Photography Thailand Forum

[David Salmanowitz]

Chris--Sorry about the Giotto, guess the quality control is not the greatest. Having it crap out on the 1st time in use really sucks, at least you were not away and were able to go back the next day and get a new one with no problem. Really curious to see the quality of the Benro vs. Gitzo. Have had a Gitzo for years, and yes they are not cheap--even in USA. But the quality is very good, and so far has been very reliable. A friend's Gitzo locked up, but he had it in too much saltwater for too long--was able to get it repaired. I actually think they make a model meant to have its legs in saltwater, at least partly. A friend who is an underwater videographer takes a tripod u/w, but it is a cheap one and seems to work well enough.

[Chris Savery]

The idea of a tripod underwater seems funny. I guess the weight carrying capacity would be increased and you'd have much more of a problem with water currents than with wind.

As for the Giottos - I took it out early this morning and did some sunrise shooting. It didn't break this time. Sure is a nuisance to carry a big tripod like this with a camera backpack as well. Just can't get the strap to stay on the shoulder so you have to nurture it constantly as your walking. I'll have to figure out a better solution. They give you a nice padded carry bag with it too and maybe that is worth using though it increases the overall bulk somewhat.

I'm actually surprised at the bag as for the price you'd expect them not to bother. I suspect that with some others you'd have to pay extra. I know my Manfrotto monopod didn't come with one. Maybe that's normal for them. I think the bag may be great for small light stands, umbrellas and doo dads for lighting. Not that I have any of that yet but maybe later.

[David Salmanowitz]

The idea of a tripod underwater seems funny.--that is what I thought the first time I dove with this guy 10+ years ago. But he is an ichthyologist in addition to being a fine u/w videographer. One nice thing is you can set up the video camera and tripod and swim away a bit, and really get some nice fish behavior where certain skittish species would otherwise be hesitant to come out of their hiding places. I even tried a tripod u/w with a still camera once for some arty farty type stuff.