Step Up To Gitzo

Gitzo is a familiar name in professional photography as one of the finest tripods legs and tripod heads you can buy. Gitzo is essentially the high end tripod line for Manfrotto Bogen, an even more familiar name in photography. No one will argue that Manfrotto Bogen makes a fine, rugged and durable tripod. In fact, a Manfrotto Bogen is so good, you have to wonder why anyone would pay so much more for a Gitzo. The fact remains, though, when you want the best in a tripod or tripod head, you go to Gitzo.

So what makes Gitzo so good and, of course, so expensive? For the most part it is the technology and it is this tripod technology that makes possible a tripod system that breaks the rules when it comes to conventional tripod performance, especially in the tripod weight to payload ratio. For instance, check out the Manfrotto Bogen tripod leg set, Bogen Manfrotto Carbon Fiber 190CX. This excellent Manfrotto Bogen leg set is at the upper end of the Manfrotto Bogen tripod line and weighs in at 2.95 pounds for the 4 section model and offers a payload of 11 pounds. Price, as of this writing, is in the neighborhood of $300. That's hardly cheap, but the specs are very good. Now, compare that to a Gitzo GT0541 carbon leg set and you get the same 11 pound payload at nearly HALF the weight of the 190CX! Go to the Gitzo GT2541 and you get the same weight as the 190 CX, but you more than double the payload to an amazing 26.4 pounds! Of course, the Gitzo 0541 will cost an additional $150 and the GT2541 will more than double the price of the Manfrotto Bogen Carbon Fiber 190CX, but if you want that performance, it is there.

We see the same performance jump in Gitzo tripod heads. The bread and butter video head in the Manfrotto Bogen line has always been the 128RC (formerly the 3130). There are probably more high end spotting scopes sitting on this head than any other tripod head ever made and, rightfully so. The 128RC is smooth, very rugged and ... heavy. It does have a payload of 8.9 pounds - enough for any spotting scope or long telephoto lens - but it also weighs 2.3 pounds. That's no lightweight head. Need to get that weight off the tripod? Try the Gitzo G2180 video head and you get the same payload, but you cut that tripod head weight nearly in half to 1.26 pounds. The G2180 also gets you a very useful counterbalance system that is perfect for a spotting scope with a camera hanging off the end and, like all Gitzo heads, you get the finest in the way of smoothness and well designed controls. In fact, the Gitzo G2180 may be the finest spotting scope heads ever made.

Another hallmark of the Gitzo line is the Gitzo model system. Those model designations may seem confusing, at first, but when you see how it is all put together, that label says it all. This is how the Gitzo system works.

First, you have the Gitzo Series number. In the leg sets, a specific Gitzo Series begins with the diameter of the first leg section - a higher series corresponds to better torsional rigidity (resistance to twisting), higher max load capacity and greater potential height.

In actual measurement, it goes like this:

• Series 00 = Tabletop line, 16mm leg diameter
• Series 0 = Weekend line, 20mm leg diameter
• Series 1 = Sport line, 24mm leg diameter
• Series 2 = Reporter, 28mm leg diameter
• Series 3 = Studex line, 32mm leg diameter
• Series 4 = Pro Studex line, 37mm leg diameter
• Series 5 = Tele Studex, 41mm leg diameter

Gitzo also rates their tripods as to maximum leg height, though you can get more height on most models by extending a center column. It goes like this:

• Tabletop (offered in series 00)
• Compact - max height under 51" (offered in series 0)
• Standard - around 51" or chest level (offered in series 1,2,3,4)
• Eye - around 60" on leg height (offered in series 2, 3, 5)
• Over head - 72" or higher (offered in series 3,5)

That's all very nice, but how does it relate to camera lenses and spotting scopes? Gitzo does it for you, here, as well. These are the minimums, based on a standard SLR lens sizes, but you can always play it safe and go with something heavier if you don't mind carrying it and paying for it.

Lens, camera, spotting scope size

• Series 00
• • - 24mm focal length lens
  • - small digital point and shoots
• Series 0
• • - 75mm focal length lens
  • - small digital point and shoots
• Series 1
• • - 135mm focal length lens
  • - small and mid-size digital point and shoots
  • - 60-70mm spotting scopes
• Series 2 (Bogen 128RC class)
• • - 200mm focal length lens
  • - 80-85mm spotting scopes
  • - large, high optical zoom digital point and shoots
  • - all SLRs and DSLRs with medium focal length lenses
• Series 3
• • - 300mm focal length lens
  • - big 100mm spotting scopes
  • - all SLRs and DSLRs with long focal length lenses
• Series 4
• • - 400mm focal length lens
  • - medium format
• Series 5
• • - 500mm focal length lens
  • - medium and large format

Gitzo Heads

I have always preferred the lower profile of a video head when using a spotting scope or camera with a long telephoto. A good video head, also called a 2 way head gets its name simply from the fact that it adjusts in just two directions: up and down, for one, and right and left, for the other. That's all you need for a camcorder or video camera and also for a spotting scope. In a Gitzo, this is the famous G2180.

Three way heads have an extra platform that allows you to quickly flip the camera on its side to take vertical framed shots or to take pics of subjects under the tripod. This is the traditional tripod head used with cameras. When not using that third platform, the 3 way head adjusts and moves exactly like a two way head. In a Gitzo, you can see the conventional these are the found in the Low Profile series and include the G2270M, G2271M, G2272M, and G1570m.

Ball heads have always been something of a Holy Grail for photographers. Imagine a head that instantly and effortlessly allows you to move the camera or spotting scope in any direction and position it in nearly any angle, then lock it down with only one knob. There is nothing faster or simpler to use than a ball head, but IF, and only IF, you are using a really good ball head. A poor ball head is a disaster. One problem is mount sag, sometimes called drift angle in more technical crowds. In other words, you lock the head down, let go, only to discover that the head has drifted ever so slightly when you let go, but it is enough to ruin your framing and/or at very high magnifications with a spotting scope, the object may no longer be in the field of view. There is more of a tendency for this to happen in a ball head because you are depending on only one lock to hold the head in position, rather than two locks as with a two-way or three-way head. The other issue with ball heads is weight. In order to handle a heavy load, you need a larger ball and the larger the load, the larger the ball needed.

The good news is that Gitzo has solved both of these issues. Drift angle is minimal in any Gitzo ball head due to their superb locking system and weight is minimized by using a hollow ball!

Want some of the features of all three types of Gitzo heads in one Gitzo tripod head? Try one of their unique Off-center Ball heads like the GH2750QR. You can pan, horizontally, like a video head, go vertical lie a 3 way head and get into action, fast, like a typical ball head. That's Gitzo engineering for you.