Gitzo Tripods
I bought my first Gitzo back in 1980 - a straight forward Reporter model. I still have it and it still works well despite heavy usage, being dunked in the sea (don't ask!) and subsequently, a significant amount of corrosion. Over the years it has acquired a set of spikes (extremely useful), and has gone through three heads - currently it has a magnesium ball and socket fitted. It is used rather less these days as I now have one of the large Mountaineer carbon fibre tripods. This runs an Arca head which quite happily sits on top of the wonderfully stable Gitzo. Whilst not horrendously heavy, the Mountaineer is substantial, but not bad enough to stop me carrying it all the way up Snowdon, around Petra and various other unforgiving locations.
So what are Gitzo like? Well they are very well engineered, superbly made and, for a conventionally designed tripod, unbeatable. I've tried other tripods but found none to rival Gitzo. After all a tripod must hold a camera steady, be robust enough to withstand life's little knocks and be operable with ease. Gitzo tripods fulfil all my requirements - I quite simply wouldn't use anything else.
Paul Kay BSc (phot) FRPS
Paul has been a professional photographer for ten years and is based in North Wales. He undertakes commissions and sells stock photography. He is represented by the likes of Oxford Scientific Films and Woodfall Wild Images amongst others.