new Gitzo tripods from Photokina?

[josh_meyer]

I read about new Gitzo tripods being announced at Photokina, but I can't make

any sense of Gitzo's website. I think I've settled on a G-1325, but it does

appear to be several years old and perhaps a replacement was announced at

Photokina. Has anyone familiarized themeselves with the new Gitzo offerings?

[Ed_Ingold]

The G-1325 is one of the best tripods ever invented. It is extremely sturdy and vibration resistant. The center section with the column is completely interchangeable. Newer Gitzo tripods have non-twist joints, which are convenient, but not nearly as rugged as the joints in the older models. If you can get a G-1325 for less than the price at B&H, jump on it.

[akajohndoe]

The G1325 is on my short list, too.

[subhasis_laha]

There are a couple of newly announced Gitzo carbon fiber 6x tripod legs that are somewhat similar to the present G-1325 tripod. However, this information is from Gitzo's beta version of their web-site (www.gitzo.com) and hence may not be 100% accurate. They have three versions of this new tripod, all with no center column as the G-1325:

 

(1) GT-3530S: 3 sections, max height 50.4 inches, photo tripod

 

(2) GT-3530VLS: 3 sections, max height 58.3 inches (same as G-1325) - but comes with 75mm video bowl adapter and probably retractable spiked feet

 

(3) GT-3540LS: 4 sections, max height 57.5 inches, photo tripod

 

All these legsets have specified load capacity of 18 Kg (cf. 12Kg of G-1325). None of them has exactly the same specifications as the current G-1325. However, they all are about 4 lbs in weight - so about half pound lighter than the current G-1325.

 

BTW, Edward states that the new generation Gitzos with non-twist leg locks have less robust joints. That is probably true for Gitzo's 1st generation 6x tripods. The above models are all 2nd generation 6x tripods that have anti-twist as well as G-lock leg joints: Gitzo claims these G-lock leg locks are newly designed with faster and more secure operation, FWIW. So at this time nobody knows how robust the joints in this newest generation of tripods are actually going to be - with some luck, they could be even better than the old joints. We will have to wait till these tripods are actually available. I have not seen any official release date yet, however, some folks on the web claim that they contacted Gitzo, Europe and found that the release date is going to be early 2007.

 

Subhasis