In the time that I have been shooting landscapes, I have been through several tripods, some were used for years and some for just a couple of hours before being cast aside. In this blog we will look at whether a cheap tripod is up for the job or not. This blog will look solely at Tripod legs as they are the most important (and expensive) part of the tripod. I will cover tripod heads in a separate blog. One thing that you might notice is that I put spiked feet on all my tripods, this is because I only use my tripods outdoors and find that they make it a lot more stable, especially when working on soil and mud.
The First Tripod (Cost: 10 Euro)
The first tripod I purchased was a cheap aluminium (Read: Tin foil) tripod, back then I had no idea of the issues that can plague tripods, so it seemed logical to spend as little as possible on an object which ultimately was there to just hold the camera still….
I quickly realised this tripod was absolutely useless, as it couldn’t even hold my mobile phone still for a time-lapse, let alone a DSLR camera with a heavy lens.
The 2nd and 3rd Tripods (Cost: 100 Euros)
I searched the internet and came across a Carbon fiber tripod with a small ball head which I felt was reasonably priced. I bought this tripod and used it with great success for several years. This tripod is remarkably similar to loads of other entry level travel tripods on the market, such as the ones from K&F concept, Zomei, MeFoto, Benro, Shoot, Marsace, etc etc. Considering the amount of abuse this tripod put up with, it was definitely good bang for my buck! This tripod has seen it all! Salt water, sand, clay, dust, falling from height and being tossed about in the back of my car. I removed the center column to enable me to get lower down for those epic shots with interesting foreground. This is actually still my secondary tripod today when travelling.
A closeup of the Diat Carbon tripod spider.
I liked the Diat Carbon tripod so much that I actually bought the slightly heavier aluminium version to use for time-lapses and storm chasing. The Carbon version was almost too light, it was great for travelling with and carrying on arduous hikes, but it was more of a liability when it was windy. The Aluminium version was identical in every way (Same locking mechanisms, same bushes and same spider and head) but was heavier due to being made out of aluminium.
Last year, before heading to Iceland, I decided to breathe some more life into the Diat carbon tripod, I swapped the bushes from the aluminium tripod into it. This worked a treat and the Carbon tripod became much smoother to operate once again.
The 4th Tripod (Cost: 350 Euros)
After a lot of hard use, the leg locks of the Diat carbon tripod began to stick and the legs wouldn’t pop out freely anymore, this can be very frustrating when trying to set up in a hurry; I had also had a couple of near misses with the wind, so I decided to buy what I thought would be the last tripod I would ever buy, I bought a Manfrotto 055CXPRO Carbon Fibre tripod and a Manfrotto XPRO magnesium ball head. Just by looking at this tripod you could see it was in a completely different class than the cheaper Diat tripods. The Carbon legs were polished; they were thicker and significantly more rigid. The flip locks were firm and secure and the tripod was much taller than my previous ones.
The Manfrotto Tripod worked a treat for about a year, but then it all went wrong…. The flip locks on the legs developed a mind of their own and would just flip open whenever they so desired, usually at the most frustrating moments (Like after 10 minutes of dialing in a perfect composition). The spring loaded knobs in the head would just unscrew themselves, and if you lost the tiny spring that pops out when this happens, it was be a nightmare to replace. The horizontal center column was very poorly designed, as it if you weren’t careful when setting it up, the whole assembly would come apart, spewing small parts everywhere. If you lost any of the tiny parts, you wouldn’t be able to use the tripod until you got them replaced (Which can take a while…). This happened to Fred when we were shooting sunrise, and since then, I was always hesitant to use the horizontal center column.
After putting up with these frustrations for months, I ordered replacement flip locks and new bushes and set about servicing the tripod. I dismantled it and reassembled it before my most recent trip to Iceland. After the service, the tripod felt much better, smoother to open the legs and the flip locks seemed secure and firm once again. Brilliant! Or so I thought…
On the first night in Iceland, whilst photographing a time-lapse of the Northern Lights, one of the leg locks randomly decided to spring open, causing my poor Nikon D810 to come crashing to the ground, and in the process snapping the lens right out of the body. It was at this point that I swore to never buy another Manfrotto designed tripod!
I was in Iceland for another 11 days, and thanks to a ridiculously poorly designed tripod, I now could not use my main camera. For the rest of the trip, I relied on my old Diat Carbon tripod, I’m so glad I had brought it along!
After sulking about my broken camera for few days, I spent the rest of the trip looking for bigger and better tripods online. From all the research I had done and having seen a fellow photographer using one, I decided to buy a Gitzo tripod. The build quality and rigidity were just incredible, it made my once super Manfrotto 055CXPro3 look like a bashed up car sat in the scrap yard.
As soon as I returned, I ordered the Gitzo GT3543XLS tripod from my local dealer.
Comparison between the Gitzo GT3543 and Diat carbon tripod.
The 5th and final Tripod (Cost: 700 Euros)
The GT3543XLS is one of Gitzo’s ‘systematic’ tripods, Gitzo’s strongest and most stable tripods, built for professional use. It does not have a center column, instead, the top casting element opens and closes to allow different configurations and Systematic accessories to be used.
A close up of the Gitzo GT3543 spider.
There is no better way to describe the Gitzo GT3543XLS other than as an absolute BEAST! The maximum height is 202cm tall, this is more than 50cm taller than any other tripod I had used previously, (I don’t ever use centre columns on tripods because they are just not stable enough) and although this is much taller than I am, it is perfectly suited to shooting on uneven ground, where you can lose a lot of height when setting up other tripods. Considering the size, the tripod weighs a mere 2.29Kg, it isn’t what most people would consider ‘Traveler friendly’ though, with a closed length of 71cm. However I have no issues overlooking this fact as I know how much stable this tripod is than any other tripod I have used.
I chose to pair this tripod with the Sunwayfoto XB44 ballhead. This is the lowest profile ballhead I could find and is built like a tank, easy to use and silky smooth.
I have carried this tripod now on several trips, and although I have to put it in my checked bag (Hardcase) due to its size, I wouldn’t go for anything smaller as there really is no comparison between the sturdiness of this tripod.
Comparison between the size and design of the spiders of the Gitzo GT3543 and the Diat carbon tripod. You can see why the Gitzo is so much more rigid and sturdy, the whole spider is a wider diameter with a triangular shape as each mounting point is reinforced. The black cap is what makes this a ‘Systematic’ tripod and can be replaced with other parts such as video bowls or leveling bases.
From Left to Right: Diat Carbon Tripod, Manfrotto 055CXPRO, Gitzo GT3543XLS.
Having bought and tried various tripods over the years, I genuinely believe that you get what you pay for. Just to be clear, I’m not saying that cheaper tripods aren’t any good, you can still get fantastic shots with smaller and cheaper tripods, but if you are braving the toughest conditions in harsh places such as Iceland or the Dolomites, I would recommend investing in a support system which won’t let you down and won’t lead to you missing shots or risk damaging your expensive camera gear.
You might also be interested in the following:
The ultimate guide to buying a tripod