New Gitzo Systematic Tripods

New Systematic tripods from Gitzo.

New design for my favorite light weight tripod, the Mountaineer series 1, 3 section, this is the one I use for backpacking, It is tall enough, light weight and sturdy, I use a medium ball head by Acratech, although the new heads by Gitzo are now Arca Swiss compatible and may be a good solution at last.

The GT1542 offers a good light weight yet sturdy solution for those times you need a little less weight, this system will work for a DSLR or ILC with up to a 70-200 f/2.8 lens. I use it without the center column, by utilizing the ground kit.

I use the Series 3 here for day use and studio with a Kirk BH-1 ball head. The new 3 series now offer the 3/8-16 accessory link system, great for adding a lighting system, video monitor or other accessory. This tripod will hold any lens/camera combination you want.

Mountaineer spec sheet here 

Series 3 here

Buy it here at B and H GT1542

Buy it here at B and H GT3533S

Gitzo site here

Ross

Images In Light

Do we still need a tripod?

Image: Fuji X-T1, XF 18-55 f/2.8-4.0, 23mm at f/5.6, 1/5 sec,
hand held at ISO 6400.

The answer is a definitive maybe, it depends what your after, just fun images like the above one, then no, a large format print for your wall at home, that depends on the light. Hand holding a camera in low light takes a lot of practice to get sharp images and you still need high ISO's to get there, so we still have a ways to go.

Cameras like the X-T1 with image stabilized lenses are getting us close though, even with the slowdown in sensor technologies, its just a matter of time. However there are images that will always require a tripod, long exposure's just can't be reproduced in Photoshop and I'm a big fan of long exposure's, whether they are a few seconds or 20 minutes.

Image: 5D Mk III, EF24-70 f/2.8L II, 24mm, f/7.1, 8 sec.

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Ross

Images In Light

Getting low to the ground

Image: 5D Mk III, EF 24-70 f/2.8L II, 35mm at f/16, 1/50th sec, tripod.

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Image: 5D Mk III, EF 24-70 f/2.8L II, 28mm at f/16, 1/13th sec. tripod.

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Getting down low and looking before you set up your tripod is how a lot of my images are taken, I wish I had shot this with my tripod fully extended so I could demonstrate the difference, but let me tell you it was huge, there was a guy from California (tripod at eye level) next to me, taking a similar shot as me, when I stood up to see what the reflection was, the top of the mountain was just barely reflected in the water, my camera lens was about 8 inches off the ground, tripod legs spread out fully 90° from the camera and ball head.

I did point out the reflection to him, but he would have none of that, oh well, I tried, we did however commiserate for a time before heading down the trail.

It doesn't have to be a lake, a tarn or a snow melt or stream will work, bend over and check before setting up a tripod, most reflections are down low.

Image: 5D Mk III, EF 24-70 f/2.8L II, 30mm at f/16, 1/50th sec. tripod.

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No reflection but again I was down low getting my lens in the Alpine Heather, maybe 1 foot off the ground here focusing on the heather and shooting stopped down to f/16 for depth of field.

Ross

Images In Light

Tripods,Ball heads and L-Brackets

As a landscape photographer, there are some tools that you just have to have if you want to get sharp images: Tripod, Head, Bracket. There is a dizzying array of options out there. Lets start with the tripod, now keep in mind this is from a landscape point of view. I chose a Gitzo 6x carbon fiber 3 leg with a flat plate, the reason behind my choice, the G3530s was light weight, 3 leg extension for better stability, flat plate with no center column again for better stability, short folded up length and finally its ability to hold a large lens, as with everything it has its shortcomings but I found it to be the best compromise for my work. Next I needed a system for mounting my camera and the main system is the Arca-Swiss style mount which several manufacturers have adopted for use, including Arca Swiss, Really Right Stuff and Kirk Enterprises, just to name a few. My choice was with Kirk Enterprises, for cost, design and build. The BH-1 is simple and robust, it does what its intended and will stand up to being abused and keeps on ticking, even after a pretty good fall from the top of my jeep. One last item is the way you mount your camera to the ball head, you have two options with the mounting plate on the ball head a Single Plate or an L-Bracket, really its one choice and that is the L-bracket, this allows quick change from portrait to landscape mode, it also acts as a little roll cage for your camera as a little bonus (note: remote shutter release can still be used with L-bracket). With this set up you can backpack, shoot a city or do Panoramas or long exposures and you wont have to buy another set up for a long time, most photographers go through buying several before they figure out that they should have got a good one to start, including me. This will give you a rock solid mount at a reasonable cost and a good weight. A good alternative and less expensive ball head is the Gitzo with a Universal Quick Release Clamp installed on it, like the above image.

Ross Murphy Images In Light