Best value tripod?

[Wander]

Cool shot David!

Trevor, can you tell me which gitzo you have? They offer a lot of choices and I also like the light weight yet stable idea as that is the planned use.

 

[Lost Canadian]

Trevor, can you tell me which gitzo you have? They offer a lot of choices and I also like the light weight yet stable idea as that is the planned use.

It's a three section Mountaineer. I don't have it with me at the moment but I believe the model number is 2530. I think the 2530 was replaced with the newer 2531.

The head I have is an Arca-Swiss B1, which I think has also been replaced with a perhaps the Z1, not 100% on that though.

 

[taco2go]

Arca-Swiss = Bees knees.

And the advice to buy the best you can afford is probably wise with regards to tripods and heads

 

[Wander]

Ok, I am going to buy today (yeah profit sharing!)

I've got it down to two choices; Manfrotto O55CX PRO 3 CF and Gitzo 2531

Looking at the spec's side by side the Manfrotto has a little more max height,lower min height. Load cap favors Gitzo by 9-10 lbs and Gitzo's warranty is by far better (lifetime vs 2 yrs) The other specs are very close.

The Manfrotto is $399.90 and the Gitzo is $649.90, is there other details that explain that difference? I don't have a place here that I can go see these in person. I know my wife will quiz me on why I would even consider two with such a price difference, so I need talking points.

As for ball heads it looks like either the Arca Swiss ZI SP or the Kirk BH-1, as for L plates, what brand do you like?

 

[Lost Canadian]

... as for L plates, what brand do you like?

RRS, no doubt about it. Matt, I was just looking at monopods on Gitzo's site and seen their Basalt line of tripods for the first time. They look quite intriguing. The specs look great. Their weight is little more then the carbon Gitzo's but they are about on par with the Manfrottos carbon. Load capacity is on par with Gitzo's carbon models, which as you mentioned is higher then the Manfrotto's. To be honest, looking at an equivalent gitzo basalt next to a gitzo carbon, besides a little added weight, I'm not seeing much of a compromise. Best of all they appear to be about 2/3rds the price of the full carbon models. This model would be comparable to the 2531. If you're looking to save a few bucks but still get your hands Gitzo this could be another option.

 

[Wander]

Thanks Trevor, that's a great option. You're right the spec's are almost the same as the 2531 and are overall better than the Manfrotto plus it's not very much more than the Manfrotto.

I've bought a few things from Adorama lately and they have been great so I'm planning to buy from them this time as well. They have Arca Swiss so I'm planning on the Z1 SP. I think you mentioned you have the older verison of that head, does yours have the screw lock for the plate or the flip lock? I'm wondering if the screw lock is more solid than the flip lock.

 

[Lost Canadian]

I think you mentioned you have the older verison of that head, does yours have the screw lock for the plate or the flip lock? I'm wondering if the screw lock is more solid than the flip lock.

Mine's a screw lock. I'm not sure how one compares to the other, is there an option with the Z1? FWIW the screw lock on mine is extremely secure.

 

[Wander]

Yeah the Z1 can be had with a screw lock and a flip lock (QR), there is a price difference but it's not huge.

 

[Wander]

Thanks to all for the advice.

I bought a Gitzo GT2830 with an Arca Swiss Z1 QR Sunday-ordered from Adorama.

Come on brown truck!!

This is from the new Basalt line from Gitzo-it's still carbon fiber but it has some basalt added to the mix that drop the price a couple hundred-it also has Gitzo's lifetime warrenty. I'll post pics and my amature review when it get's here.