to allow it to fold up.

When I was looking for a travel tripod about 5 yrs ago, I went to the Feisol brand. They have a CT-3442, with a 28mm leg, putting it in the same "class" as the Gitzo Series 2, and their CB-50D head, which is their largest ball head that permits the legs to fold back onto themselves for the shortest packing length. Together, the tripod which weighs 2.4 lbs and the head which comes in at 1.3 lbs ends up being 3.7 lbs. The load capacity is crazy at 55lbs for the legs and 41 lbs for the ball head. I compared this to most of the other usual suspects, including the Sirui and Benro - and found the Feisol to be lighter, stronger and more rigid than the others. So I bought it. 13 yrs ago I did the same thing when I was looking for a tripod for long lenses I found the CT-3472 with 37mm top tubes, which was more than adequate with my 500mm lens at the time, and later with my 600mm. After 13 yrs, I can recommend without hesitation that you consider Feisol for your needs. A little cheaper than Gitzo, but just as stable as the Series 2, a little more expensive than the Sirui but more stable - it seems to have what you are looking for.

The other bone to pick with this review is the choice of a 600mm FoV lens - and 1/15 sec without specifying if he was using electronic or mechanical shutter. I suspect he kept it the same for all 4 tripods. Needless to say, using a focal length that is 3X longer than the design target is not a good way to test, however, using the worst case scenario revealed some extended capabilities. Still by not using the exact same ball head on each tripod the results are not quite reliable.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Gene51 wrote:

The review of the 4 tripods is a bit misleading. First of all the Gitzo is not $900, it's $600. Second, it's a Series 1, with 25.3 mm diameter top tube, the same as the Sirui. Typically, and according to Gitzo's literature, you should get reliable, repeatable results with up to a 100mm lens with a Series 1. If you go longer, you'll need to employ some stabilizing techniques. I usually drape my left arm over the camera and lens, and gently press my face to the back of the camera - which helps a lot more than hanging a bag of rocks from the hook and using a "hands off" approach. The Gitzo GT2545T is a Series 2 and a much more substantial tripod, being fine with up to a 200mm lens. I believe the others have thicker tubes. A better comparison would have been to compare all the tripods with the same leg thickness. Thicker leg tubes generally mean more torsional rigidity and more stability.

The ball head has a lot to do with camera stability as well. Using 4 different ball heads does not isolate tripod stability as a variable. For example, the Sirui G10KX ball head certainly sells that tripod short. The much better K30X, which is the least expensive of their line that does not have the dreaded "creep" after you lock it up would have been a better choice. I suppose they do that to make it lighter and to allow it to fold up.

When I was looking for a travel tripod about 5 yrs ago, I went to the Feisol brand. They have a CT-3442, with a 28mm leg, putting it in the same "class" as the Gitzo Series 2, and their CB-50D head, which is their largest ball head that permits the legs to fold back onto themselves for the shortest packing length. Together, the tripod which weighs 2.4 lbs and the head which comes in at 1.3 lbs ends up being 3.7 lbs. The load capacity is crazy at 55lbs for the legs and 41 lbs for the ball head. I compared this to most of the other usual suspects, including the Sirui and Benro - and found the Feisol to be lighter, stronger and more rigid than the others. So I bought it. 13 yrs ago I did the same thing when I was looking for a tripod for long lenses I found the CT-3472 with 37mm top tubes, which was more than adequate with my 500mm lens at the time, and later with my 600mm. After 13 yrs, I can recommend without hesitation that you consider Feisol for your needs. A little cheaper than Gitzo, but just as stable as the Series 2, a little more expensive than the Sirui but more stable - it seems to have what you are looking for.

The other bone to pick with this review is the choice of a 600mm FoV lens - and 1/15 sec without specifying if he was using electronic or mechanical shutter. I suspect he kept it the same for all 4 tripods. Needless to say, using a focal length that is 3X longer than the design target is not a good way to test, however, using the worst case scenario revealed some extended capabilities. Still by not using the exact same ball head on each tripod the results are not quite reliable.

The review of the 4 tripods is a bit misleading. F... (show quote)

bikerguy

I have been using the Sirui 1205X carbon fiber and the G10-KX head for almost 7 years with APC canon bodies with the 70 -300 lens and no with the Olympus EM1MII with the 75-300 lens. SO satisfied that when my wife wanted a better tripod for her Oly we bought the same set up.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

Richard HZ wrote:

Dear All, br I am searching a travel tripod with a... (show quote)

You should really look for the new Peak Design travel tripod. I have one and it's awesome.

kenneil Loc: Jupiter, Fl, Ochlocknee, Ga, Iron Range, Mn

My Sirui tripod and monopods are the BEST!!

