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Thread: How much lens on a Gitzo gt2531?

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    Default How much lens on a Gitzo gt2531?

    Both B & H and Adorama have the Gitzo gt2531 on sale. After rebate, the cost would be around $420.00. It's a great deal but, I'm sitting on the fence. I currently don't have a lens heavier than the canon 400 f5.6. A five hundred f4 may be in my future but I'm not sure. What is the heaviest lens that will work well with the gt2531? It needs to be solid. If not I will have to upgrade to the 3 series. Thanks for your help.

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    Don - I think you will be just fine with your 400 f/5.6 on a Gitzo 2-series - Gitzo puts a load rating of 12kg on that model and you won't even be close to that. With a 500 f/4 (or larger) lens you'll have to make the call, but I would be inclined to move up to a 3-series. I have found that the stability of tripods is all very relative. I have a carbon Gitzo 3-series systematic (can't recall model off the top of my head - 3530LS maybe?) I use with a Mongoose 3.5 head (upgraded to current standard) when I want to go light - it does an an adequate job with a big lens and is very easy to hike with. That being said - if I am shooting right beside the car, I still often break-out my old aluminum Gitzo Studex 5-series (originally purchased to use with a metal 8x10) which has a Gitzo leveling base and my old Wimberley WH-101 mounted - the set-up probably has double the weight (and maybe then some...) of the modern 3-series set-up, but darn, it feels solid!
    Last edited by Jeff Dyck; 02-23-2011 at 05:39 PM.

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    We just bought a 3541LS from B&H for $520 after rebate. I see they still have that price, but the 3541LS is out of stock and can't be put into a shopping cart. If you could I would without question spend the extra $100.

    We've had a 2530 for a few years. We bought it to keep the weight down on long day hikes. We use up to a Nikon 200-400 with D300 and 1.4 TC on it. It is marginal with that gear, about a pound less than the current Canon 500 f/4. Good enough if your technique is good, but you can tell it vibrates in a heavy wind. I think it is OK with an 80-400.

    Another consideration is if you ever want to do long sunrise, sunset, or night exposures.

    The 2 series is probably OK for the 400 f/5.6, but weight is not the only factor. The Gitzo catalog used to have a nice section talking about focal length and torsional rigidity. You need a stiffer tripod with a longer focal length. I'm sure they are biased, but they suggest limiting the series 2 to 200mm.

    Here is an extract:

    We’ve tested our tripods with the most popular lenses on the market to identify which Series provides the best stabilisation performance for different focal lengths. For example, we recommend Series 2 tripods for use with 200mm lenses. If you decide to use a 200mm lens on a Series 1 tripod, you’ll need to pay more attention to keeping your equipment steady and may have to avoid critical conditions like strong winds. On the other hand, if you use your 200mm lens on a Series 3 tripod, erring on the safe side will allow you to use your system in the most critical conditions without having to worry about image stabilisation.

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    Default Bought the 3541

    I found the 3541 at Adorama for the same price as B&H. They had it in stock so I ordered it. Thanks for the help.




    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Lillich View Post
    We just bought a 3541LS from B&H for $520 after rebate. I see they still have that price, but the 3541LS is out of stock and can't be put into a shopping cart. If you could I would without question spend the extra $100.

    We've had a 2530 for a few years. We bought it to keep the weight down on long day hikes. We use up to a Nikon 200-400 with D300 and 1.4 TC on it. It is marginal with that gear, about a pound less than the current Canon 500 f/4. Good enough if your technique is good, but you can tell it vibrates in a heavy wind. I think it is OK with an 80-400.

    Another consideration is if you ever want to do long sunrise, sunset, or night exposures.

    The 2 series is probably OK for the 400 f/5.6, but weight is not the only factor. The Gitzo catalog used to have a nice section talking about focal length and torsional rigidity. You need a stiffer tripod with a longer focal length. I'm sure they are biased, but they suggest limiting the series 2 to 200mm.

    Here is an extract:

    We’ve tested our tripods with the most popular lenses on the market to identify which Series provides the best stabilisation performance for different focal lengths. For example, we recommend Series 2 tripods for use with 200mm lenses. If you decide to use a 200mm lens on a Series 1 tripod, you’ll need to pay more attention to keeping your equipment steady and may have to avoid critical conditions like strong winds. On the other hand, if you use your 200mm lens on a Series 3 tripod, erring on the safe side will allow you to use your system in the most critical conditions without having to worry about image stabilisation.

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