Are Gitzo's really overrated?!

[Mitch.Conner]

I removed my post because after fact checking, I was mistaken.

 

[takesome1]

I own two Gitzo's about 5 years old now and they are rock solid and still going strong.
Also have a Gitzo monopod.
All well worth the price paid.

As others have said, the Gitzo heads are junk IMO.

 

[symmar22]

I've 3 Gitzos tripods, plus one I sold since I had no use for it (got 85 € for it after 15 years, not so bad for a well used small aluminium 1 series). I'll probably sell the n°2 series aluminium, since it's been replaced by a carbon version 3 years ago. For work, I have a n°3 series that I bought in 1987 (they were still made in France at that time). It is still my working tripod, and doing fine. For travelling, hiking and street photography (I do a lot of my personal stuff with a 4x5 camera), the carbon n°2 is all I need. It handles without problems my 3.5 kg Technikardan, goes eye level without extending the column, and is even more rigid than the aluminium n°3 series.
So no, for me Gitzos are not overrated at all, it all depends on how much you actually need your tripod. For me it's 99% of the time. I am not even even looking at other brands. If you need a tripod once a year, it's probably not worth it, if it's your daily companion, you won't regret it.

On the other hand, most of their heads are poorly designed, and there is nothing I can really recommend here. ArcaSwiss, Linhof, Acratech, RRS, Manfrotto and others are all doing a much better job here. But IMO Gitzo legs are among the best things available in photography equipment. In the US you may have other options, but in Europe, it's the way to go if you do not want to regret your tripod legs.

On the price side, do not forget they are made in Italy, by people getting decent work conditions and salaries.

 

[Krob78]

To me, I think that both Gitzo's and chinese tripods are highly overprized. Their respective quality levels are not in the same league, but still there's other choices that delivers more bang for the buck. All in my opinion.

I have tried numerous other choices, believing what you say. But when I finally went for Gitzos and later also RRS, my only regret was that I didn´t do it earlier. But I´d still be interested in reading which tripods you refer to.

Eldar, I replaced my Gitzo with a new Sirui, (pronounced Soo-Ray) I cannot believe the quality for the price! I love it compared to my Gitzo, in fact within a week of using it, my Gitzo went on CL and offset the cost of the Sirui by over 50%!! I did purchase their best carbon fiber model, without center column, it's absolutely fantastic! I was going to replace my Gitzo with an RRS but I'm really glad I decided to give the Sirui a shot, it's excellent!

 

[pwp]

I'd also note that while Gitzo's legs are certainly 'worth it', their heads generally aren't.

I've utterly punished a Gitzo Traveller for over 20 years. There's little paint left on the legs. It's been up to it's knees in salt water, buried in fine sand, fallen over in mud and banged around in cars, planes with appallingly little respect. It works like new with no cleaning, washing, maintenance or care of any kind since new. Hardly over rated.

Like Dr Neuro, I can't say the same about the heads. The original ball head lasted less than five years and was a bit cranky right from the start. A bigger genuine Gitzo replacement head just annoyed me so it got sold. Since then I had a good run with a mid-range Manfrotto ball head which I replaced a year ago with an Induro head when I standardized to Arca Swiss plates. The Induro is very nice but somehow I can't see it lasting as long as the Manfrotto.

But the Gitzo legs? Perfect!

-pw

 

[Hillsilly]

When I look at my cheaper, non-Gitzo, 5 year old carbon fibre tripod with feet that keep falling off, tubes that pull straight out, and glue failing everywhere, I often wonder if Gitzo's are overrated....

 

[leGreve]

That brands like Gitzo are overrated you often hear from inexperienced and hobby photographers, who are not out shooting 3-4 times a week.

I was like that as well when I started out, constantly looking for that "good bargin" instead of crying once and getting the best.

