Rich's Tongfamily (Richtong.net add-on)

I’ve been using a cheap monopod mainly for a small camcorder, but with all the photos I’ve been taking especially the night shots of Shanghai and other locations, I need a better and fuller tripod. As with most things, the best value is to buy a slightly better one that will last a while.
I’d summarize by saying the “Gitzo G1327”:http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Gitzo-G1327-Carbon-Fiber-Tripod-Review.aspx seems like a good choice. Main decision is Series 2 which is for smaller lesnes. The Series 3 is good for 24.5lb weight and you should have 50% overcapacity, so it would support 15lb total setups. The 3-section system is pretty good and more stable than the 4-sectioned system. There is also the optoin for a rapid geared center column.

Now that review is pretty old and the latest model is that is equivalent is called the “Gitzo GT-2530”:http://www.gitzo.com/Jahia/site/gitzo/pid/4765?gitzoView=flatView&curLevel=1CAT&curFamilyId=NONE&curMarketId=MARKET%3AMKT1&actualPathCategoryKey=1CAT%3AAAA1%3A2CAT%3ABB59%3A3CAT%3ACC49%3A4CAT%3AD208&productContainer_windowsize=10&ctnscroll_productContainer=&kindOfProductCollectionRequest=productDetail&detailPid=5334 which is now a Series 2, but has the same 12Kg or 26.4 lbs load, it is 3 section and weight 1.4 kg or 3.1 lbs and is rapid rise. I couldn’t find it on ebay, but “Mpire”:http://mpire.com/buyer/results.page?query=gitzo+gt-2530+ shows that Amazon and everyone else carries it at $520 list, so “B&H”:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=FjlnGvn0vv!789289822?O=cart&A=details&Q=&sku=475926&is=REG has been the reliable place to buy it.

In terms of ball heads, he recommends teh “Arca-Swiss Monoball B1”:http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Arca-Swiss-Monoball-B1-Ballhead-Review.aspx. “The-Digital-Picture”:http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Tripod-Ballhead-and-Accessory-Reviews.aspx
has one of the few complete reviews of tripods and the ballhead you
need to go on top. “Bob Atkins”:http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/reviews/asb1.html also loves it.
“Nikonians”:http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/non-nikon_articles/arca_swiss/arca_swiss_b1_1.html
love this as well. It does weigh 2 lbs though and costs a whopping $350+ “B&H”:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=ARB1.25&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=1906 is out of stock, but it is $380.

Another choice which Nikonians like is the
“Markins”:http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/non-nikon_articles/markins/index.html
from Korea. They like the new M10 which is 1lb and can hold 40 KG and the M20 which can support 100lb. The really like head is called the Q3. I think the M10 works fine for me. You can buy this from “Photoproshop.com”:https://www.photoproshop.com/usa/index.php/cPath/21 for $340 for M10.

You can also buy “Markins”:http://www.markinsamerica.com/ direct as well and they for one have a very nice website. The big choice is the $270 “Q3 Emille”:http://www.markinsamerica.com/MA5/Q3.php which is strong enough to support a Canon Digital Rebel with a mid-sized zoom like the 70-200 F/2.8 and is good enough for my needs.

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