Light Sturdy Tripod - Carbon Fiber?

[Tom V]

I am interested in getting a good sturdy lightweigt tripod. Carbon Fiber seems like the way to go. Before I get suddenly run out and get the first one I come across...

Anyone out there have a carbon tripod? How do you like it? Is the ligher weight worth the cost to you? What brand / model do you use? How long have you had it? How much do you use it? How is it holding up? Would you recommend one (and which one)?

Naturally, I would put my Fuji S2 on top!

[Ron Green]

Tom:
I have a very spendy Mamiya (yes you read it right, they make fishing poles too) Carbon fiber tripod that weighs next to nothing. The little "Ultimate" ball head ( http://acratech.net/prod01.htm ) is lightweight, weighs less than a pound and is expensive. It accepts Arca Swiss type plates. Together this is a very light combination. Therein lies the problem. You need to hang bricks on it to make it sturdy.

Sometimes I use the combo as a monopod, but basically I prefer the old Gitzo with an Arca Swiss ball. Strong, sturdy, and I can still lug it. If I have a long hike in I put it on my Sherpa Cart ( http://www.sherpacart.com/ ) which has proved to be a much better investment than my $750 "lightweight" tripod.

Ron

[rbeckerelite]

I use a Hakuba brand carbon fiber set of legs with a Sinar Mini Super Ball Head.

I originally bought this set for my 4x5 field camera. It works quite well for that camera, my medium format and my S2.

Carbon fiber is amazing material.

One word of warning... if you ever should break a carbon fiber leg, don't try to fix it. The carbon fiber material is razor sharp when broken. Think of plate glass. Just be careful.

Randy

[steve bingham]

Velbon Carmagne was my choice years ago - still is. Comes as 4 section or 3 section version. The 4 section is more compact, the 3 section taller. This is my second one. The first one is somewhere deep in the Colorado mountains. If you find it, please notify me for your free dinner at the Black Agnus.

I LOVE it.

[bjnicholls]

I'm a carbon believer. The tripods are lighter and they are more "dead" than aluminum pods.

I've owned a Manfrotto 441, a Gitzo carbon Explorer (great flexibility for macro work), and now a Gitzo 1348 model. The 1348 is super solid and capable of handling big, heavy lenses. But it's big and on the heavy side for hiking.

Manfrotto has introduced a line they call the mDeVe that they target at video camera users, but that I'm looking at for the lightweight leveling center column design. I'm shooting panoramas so this leveling feature can save a lot of fussing with micro leg length adjustments to get a level pan.

http://www.bogenphoto.com/image/pressrelease/man_mdeve.jpg

Here's a link to the model 754 tripod:

http://www.bogenphoto.com

Instead of buying the 754, I'm getting another 3443 and buying the leveling column from B&H (model 554). For about the same price, this gives me two center columns. The one that comes with the 3443 is lighter and has the widget that lets you adapt the tripod for use with no column. The 3443 also comes with a shoulder strap and retractable spikes that don't come with the 754.

I can't afford this and my Gitzo, so I'll test the new combo and see which I'll keep.

[teski]

Hey Tom -

This is the combo that I got at Christmas time, and I couldn't be happier! It isn't cheap but I don't get any creap with my S2 and heavier lenses like the 28-70 or 80-200. The combo is light and super solid.

Here's the Gitzo:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh3.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist _html___276822___GIG1228J___REG___CatID=0___SID=F3 D0CE1B2F0

And here's the Kirk BH-3:

http://www.kirkphoto.com/ballheadbh3.html

Teski