Advice for Lightweight Tripod?

I do a lot of off road cycling and take my camera with me - Canon 5D plus a
few lenses.

I've currently got the original Kennett Benbo tripod (about 20 years old)
but it weighs too much and is too bulky to carry.

Can you advise what would be a good back pack and tripod combination?
I'm after a ball and head mount.

 

For a 5D you need a very good tripod. For hiking, I use
a gitzo 1228 carbon fiber tripod and an arc-swiss B1 ballhead
with both 1D Mark II and 4x5 view vameras.

If you want light weight, stability, and vibration dampening,
carbon fiber is great. Unfortunately, the cost is high.

Roger

 

Roger

Are the CF tripods that much lighter? The models I have looked at do not
appear to be much lighter than their Alloy cousins. For instance, the 055
Pro manfrotto and the same model in CF is only .4 kg difference (2 to
2.4kg). The 055 just happens to suit me perfectly for my height and style
of work. I have been looking for a good CF but had hoped it would be around
1/2 the weight in saving. Not much success in finding such to date. With
the model you use, how much saving is there over its alloy model?

regards

Don

 

It is more about stability. You can use a carbon fiber with much
thinner legs. I feel I can do better with a gitzo 1220 CF
than I can with a Bogen 3021 aluminum tripod. Metal 3021
legs vibrate. The 3021 (8 lbs, 3.6 Kg) has an 11 pound load
capacity while the gitzo 1228 weighs 3.8 lbs (1.7 Kg), and las a
load capacity of 17.6 pounds. I have both, and the 1228
is much more stable at half the weight. Just an example.

Roger

 

Why do you say that the 5D needs a good tripod - is that due to the weight
of the camera?

 

Roger

thanks

I will have a look at the gitzo.

regards

Don

 

Well, most cameras need a good tripod ;-) !

But high end cameras, like the 5D have so much resolution, and
the camera is not feather light, so a good camera is really
warranted. Most camera owners have too flimsy a tripod,
if they have one at all. I was no exception a dozen years
ago when I started getting drum scans of my slides, and
seeing blur. I analyzed what did it and it turned
out to be the tripod. I upgraded to bogen 3001, then
3021, then carbon fiber. The CF was a big jump.

When choosing a tripod, extend the legs, grab the head
and twist. Note how much twist in each one.
Put a big camera with big lens on it and
tap the legs and watch and feel the vibration. Most
tripods are pretty poor. The carbon fiber will be
the best.

Roger

 

Like Rodger I use and heartily recommend the Gitzo 1228. This, or one of
the competitive CF tripods, seems to offer the best combination of lower
weight AND really solid support.
This has been posted here before but deserves a look for anyone considering
a tripod purchase: http://bythom.com/support.htm
Thom illustrates in this piece what many (including me) have gone through in
tripod expenditures when we could have actually saved money by going with a
high quality tripod in the first place.
Chuck

 

I love my Cullman Magic 2. Carry a small, 12" x 12" nylon drawstring
bag and fill it with rocks and then tie it to the center for extra
stability when needed. The center shaft pulls out for a monopod.

 

CF legset (whatever size fits). The "B1" head is a fairly heavy
affair, and rather pricey at that. It's the usual recommendation, and
a safe one to give. I'll be more radical and suggest:

http://acratech.net/ultimate_ballhead.html

It has an unusual user-interface but it is substantially lighter and
less expensive.

 

Would I be able to accommodate that tripod on a backpack in terms of weight
and size?

Also, is their any one brand or type of back pack that I should be looking
at?
I've had a look at the Lowepro stuff and seems reasonable - but I've not had
any experience other than brochures for that sort of stuff.

I'd guess I'd be carrying a camera, three small lenses, a 200/300mm
telephoto plus tripod.
I'd also want some space for a few sandwiches as I'd be gone on a day trip.

 

Not only is the camera heavy, although not as heavy as a 1 series, the
lenses most deem necessary for good images are heavy, too. While the
heaviest, like the 70-200 f2.8L IS, have their own tripod collars, many,
like the 24-70 f2.8L and 85mm f1.2L, do not. And that chunk of glass hung
on the front of a camera can seriously destablize a weak tripod.
I have the 3001, and find it ok, but a little short for my complete comfort.
And the "elevator" could be a little more stable.

 

I use a Manfrotto carbon fiber tripod. Granted, it is only half a kilo
less than other models, but that is still a significant difference,
especially when you consider the weight of everything else. I am not
enamored of the ball and head mount, but to each his own. I like the
little lightweight three knob head; there is no excess weight on this
thing at all and it never slips.

If you really want to save weight, consider reducing the number of
lenses you carry. A super wide angle zoom and a telephoto are about all
you should ever need. I will grant that mid-range zooms are popular (I
own a few myself), but I find that I spend most of my time shooting at
one extreme or the other.

 

Yes, depending on what you consider your weight limit.

Camera baclpacks are for camera gear. I have 3: computrekker,
the second largest and the largest (forget their names). They are great
for carrying gear, but not a lot of other stuff. When you say
backpacking, do you mean overnight with sleeping bag, cooking gear
and tent? If so I would use a regular backpack and put in little
bags with the camera gear.

I use my lowepro large backpack for large format gear.

I use the second largest pack for wildlife expeditions when
I carry my 500 mm f/4, or smaller amount of large format gear.

I use the computrekker for trips with digital cameras laptop and
lenses up to 300 mm f/4.

Day trips like this I would use the computrekker plus an external
pack addition for coat, food and emergency gear on a day hike.
Sometimes I add a large side pouch for an additional lens. For example,
I might carry 1D MarkII, 300 f/4 IS, 28-135 IS, 24mm f/2.8, 180mm f/3.5
macro, 1.4 and 2x TCs and in the computer section 10D backup camera. I took
that setup to Australia and New Zealand along with epson P2000
and nixview vista (instead of a computer). (Space/weight forced me
to travel light.) And of course the gitzo 1228.

Roger

 

For day trips I like the Lowe padded waist belt, AW-40 camera pouch,
and shoulder harness. The geek factor is terrible, but it sure is
comfortable.

 

I just intend to drive somewhere, get on my bike with my camera and
disappear off into the countryside for the day, returning home at night.

 

I bought the advised tripod - the Gitzo 1228 carbon fiber tripod
I also got a free head mount with it worth 1/3 of the price of the tripod.

I'm not sure if that tripod is now discontinued as I could not find it on
the Gitzo site.

The build quality is impressive.

I also bought a Lowepro Mini Trekker AW backpack - which allows me to carry
the tripod on my back, along with my camera.

Thanks for all your advice.