Time for a tripod

Right, everything I’m shooting at the moment is hand held, at least for 99% of the time with the odd occasion when I use a monopod. I’ve decided that, in certain circumstances, a tripod is going to be beneficial to me.

Must have a gimbal head and be very stable without weighing as much as Hattie Jacques eating a dolphin. Budget £1200 max.

Recommend me something before I buy a Gitzo.

Buy a Gitso. HTHs :+1:

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Check these out:
https://www.3leggedthing.com/
I bought ones years ago and it does me but just see if anything takes your fancy.

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:flushed: Does that include ‘a man’ to carry it around for you?

No, but it’s roughly what a Gitzo would cost with the gimbal head.

I’m after suggestions in or below that price range.

I have a Benbo tripod it’s very very stable but not the easiest to erect and quite heavy.

Is a buying a new Glitzo fluid head and then fitting to a second hand Manfrotto CF tripod an option?

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I’d prefer to buy new tbh, but I get your idea.

Used to have an aluminium Manfrotto for a 'scope I had years ago. It corroded fairly badly, so god knows what the salt air up here would do to it. Maybe they’ve improved the quality of the fittings/nuts/bolts etc. on the CF ones?

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I will add that a semi-pro photographer friend recommended a Rollei Pro model which looks good and is 800 euro on their website. Unfortunately they don’t ship to UK (post Brexit) and it’s only available on Amazon

at £1309

PLUS import fees etc…

:roll_eyes:

This

Maybe, get John to buy it, and ship it to you.

No, close, but another model further up their range.

Nice idea, if a little presumptuous, I could still be liable for import duty, VAT etc? :man_shrugging:

edit:

This is the one she recommended

Cheap head option:
https://www.lensmaster.co.uk/rh2.htm

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I quite like the look of that, thanks

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Me too. Things like this usually appeal to me when someone with skills has made something because they wanted one themselves.

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I’m trawling through the reviews and it is certainly getting some serious recommendations.

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Get one of these, at your age a walking stick will also come in handy :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

image

My son works here, grading, testing and listing all the used kit.

If you find what you want I’ll see if he can get a discount for you…

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=CjwKCAjwyIKJBhBPEiwAu7zll6KvTXKS2K3BJEMjtntGbFGMaubfdX4NJi9bPmk0cLfa7N6M3udLdxoCBVYQAvD_BwE

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I have a friend who uses a Benro GH2 gimbal head on a Gitzo 5542 carbon fibre tripod with a Nikon 500/f4 lens/Nikon D5 and gets stunning results.

I use a Benro carbon fibre tripod (TMA37C) with my Kowa scope and find that very stable. No requirement to sell a kidney for my tripod either.

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Thanks James, but I wanted to buy new.

Anyway, I’ve gone for this

With this gimbal

https://www.lensmaster.co.uk/rh2.htm

Thanks for the replies

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Wow, serious bit of kit. :+1::+1:

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Nice one, keep us updated with how it all works out.

This is what I was thinking. That Lens Master seems a bargain and the ease of maintenance would do it for me. At that price you can go for whatever tripod you want and have a killer bit of kit.

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