roamingstudio Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 I am in the process of making final decisions for my next tripod :) and am heavily leaning towards a Gitzo 2530 LVL... or 3 series systematic. However I often take photos in water, snow and ice. My old tripod (now broken) has some nice rusty screws - but never had locking / jamming issues (despite going into sea, and deep snow). Using the search engine here picked up articles related to water / locking etc which were mainly dated from 1999->2004. Now that there are many new updated Carbon fibre products (Gitzo GT2530LVL; Manfrotto; Velbon Sherpa Pro 645; Slik 713), and I wondered whether many of these issues have been fixed? Ideally I would take the Gitzo; but if I end up destroying it due to over-water exposure then I would rather go for a cheaper model and destroy that first ;-) Any thoughts? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennett_richards Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 I believe that the Gitzo 6X carbon series are impervious to just about everything but a hacksaw... They are heavily used by the Nature photography people... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
younes Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 I have just done these tests with my gitzo 1228 over the past 6 weeks: saltwater, lakes, sand, snow, ice...and although I can`t say it really liked these elements very much, it has withstood them perfectly well. The only problem that I found is that upon long stays in water (specially cold) it becomes a little bit hard to extend...The sand does invade the locking system and makes a horrible grinding sound, but upon (easy) cleaning of the tripod, all is back to normal. Hope this helps. (btw, I would strongly recommend getting some foam padding if you shoot in cold conditions, as it turns out, CF tripods become just as cold as their metal counterparts!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne_haas Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Check-out http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/tripod/ and/or http://www.dutchhill.com/products/p900.html for an alternative that may suit your needs perfectly. I find the Dutch Hill P900 great for shooting in snow, water, etc. since its leg locking mechanism(s) are at the top of the legs (just below the tripod head) rather than closer to the bottom as they would be in a not-fully-extended Gitzo: this eliminates the problem of fouling the locking collars of the lower leg segments with snow, water, sand, etc. The primary drawback to the Dutch Hill tripod, however, is that they are comparatively more cumbersome to carry as they do not collapse as compactly as tripods that have multi-segmented legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I have a Gitzo G-1227 and a GT-3540 CF tripods, which I use in snow, water and occasionally mud and sand without lasting problems. The only metal parts in a Gitzo CF are the collars and mating threaded extensions. I just wipe mine dry after use in snow or water. I would rinse them after use in salt water, particularly if the threads got wet. I leave the tripod extended until I can rinse any mud off. Sand in the threaded collars is a bigger problem, so avoid burying the legs in sand. Occasional use in sand with the bottom section extended does not make a problem. Water inside the legs would make the action stiff. The tolerances are very tight (about 0.003 inches), so a film of water creates a lot of friction, but no permanent damage. The "Systematic" tripod is a lot more versatile than others. I use a GT-3540 with a G-1321 leveling head. The action is much simpler and more stable than the LVL column on the Series 2. I have an aluminum column, but seldom use it. Series 3 columns fit both aluminum and CF tripods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank uhlig Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 The proper tripods for your applications are made of wood. Search here and you will see what they use in Antarctica ... And possibly for light "rough use" the Gitzos will suffice for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_skomial Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Manfrotto 458 B Neotec tripod has inverted legs, that can easily get submerged deep up to the length of the bottom section. Not sure if that was Manfrotto or vendor advertising this special feature, that no other tripod has. Neotec is another unique feature of that tripod. It is not a carbon fiber so is a bit heavier. Costs for the legs only is about $350. Due to the Neotec design it can be operated with single hand. It was reported used by a person recovered after stroke, with limitted strength in one hand and some motion limitation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 The only thing I dislike is no spiked feet on my Gitzo. I added bicycle handlebar tape on the top section as insulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roamingstudio Posted October 30, 2007 Author Share Posted October 30, 2007 Thanks to all replies above; it certainly sounds like occasional water / snow / ice with a good tripod is no longer an issue (lots of old Gito threads talked about cardboard based locking getting frozen). I love the idea of a decent wooden tripod: indeed I love well manufactured wood of anytype. It is something I will look into further. I wonder when tripods will be built like airplane wings using lightweight honeycomb material? The inverted legs of the Neotec idea is great... much easier to adjust. I wonder why it was not adopted by the world-and-wife? Perhaps there is a restriction of torsional stability with the upper legs being thinner? Just a pity the tripod weighs in at 2.4kg. http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/cache/off/pid/2280?livid=68|69&idx=72 So thanks for all info and opening my eyes more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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