Gitzo GT2540LLVL leveling tripod and Manfrotto 410 geared head

[Guillermo Luijk]

Hi all,

I am considering the purchase of the Gitzo GT2540LLVL leveling carbon tripod and the Manfrotto 410 geared head.

 



The main use will be architecture and interiors photography using a Canon 5D and TS-E and zoom lenses. I am also interested in landscape and pano photography.

The reasons for considering the expensive Gitzo is a light tripod for a lifetime. I find very useful the leveling column since I hate to struggle with my present tripod to have it horizontally balanced. I don't like too much the fact that it's a 4-section tripod though.

As for the head, I have been told the Manfrotto equipment is not so long lasting, but the 410 head seems a good choice for my camera equipment and intended use. In the future I could add a pano head and some pano stuff.

Any comments, suggestions or alternative options are welcome.

Regards

[geesbert]

the 410 is a great head, i was using one for many years with a manfrotto 058 tripod, which is a hevy beast, but very nice to work with in heights for 40 to 150cm. I had to replace the 410 about a year ago, because the gears had worn out, but I had used it for a long time on a nearly daily basis.
 I only took it out when i was working with an assistant, as it was just too heavy. for working on my own I bought the 2540 without the leveling, but somehow with a 410 head the tripod is not rigid enough. it is ok with two sections extracted, but with three or worse with four the whole thing starts to wobble. so for this tripod I now use a RRS BH45, which is just like it was made for it.

good things about the 410: reasonably priced, easy to use, pretty precise, not too heavy (for a geared head)
bad things: a bit tricky to mount an Arca-style clamp to it, a bit play in the gears, gears wear out after thousands of hours of use, the camera has to be reversed sometimes to reach fully up or down.

good things about the gitzo: reasonably priced, easy to use, pretty precise, very light, beautifully made
bad things: not as rigid, makes you lust for a carbon fibre tripod

one thing which is a total must with any geared head is a L-plate. only with the camera on top of the head all movements are possible.

once you started using a geared head you won't go back.

my current setup: Gitzo 3341xls with an Acratech leveling base and a Multiflex head. indecently expensive, but probably the last tripod I will buy (hopefully!)

[Guillermo Luijk]

Thanks for your comments Stefan, I was also wondering if those 4-section legs from the Gitzo would be robust enough for this head. In general I would prefer longer sections but just 3 with the last one being thicker.

I found another option, similar in price (a bit lower in fact), but looks more robust, the FEISOL CT-3372LV: it's a 3-section carbon tripod with leveling base, of the same height as the Gitzo up to the base, but column extending up to 193cm which is more than the Gitzo 2540. Weight up to 12Kg like the Gitzo, priced 529 EUR (just $578 for the USA!):




I am a bit puzzled about chosing the tripod. I even consider again the possibility of a much cheaper Manfrotto 055 XPRO B, addingn perhaps a leveling plate or column:



Any more thoughts?

Thanks

[geesbert]

the 055 is a much inferior tripod, though not really bad at all.

having a leveling base between column and head works ok, but the advantage of having it build in is that once leveled, any vertical movement of the column doesn't mean horizontal shift.

the Acratech leveling base is quite nice, not too expensive and as I know the one with the lowest profile.

[stever]

i have the relatively small and light Feisol CT-3441S and am pretty satisfied with the design and construction.  I think the Feisol is worthy of consideration, but would not want to raise the center column on it (or any other tripod) much for critical work.