Richard HZ Loc: Indiana, US

Manglesphoto wrote:

Well Richard
I have figured out over the years its best to stick with what you know!!! unless it is no longer available.

Thanks, Frank!

Richard HZ Loc: Indiana, US

Sidwalkastronomy wrote:

Be advised that due to covid B&H has a shortage of tripods due to supply chain issues from China. I was at the store 2x in last 3 weeks and spoke to a great sale person named Michael. If your local go and see and look in person. Its a temporary situtation. look into Benro also.

Thank you for the information and suggestion!

Richard HZ Loc: Indiana, US

Jim70 wrote:

I went through this search about 2 years ago. It seems as though the Gitzo is worth the extra $$ if you plan to hike mountains or similar terrain. I chose the Sirui because of my level of usage for a travel tripod. Haven't looked back. Good luck.

Thanks, Jim!

Richard HZ Loc: Indiana, US

Gene51 wrote:

The review of the 4 tripods is a bit misleading. First of all the Gitzo is not $900, it's $600. Second, it's a Series 1, with 25.3 mm diameter top tube, the same as the Sirui. Typically, and according to Gitzo's literature, you should get reliable, repeatable results with up to a 100mm lens with a Series 1. If you go longer, you'll need to employ some stabilizing techniques. I usually drape my left arm over the camera and lens, and gently press my face to the back of the camera - which helps a lot more than hanging a bag of rocks from the hook and using a "hands off" approach. The Gitzo GT2545T is a Series 2 and a much more substantial tripod, being fine with up to a 200mm lens. I believe the others have thicker tubes. A better comparison would have been to compare all the tripods with the same leg thickness. Thicker leg tubes generally mean more torsional rigidity and more stability.

The ball head has a lot to do with camera stability as well. Using 4 different ball heads does not isolate tripod stability as a variable. For example, the Sirui G10KX ball head certainly sells that tripod short. The much better K30X, which is the least expensive of their line that does not have the dreaded "creep" after you lock it up would have been a better choice. I suppose they do that to make it lighter and to allow it to fold up.

When I was looking for a travel tripod about 5 yrs ago, I went to the Feisol brand. They have a CT-3442, with a 28mm leg, putting it in the same "class" as the Gitzo Series 2, and their CB-50D head, which is their largest ball head that permits the legs to fold back onto themselves for the shortest packing length. Together, the tripod which weighs 2.4 lbs and the head which comes in at 1.3 lbs ends up being 3.7 lbs. The load capacity is crazy at 55lbs for the legs and 41 lbs for the ball head. I compared this to most of the other usual suspects, including the Sirui and Benro - and found the Feisol to be lighter, stronger and more rigid than the others. So I bought it. 13 yrs ago I did the same thing when I was looking for a tripod for long lenses I found the CT-3472 with 37mm top tubes, which was more than adequate with my 500mm lens at the time, and later with my 600mm. After 13 yrs, I can recommend without hesitation that you consider Feisol for your needs. A little cheaper than Gitzo, but just as stable as the Series 2, a little more expensive than the Sirui but more stable - it seems to have what you are looking for.

The other bone to pick with this review is the choice of a 600mm FoV lens - and 1/15 sec without specifying if he was using electronic or mechanical shutter. I suspect he kept it the same for all 4 tripods. Needless to say, using a focal length that is 3X longer than the design target is not a good way to test, however, using the worst case scenario revealed some extended capabilities. Still by not using the exact same ball head on each tripod the results are not quite reliable.

The review of the 4 tripods is a bit misleading. F... (show quote)

Wow, Gene, really appreciate your spending time to explain. I will definitely to check Feisol after I reply these messages. Thanks again for your great help!

Richard HZ Loc: Indiana, US

bikerguy wrote:

I have been using the Sirui 1205X carbon fiber and the G10-KX head for almost 7 years with APC canon bodies with the 70 -300 lens and no with the Olympus EM1MII with the 75-300 lens. SO satisfied that when my wife wanted a better tripod for her Oly we bought the same set up.

Thanks for the info!

Richard HZ Loc: Indiana, US

DavidPine wrote:

You should really look for the new Peak Design travel tripod. I have one and it's awesome.

Thanks, David!