Well I finally bit the bullet and
bought myself a Gitzo carbon fibre tripod for my 4x5 portrait work. For the
last 5 years or so I have hemmed and hawed, bought cheap chinese carbon tripods
looked at the Gitzos online but never purchased one. I was looking on ebay
for the longest time to a used Gitzo carbon fiber that had a geared center post
(something Jock Sturges recommended to me for portrait work, he said it was
essential). Today at long last I found a tripod that I think (hope!) will work
for me. The tripod is a Gitzo G1325 carbon fiber with a G338 Studex compact
geared center column, it is supposed to be in 9++ almost new condition and
cost me $595USD plus shipping.
My rationales for buying it:
1) My cheaper Chinese tripod broke
down and I glued it together in Thai 2 years ago. I am always worried I will be
in the middle of no where making photos sometime and it will break down again.
2) This tripod has a geared center
column, something that is very important for quick compositions in the field
while your subject is waiting. I should be able to set this tripod up quickly
and compose smoothly and with little effort.
3) The tripod has 3 quick release
legs not 4. The 4 leg quick release design is usually more compact but its a
pain in the ass to use, I much prefer the 3 quick release (my cheap Chinese
tripod has 3). You can quite often set up your tripod by quickly unscrewing and
tightening 3 legs not 6.
4) The tripod is extremely light,
and its very well made, its a fricking Gitzo! I should get years of
shooting, maybe a lifetime of shooting out of this thing. I have never been
disappointed when I pay a bit more to get the best made gear, hopefully this
purchase will continue that trend. When your in Thailand standing in a
rice field, photographing a group of farmers, under the 30C burning hot sun, 15
hours by multiple bumpy buses from Bangkok you want something that's not going
to break down on you!
Even thou this is a used second
hand item (as is 95% of my equipment) I have high hopes for it. I hope to use
it in Asia with not only my Linhof 4x5 but also with the Linhof 5x7 for many
many years to come. It has a 26 pound load capacity so I think it
can handle both cameras. I plan to shoot the crap out of this
thing, $595 is a lot of money for me, but sometimes you just go for it whent he
opportunity presents itself. When I make my first good portrait with this
new tripod i will soon forget about the cost.
Kind of ironic that I got the
tripod I always wanted and the 90mm Nikon lens I wanted, and this coming trip I
will not take the fricking 4x5!! Maybe I need to change my mind again.
