Gitzo GT3541XLS & airlines

<p>HI,</p>

<p>I'm thinking of buying either a Gitzo GT 3541 XLS or a GT 3541 LS. I travel a lot on planes and walk around cities, and I'd like to bring my 4x5 Sinar F1 a little more often then I currently do. Stability is very important, but it's just as important to be able to travel with the tripod.<br>

I'm interested in Carbon fibre for weight & vibration dampening.<br>

I'm interested in Gitzo because they are well made & designed. I don't particularly want to spark a 'brand' discussion, but any stellar options by other makers are welcome.<br>

I'm interested in a Gitzo systematic tripod because I don't want to use a center column (I never use the column on my current Manfrotto alu. tripod), and I don't see the benefit of carrying something I don't use. I will buy the Gitzo levelling base, and leave all my tripod heads at home. I always shoot with the Sinar levelled.<br>

I've chosen a four leg section tripod because I want something as compact as possible for travel, but which I can use at head height or above without use of a center column. I'm judging that the instability sacrifice of four 'v' three section legs is less detrimental then use of a shorter three section leg tripod with center column extension. (IS there any consensus on this?)<br>

The XLS model is potentially very tall (78 inches / 198cm) which is taller then I really need, whereas the LX model extends to (57.5 inches / 146 cm) which is closer to my usual shooting height - I'm 6 ft tall, although with large format, and Sinar in particular, I don't think my own height is quite so relevant ( L.F. shooters can vary camera height more because of the use of camera movement etc.) The LS model requires all four sections extended to achieve the height the XLS can do with only the three heavier sections extended (I imagine using the XLS model mainly as a three section tripod with the added stability benefits). So at that typical shooting height, the XLS should be more stable than the LS model.<br>

Allowing that the XLS is marginally more stable at typical shooting heights, and that it can extend higher without the use of a center column, it seems to be the more stable & flexible tripod. The sacrifice is a little weight, and more critically for me, the longer closed length (27.5 inches / 70 cm 'v' 21.5 inches / 55 cm). I would like a tripod that could be squeezed into an airplane cabin, and the XLS is at the very outer limit of that. However the LS is also too long to fit in a hand luggage bag, which means it's compactness may yield no practical benefit for my travelling - I may need to check it as luggage anyway.<br>

Am I missing something? There must be lots of experience out there in terms of thinking through these options.</p>

 

<p>I retained an older tripod for air travel when i upgraded to Gitzos earlier this year. I just throw my old Velbon in a duffle bag and it gets checked, don't have to worry about theft or damage. I used to carry a tripod into the cabin, and the attendants would put in the closet where guys used to hang suits up. However in this day of increased airline security and decreased customer service, I wouldn't bother with bringing a tripod on board. I've read different things in posts here, yes can bring tripods on board or no. Think about it this way, as an air traveler, I would not want a fellow passenger that I don't know bringing on board a tripod, metal or fiber...</p>

<p>For LF i now use the 3530 with leveling base. the four section is shorter, yes, but I like the simpler three section, which I rarely extend all the way for LF, the leveling base plus the camera raise up a bit</p>

<p>Good points WT. Given that I'll already be carrying a few lenses as carry-on at a minimum, as well as the camera (dis-assembled) and any un-exposed film, it might be a little optimistic to even imagine that I can carry on a tripod.</p>

<p>I use a Gitzo 3530L and leveling base for my Sinar F, and it works nice. I would still rather have a Sinar head, but they are so expensive. Too bad you can't get by with three legs, instead of four. </p>

<p>Gerard, regarding heights, the 3530s works for me, but i'm on the shorter side at 5-7-5'8". Don't forget to do all your estimating based on your eye height, though! It sounds like you have downloaded the gitzo catalog which is helpful. To choose mine, I set up my old velbon, and also measured and put masking tape marks on the wall at various tripod heights. And the distance from the top of the pod to the eye level can be significant, if you start adding a leveling base, a head or not, and the F1. Also, if you do various images searches like flickr you will see Gitzos and other pods in various settings, etc. </p>