Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/02/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]My favorite small-ish but very lightweight tripod is the Gitzo carbon 1228. Fits in RollAboard (and other) carry on luggage, is very stable, even when fully expended (not using the centerpost). George Lepp did tests on numerous tripods and the Gitzo carbon tripods ranked at the top. Very light weight and very sturdy. Yes, it's expensive. So is Leica. However, if you are going to go to the trouble to carry a tripod and use it, it should be substantial enough to handle whatever you intend to use it for. The 1228 easily handles large and heavy lenses (70-180, 180, 280, 350), as well as light weight stuff (M). Many times people do not think about the fact that they have spent a lot of money on travel to get where they are going, a lot of money on the BEST photo equipment (Leica), and take lots of film, but skimp on things that can make or break the photography experience. To me, it's not enough to just go and photograph, I want the result to be as good as possible, otherwise why bother. So "I think it'll be good enough or I think it'll work", is not good enough for me. I don't want to come back and say "If only..." That's why I travel with what has proven to be both substantial and light weight. But I always travel with a lot of R equipment so a good tripod is absolutely necessary. Mirror lock-up, long heavy lenses, long exposures on Velvia... Jim