Gitzo GT-2531 Mountaineer 6X Carbon Fiber Vs Induro Carbon 8X CT213 Tripod

<p>Good evening...<br /><br />Can/may anybody, please compare /have first hand opinions about these two tripods in regard with overall QUALITY and performance? (besides the US$ 200 of difference in price). Adds can stand almost any comparison, but not picky photographers... <br /><br />Thank you for your inputs...<br /><br /></p>

<p>I took both apart in the store and could not come up with any reason to spend more on the Gitzo. Taking into account Gitzo's skin-stripping twist-locks - the choice is a very easy one. Unless you just have to have a Gitzo. If you really want to go for broke - look at the RRS tripods.</p>

<p>Ditto what Dieter said. I made this same decision just last week, and I am very happy with the Induro CT213 so far. In fact, the Induro is so well made that there didn't seem to be any point to my comparing the two in detail. The Induro is just a little heavier than the Gitzo, but coming from the solid steel and lead construction of the Bogen 3001, I was delighted all around.</p>

<p>I hate twist leg locks with a passion so just got <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/584476-REG/Manfrotto_055CXPRO3_055CXPRO3_3_Section_Carbon_Fiber.html">one of these</a> on rebate at the moment. A very capable tripod.</p>

<p>It is $100 less than the Induro, it goes higher and lower too. They weigh practically the same and are the same length folded. Oh, and whilst the Induro and Gitzo might have a "load bearing" advantage, mine is well up to the job of a pro DSLR and 300 f2.8 with a 2xTC, or 30 second exposures with a wide angle.</p>

<p>Just a thought.</p>

<p>I used the Mountaineer for years (early version) and I never had any problems with the screw locks. They were slower than my other tripod's twist locks but those locks had to be tightened with a wrench every once in a while and the screw locks didn't. I very much liked the Gitzo.</p>

<p>You may want to check out Feisol too. http://www.feisol.net/feisol-traveler-tripod-ct3441s-rapid-p-38.html</p>

<p>I use both Benro and Gitzo tripods and and have experienced little difference between the two. Induro is an "upscale" Benro brand distributed in the US. You can get the equivalent Benro model through a mainland China dealer for about 20% less on average. The Benro equivalent of your choice is <a href="http://www.holgacamera.com/benro-c2570t-carbon-fiber-tripod/">the C2570T</a>. The 4 leg-section version with a slightly lower max height but shorter folded length is <a href="http://www.holgacamera.com/benro-c2580t-carbon-fiber-tripod/">the C2580T</a>.</p>

<p>I have the Gitzo 2541 and its rock solid and folds up a bit smaller then the 31. I have used the Manfrotos as well and they are also pretty good tripods. The Carbon versions are nice if you prefer the flip locks. I think either type of lock works fine once you get used to it. <br>

I never used the induro but I have heard good things about them from serious landscape shooters so I am sure they are worth a look.</p>

<p><em>Taking into account Gitzo's skin-stripping twist-locks...</em></p>

<p>The GT-2541 has the latest G-Loc collars, which require very little force to tighten and loosen. Once tightened, they will hold even if the collar loosens slightly, because the bushing are tapered and jam in place. They are keyed to the collar, and forcibly extracted, but only when you deliberately turn the collar. Furthermore the legs are keyed together to prevent rotation. This removes one of the annoying features of older Gitzo tripods, which required you to tighten the collars in a certain order.</p>

<p>For what it's worth, Gitzo tripods seem to last forever with no loss of performance. Twist collars are quiet and completely self-adjusting, unlike lever clamps. They are twice as strong and half the weight as comparable Manfrotto tripods, and Manfrotto has nothing to compare to #3 and larger Gitzo tripods. Gitzo aluminum tripod legs are pierced from the billet, drawn, hardened and machined, not extruded like lesser brands. One leg fits inside the other with a clearance of only 0.005", so they don't wobble at the joints. Gitzo CF tripods use different technology, but the tolerances and quality are the same. I've had my oldest Gitzo for 12 years, and it was 10 years old when I bought it. That works out to $10 a year. There's no going back for me.</p>

I'm with Edward in that people who complain about Gitzo's G-locks haven't used them enough. I own two Gitzos, and compared to every other tripod I've tried or used, they always amaze me with how pleasurable and quick they are to set up and break down, regardless of weather, temperature, gloves and other such things.

<p>I don't shoot in the cold or with gloves. I have used Gitzo's and hate them and all other tripods with twist lock legs.</p>

<p>I have not owned a tripod with the G-lock system but find it laughable that the only way they were improved was when the Chinese copies were made much better, with better development and engineering, than the originals. Sure they work, but the copies work just as well and showed Gitzo the errors in their engineering and design, further, the copies are cheaper and no less durable.</p>

<blockquote>I don't shoot in the cold or with gloves. I have used Gitzo's and hate them and all other tripods with twist lock legs.</blockquote>

 

<p>I dare suggest those two statements are related...</p>

 

<p>Might I ask what you find so horrible about twist locks?</p>

<p>I don't like twist locks either and would only use them if by doing so I'd be getting a tripod that would improve the sharpness of my photographs. I went through that discussion a year or so ago on Photo.net and no-one was willing to point to a source that demonstrated that Gitzo delivered extra performance to counterbalance their hefty price premium vs credible alternatives. If the picture quality is the same and I've just sold two Manfrottos that served me well with no hassles for a dozen years or more, there are no prizes for guessing that I also voted for a Manfrotto CF model ( though I have to say that I learned my lesson about their ballheads /QR systems as soon as I got a camera I had to turn on its side). My own experience tells me that I shouldn't take for gospel reliability contentions since my Manfrottos survived more than a decade of misuse unscathed.</p>

<p>I must have tried Gitzo demo models in stores twenty times over the years. I didn't find them comfortable to use and I didn't find them fast. But also, as I'm trying to get across here, I won't spend double what I have to spend on a tripod without understanding why. The fact that I also have to use a clumsier locking mechanism (IMO)just doesn't make that easier; if they have seen the light and changed the leg locks for something better thats great, now all they have to do is make some pretence of being vaguely competitively priced and I might yet get there.</p>

<p>B.J.,</p>

<p>They are almost certainly related, that is why I said them. In these threads I often come across as over opinionated, but really all I am doing is relating my personal experiences.</p>

<p>I, personally, do not shoot in the cold or with gloves, though I appreciate many do, however, I do shoot a lot in wet and slippery conditions, in those situations ring locks suck, big time. When you can't tell if the locking ring or your sweaty hand on that ring is turning, which might sound stupid out of context but no more stupid than the thought of wearing gloves in the tropics, twist locks just don't work as well as levers. I have overtightened twist rings so often thinking it was my hand slipping I can't count, the rub to this is the difficulty this over tightening creates when you want to release them, often with even sweatier hands.</p>

<p>I hate twist ring leg locks and will not buy a tripod or monopod that has them.</p>

Thank you for your reply,

 

I tend to break my fingertips when I have to use fliplocks, or the damn things get caught in every strap my bag has. Horses for courses, each his own, and all the other cliches clearly apply here! :-)