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Any tripod junkies ?

Downunder

Well-Known Member
Never mind lightweight and all that carbon-fibre nonsense, I'm old school - I have Berlebach Report, UNI and even Planet.
Then stumbled on this beastie... Stabila 08560 Tripods 27" - 66" Elevator

Had me weak at the knees... oh my...
 
Not too far off it. That's a construction tripod though.

My Manfrotto weighs in at just on 12 lbs with the gimbal head and it goes to a total height of 89". The center column is a geared self locking solid steel version. What you have there would work fine with laser levels and might be fine here for the lenses. I'm happy though with what I have.

It's just a tool and nothing to get excited about ;)

Danny.
 
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I bought a monopod recently and I already have two tripods. One is a cheap Slik travel tripod that I don't use much anymore, and the other is a Peak Design travel tripod which is really cool. I don't tend to use tripods very much, even though I need something heavier for my Pentax-A* 600mm f5.6 lens (3280g, 7.2#).
 
I have a bucky from 3legged thing - well worth the money I spent IMHO
 
In 1986 I bought one of the biggest tripods from Manfrotto that I could. It is the 074. I bought it anticipating eventually getting into medium, which I did. It also got me through 4x5 as well. Now I use it for sports with an 800mm lens, as well as for shifting and stitching landscapes and architecture, and more recently for astrophotography. I have even hiked up to 10 kilometres with it! I finally upgraded from the 029 three way head to a geared head a couple of years ago and I am astonished by the difference.

I have considered carbon fibre but now I hear they are not as stable.
 
Now, I generally hate tripods, but there are times when they are useful and/or needed. I've given away several tripods, but I do have at least 5 still in the house, including a new travel tripod that I bought this year.

At one point I was looking for a larger tripod for a hobby project. All of the photo or video tripods were more expensive than I wanted to pay. I also dabble in hobby electronics, and I was browsing at the electronics store in my area (you-do-it). In pre-covid times they had a second floor dedicated to selling music systems and TV monitors. I noticed there that they had tripods meant for handling speaker systems that were very sturdy and were a lot cheaper than the photo/video tripods. Sure the high end photo/video tripods have a lot of features, but if you are looking for a basic tripod that can hold a lot of weight or is taller than the normal tripod, you might want to wander over to stores dedicated to DJ's and such.

You might need to do some adjustments to get it to handle cameras. In the speaker tripod I got a few years ago, I remember adding a plywood board that attached to the tripod and it had a hole drilled for the 1/4-20" or 3/8" screw to attach a tripod ball or video head.

It is similar to the 'photo vests'. Things labeled 'photo vest' tend to be priced higher, but if you go to a big box store like Walmart and go into the fishing section, you might see similar vests that can hold a lot of stuff at a much cheaper price.
 
I regularly use a Sigma 50-500 DG OS HSM for wildlife, but I’ve only ever used it hand held.
I do have a tripod though, but I’ve only ever used it for group people photos (especially if I’m in the group and using a wireless remote to trigger the DSLR).
 
I had a severe case of "tripodcollectivitis" for a number of years. I started out in the 70's when I bought a Sunset tripod with tilt-column. The workmanship was a bit poor, but my dad took it to his workshop and had it literally rebuilt. That one lasted for years. However, in the 80's, I bought a Bogen 3035 with a 3047 head, and from there I bought tripods regularly for a number of years. I acquired Bogen 3051, 3046, 3001, 3021, a Manfrotto 475B, and all manner of three-way heads. I also accumulated a Slik 67 prototype, but strangely, never bought a Tiltall. By early in 2022, I'd amassed some twenty very good quality tripods. At that time I bought a Manfrotto 055 CF, and then an Induro CT303 (now Benro CLT303). After using those two, the aluminum tripods were going to be history. My local used dealer made me an offer, and I accepted. My favorite heads had been the Bogen 3047, but I let those go in favor of the Manfrotto MHXPRO3W.

Besides my two CF tripods, I still have three aluminum models that I keep for around the house and nostalgia - Leitz Tiltall Explorer, Vivitar 1321, Slik 67 Prototype. The Vivitar had been on my "get" list for years, since the 70's. I ran across a mint-condition one for $40.
 
I suppose " tripod junkie" describes me to a certain degree. "Support-system junkie" might be a more accurate description.

I presently have a Sirui monopod,, several Manfrotto aluminum tripods (718b,724b, 294A3, and several Gitzo carbon-fiber models ranging from a 1-series GT-1542 Mountaineer,, a 2-series GT-2545T Traveller, a 3-series GT-3542XLS Systematic,, a 4-series GT-4552TS "Traveller-Systematic", and a 5-series GT-5532S Systematic.

My current ball-heads include a pair of Gitzo GH-1382QD, and a GH-3382QD, My gimbal-head is a Jobu-Design BWG-HDPro.

I also have a bunch of light-stands in the form of KUPO C-stands and roller-stands, as well as several boom stands. While used mostly as light-modifier stands, they also function as camera stands with the right adapters. I also have a fairly wide range of flashes/strobes, etc., up to 600WS.
 
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