At our studio we have Gitzo's going back 15 or so years still being used. Sure some of them could use a bit of tuning up, but I will guarantee you that you wont find that kind of reliability in cheap brands.
Also that spare part story with the Benro tripod: pathetic. ANY company with respect for itself and its customers will make damn sure they can support their products, especially if the product is cheap to begin with.

I just broke my safety catch on my Manfrotto video head, and I was a bit bummed out, but then realised that Manfrotto (much like Playmobil ) have part numbers for EVERY single bit going into a head.
So now I've ordered that one part I need to make it work again, and will be replacing it myself.

That's part of what you are paying for.

In Gitzos case, those newer Traveller and mountaineer tripods will handle weather and bruising a lot better than a Benro.

So... cry once, and get the best. 10 years from now, you'll be happy you did.

 

[chrysoberyl]

Gitzo Traveller owners: can you confirm the ease of removing/replacing the center column? I very rarely extend the column on my Manfrotto, and would rather leave the column off if I get a Traveller.

Thanks,
John

 

[dcm]

Gitzo Traveller owners: can you confirm the ease of removing/replacing the center column? I very rarely extend the column on my Manfrotto, and would rather leave the column off if I get a Traveller.

Thanks,
John

It's trivial - I've done both on my 1542T. The biggest issue is inverting the legs when folding for the shortest length since the platform for the head no longer extends beyond the ends of the folded legs. You can always just travel with the center column removed for the most compact solution. I'll try to post a picture tonight.

 

[steven kessel]

After a lot of thought I went out last spring and bought a Vanguard Alta Pro 253CT tripod and put an Oben BE117T bullhead on it. The rig has functioned absolutely perfectly for me. It is sufficiently lightweight that I can carry it easily into the field. It is easily adjustable and rock steady. And, it certainly seems to be durable.

Now, this is not a tripod I'd use with a 600mm lens. But, it's not really intended for that sort of heavyweight use. It is just right for what I do tripod mounted -- closeup photography and the occasional landscape.

The whole outfit cost me a bit more than $300 as I recall. It was money that was very, very well spent.

 

[dolina]

Saying bad things about Benro in the Philippines can cause torch and pitchfork crowd to appear.

Even if it's 1,000% true. ;D

Gitzo's worth it if what you are supporting costs more than $3,000 worth of gear or a project you can't fail.

 

[wsheldon]

I've never personally had a tripod fail outright, but I've upgraded through the years from Slik, to Bogen/Manfrotto, to Gitzo and now to RRS. Each iteration has brought a little more stability and a lot more usability for the extra money. The 3-series RRS I'm now using as my main tripod is built like a precision instrument and will probably outlast me (or at least my field tromping days). It's a true joy to use and definitely worth it to me.

That said I did pick up a little MeFoto (=Benro) Roadtrip and I have to say that's a pretty decent travel tripod for the money. Time will tell how it holds up, but hopefully I'll never need parts for it based on the anecdotes from earlier in this thread

 

[Jan van Holten]

I'am using Gitzo tripods fo many years already and are pretty happy with the quality. But concerning the introduction of very usable new features like anti leg rotation, you'll need a lot of patience.
What I also don't understand from this company is that a large part of their tripod-heads really sucks, ecspecially with the high prices one have to pay for them. They can do (I hope) a much better job with that. Tried two weeks ago an Ballhead, but gave it back immediatly. It was not smooth operating at all.

 

[dcm]

Overrated really depends on your needs. I got along quite fine for years with a hand-me-down Manon 600 and my Canon A1. I tried a cheap, lightweight aluminum/plastic tripod for a while but went back to the Manon. I often make a low-midrange purchase the first time, then get highend gear when I really get into something. I always seem to have willing recipients for my hand-me-downs.

Shortly after I got into digital I found my needs expanding (hiking/travel/...) and picked up a Gitzo 1542T after a lot of research. I've used it alot for several years with no problems. I knew that I would eventually need a more stable tripod (astro/wildlife/...) and finally picked up a Gitzo 3532LS when it was clear the 1542T wasn't the best platform for my 6D/Tamron 150-600. I consider these investments that will likely last my lifetime - maybe a bit of a splurge but definitely not overrated.

