Gitzo 100 series - losing the centre post for good.

[photohiker]

One of the tripods that I use quite a lot on hikes because of it's compact size and weight is a Gitzo 1127. It's a 3 stage leg affair of usable height and stability. No longer made, but I guess there is an equivalent in the new range.

One thing that has bugged me at times when I wanted to get low with this tripod, is that the centre column gets in the way. It's about 300mm long, and with the tripod head attached, it makes the minimum camera baseplate height about 400mm from the deck, and sometimes when shooting on rough ground it just gets in the way anyway. Irritation is increased by the reality that I have never used it extended. It's superfluous.

Markins sell replacement plates for other model Gitzo's, but not the 100 series. Recently, while browsing the interweb for something else entirely, I found myself looking at the tripod accessory section on Kirk Enterprises website, and found that they still make and sell plates for the Gitzo 100, 200, 400 and 500 series tripods. At $US90 plus freight, these are not that cheap, but it makes a big difference, and it's a whole lot cheaper than a new 'pod. Not only does it remove the pole, it replaces the rather flimsy Gitzo 100 series plastic baseplate with a sturdy anodised aluminium baseplate (which includes a little spirit level on one side). Bonus, it came with a new hook to replace the one I trashed on my last Tassie trip...



Recommended. Thank you Mr Kirk.

Michael

[Mr Darcy]

It was that minimum height issue that got me to go with the explorer series.

Dumb question. My old velbon allowed for turning the centre post upside down This meant that the camera was suspended upside down between the tripod legs. Is it possible to do this with the Gitzo 100 series? Just means you have to turn the phot upside down when viewing

[photohiker]

Is it possible to do this with the Gitzo 100 series? Just means you have to turn the phot upside down when viewing

Yes, but too much faffing around though. Disassembly of the ballhead and column is required. Although it got easier after I broke the hook in Tassie because the piece that prevented the column being extracted out the top of the tripod also went missing at the same time. I think it's in a waterfall pool halfway up a cliff on the Hemskirk coast.

Michael