I have tried out all of the recent CF tripods at various stores. Gitzo,
Velbon, Mamiya, Manfrotto Carbon One, Hakuba and Slik. It seems that the
Slik, being the lightest one, is made for 35mm travel photography with max
200mm lens. The Hakuba and the Velbon (which I have) are near identical. The
Gitzo, which has several models, are the best and the one I should have
bought. They are taller than all the rest and incredibly rigid. The Mamiya
broke on me as I tightened it up. The Carbon One had too narrow of a stance
in normal mode and was a little flimsy.
The Velbon 630 was the one I picked and works great (until I got sand into
the threads). I got used to the tightening collars as opposed to the
Manfrotto flip levers. It doesn't take me significantly more time for the
collars than the levers.
To do it all over again I would buy the Gitzo.
As to ball heads, I have the Slik with the chrome "D" ring. I've used it for
the 400/4 with no apparent problems. I wouldn't get a ArcaSwiss because the
way I carry my cameras and tripod. I angle the body at a right angle to
upright, forming a 90 deg. angle and drape this over my shoulder. If the
ground is relatively flat I can hike with no hands on the tripod and camera.
Good luck.
Warren
Warren
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