Gitzo Safari Tripod

[patrick_harris1]

Has anyone had any experience with this Gitzo tripod.The leg locks

are at the top to make it easier to use in water,sand or mud.

Are there advantages and/diasadvantages to the leg locks at top?

Is it adequate to support a 500mm 4.5 lens?

 

Thank you for any input Pat Harris

[neil_walden]

I have owned the 320 Safari for about ten years. In switching from a

4-section Slik to the Safari 320, I saw a dramatic increase in sharpness using long telephotos. Perhaps that improvement would have occurred with a switch to the standard (non-Safari) 320 as well. The leg locks on top do make it better to use in muck and this is an advantage. The only disadvantage with the locks on top is if you hike with the tripod slung over your shoulder. Here, the leg locks tend to become uncomfortable rubbing against your shoulder after awhile, and I have not found a way to obviate this with padding. The standard bottom locks would not have that problem because the smooth upper part of the legs could be padded. I use an EOS 500mm f4.5

with the Safari and it does a fine job. I assume you're asking about a used Safari, because I understand they haven't be made in several years.

[drc]

Patrick, Neils comments are right on the mark, the reason Gitzo discontinued this model is because under serious/heavy professional use the rivet attatchment at the plate/leg intersection work lose on all of the legs over time. Mine occurred in the middle of a six week shoot in Alaska the first time (taught me to always have a spare pod handy). Initially Gitzo repaired my offending leg section, but it would reloosen again overtime thereby ensuring this models discontinuation.