I looked seriously at the RRS offerings recently but don't think I would gain anything over my current tripods. I haven't yet upgraded my old manfrotto monopod, but I'll likely replace it with gitzo or RRS someday.

I do have RRS heads (ball and mono) and plates since I chose to go ARCA. I have a Jobu gimbal for the Tamron which I'd probably upgrade to RRS if I ever get a great white. I still have a Gitzo fluid head that I use ocassionally for video, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone serious about video.

 

[Loswr]

That said I did pick up a little MeFoto (=Benro) Roadtrip

I looked at that...picked one up in a shop, loosened one set of leg locks, and the bottom leg section slid right out and fell to the floor. I reassembled it, and left the shop quite happy that I'd already purchased the RRS TQC-14 as a travel tripod to supplement my TVC-33.

 

[wsheldon]

That said I did pick up a little MeFoto (=Benro) Roadtrip

I looked at that...picked one up in a shop, loosened one set of leg locks, and the bottom leg section slid right out and fell to the floor. I reassembled it, and left the shop quite happy that I'd already purchased the RRS TQC-14 as a travel tripod to supplement my TVC-33.

I recall you mentioning that in an older post, but this one has been pretty solid so far. Time will tell, but my bank account wasn't ready to spend on a TQC-14 this soon after buying a TVC-34L, macro rail with lens mount and leveling base (ouch, ouch, ouch) so it was a calculated risk.

 

[dcm]

Gitzo Traveller owners: can you confirm the ease of removing/replacing the center column? I very rarely extend the column on my Manfrotto, and would rather leave the column off if I get a Traveller.

Thanks,
John

It's trivial - I've done both on my 1542T. The biggest issue is inverting the legs when folding for the shortest length since the platform for the head no longer extends beyond the ends of the folded legs. You can always just travel with the center column removed for the most compact solution. I'll try to post a picture tonight.

The first photo shows the folded traveler with the legs tucked under the top plate. The center column is extended before folding the legs upwards. The center column is three pieces that can easily be removed by hand as shown in the first photo - no tools required.

The end pieces of the center column can be assembled without the shaft as shown in the second photo (for low level set), but the result cannot be folded quite as compactly. Folding the legs down results in a longer arrangement. Folding the legs upwards as you normally would results in interference from the plate so the legs don't close. You would need to remove the plate to fold it completely. You can get a shorter replacement shaft for the center column but you will still have the folding issue.

 

[chrysoberyl]

@ dcm: Explicit - thanks very much! For extensive hikes I can live with the legs folded down to save on weight, although I'll first see what the weight difference is. Next, I'll have to decide on which Markins Q3 - lever or screw. But I'm sure there is a separate thread on that.

Again, thanks!
John

 

[RustyTheGeek]

I removed my post because after fact checking, I was mistaken.

Man, don't you hate that! Start a post, do a lot of looking and research to support your important point only to find that you were wrong all along. Fold up tent... go home! (Click, browser window closed....) :-\

 

[dcm]

@ dcm: Explicit - thanks very much! For extensive hikes I can live with the legs folded down to save on weight, although I'll first see what the weight difference is. Next, I'll have to decide on which Markins Q3 - lever or screw. But I'm sure there is a separate thread on that.

Again, thanks!
John

The weight savings isn't that much, 900g versus 1000g. I was looking to save weight while hiking as well. The question becomes how small and light can you go while still meeting your needs. The Gitzo GT-531 tabletop CF tripod was a possible alternative at 410g when I got serious about shaving weight, but it is much shorter at 26" and holds less weight. I would use it sitting. It looks discontinued now. There are other tabletop tripods, monopods, etc. to consider, but I often found I could rest my camera on my pack or a rock so I don't carry a tripod anymore when hiking.

To really save weight I got the EOS M and EF-M lenses. I don't carry my FF kit on the trail as much, particularly on long hikes.