Solid tripod & ball head for D800

[Wawe]

Reviews for the Ocean Traveler are scarce because its one of the more expensive tripods you can buy. Perhaps I should write one.......

No corrosion at all on the tripod, and I live 20 min from the beach and shoot there up to 4x per week if the weather is looking stormy. The o-rings on the legs also do a good job of keeping sand out of the joints. My previous tripods were Vanguards and they only lasted 3-6 months before comletely seizing up and becoming non-functional. That all being said, if you are absolutely anal about keeping your gear clean (I'm not) and never let your tripod sit in the car (I do) and wash it off IMMEDIATLY after every use in the ocean youd likely do fine with a cheaper standard tripod. Just depends on your style, I am hard on my gear. I'm sure Gitzo intented me to also use it as a trecking pole right?

Thanks for your input!

Okay, so it does sound like the product can fulfill the quite demanding expectations its price sets... This is good news for me since I've now fallen in love with the OCEAN SYSTEMATIC Series 3 Carbon Tripod Anti-corrosion 4-sec GT3542LOS - Ocean Tripods | Gitzo. As for the maintenance part, I, too, am looking for a tripod that wouldn't require me to spend my holidays cleaning the thing. As an amateur photographer I get to shoot amazing landscapes (from my perspective) only on vacation. Thus, I sure wouldn't like to either each night waste an hour taking the tripod legs apart for thorough fresh water rinsing or ruin the legs in months if I'm less careful. When shooting by the sea at my home town, this wouldn't be so problematic as time is not as scarce a resource as it is when travelling.

Also, I understand that you have the OCEAN TRAVELER Series 1 Carbon Tripod Anti-corrosion 4-sec GK1582OT - Ocean Tripods | Gitzo. Is this correct? Have you been using it with the head that comes with it? As the OCEAN SYSTEMATIC Series 3 Carbon Tripod Anti-corrosion 4-sec GT3542LOS - Ocean Tripods | Gitzo doesn't come with a head, I'm looking for one that would survive the extreme conditions as well as the legs. I believe the sea spray will get to the head, too, and I would like my tripod set to be such that I can use all of it by the sea if I need to without worrying too much about destroying it. When it comes to the brands, I've heard that RRS makes more water resistant ball heads than Arca-Swiss. Has anyone got any experience in how the corrosion affects ball heads (or L-brackets etc.)?

PS. Checked your homepage, beautiful landscape shots!

Thank you I'm glad you like my photos I need to get over to your country and do some photography, it looks gorgeous!

As for the ball head....yeah the one that caame with the original OT wasnt worth it. So I replaced it with the Series 1 Quick Release Center Ball Head With Bubble Sphere GH1780QR - Center Ball Heads | Gitzo Its been working great, and most of the materials are coated so the only corrosion I see is the spring for the quick plate release. So far it hasnt impacted functionality and I don't go out of my way to clean it (of course it doesnt get wave drenched like the legs either). I've never heard complaints from any of my friends who use Arca Swiss heads aside from perhaps the weight.

For your screen protector, they sell film protectors as well. Something similar to this: InvisibleShield - Nikon D800 (2012) Screen Protection | ZAGG I just picked one up at the local camera store for $10. Then you just dont have to worry about the plastic.

Yeah, do visit Finland! We have some great locations here for photographers, especially in the north. The weather can be a little tricky to predict if planning the trip early, though. Last Christmas here in Helsinki the temperature was the same as on the Midsummer Day (21st June).

And thanks for the tip, I'll take a look at the InvisibleShield. That looks like a nice solution to the problem with combining L-bracket and a screen protector.

 

[Big Mike]

Oh, I was going to mention something about the screen protector.

Don't worry about it. The screens already have a very durable protective layer built into the camera, and they are actually quite inexpensive to replace, if you do ever damage it. When I see people with big plastic protectors on their screens, I think they are the type of people who always have plastic on their furniture. ;-)

 

[spacefuzz]

Oh, I was going to mention something about the screen protector.

Don't worry about it. The screens already have a very durable protective layer built into the camera, and they are actually quite inexpensive to replace, if you do ever damage it. When I see people with big plastic protectors on their screens, I think they are the type of people who always have plastic on their furniture. ;-)

I guess I'm just a dirty boy

 

[Wawe]

Oh, I was going to mention something about the screen protector.

Don't worry about it. The screens already have a very durable protective layer built into the camera, and they are actually quite inexpensive to replace, if you do ever damage it. When I see people with big plastic protectors on their screens, I think they are the type of people who always have plastic on their furniture. ;-)

I guess I'm just a dirty boy

Hmm, okay. How inexpensive is inexpensive? I mean, for a pretty good scratch resistance the 14,99€ isn't much if we are talking about a three-figure bill for replacing the screen. Though I'm not sure how often people actually do scratch the LCD's.