Tripods and heads might not be the most exciting gear in photography but they are nonetheless integral to long lens photography, panoramas, mosaics, or anything that relies on time exposures. Like most photographers, I started out with inexpensive tripods and graduated up to better models as I could. At this point I have settled pretty much exclusively on Gitzo tripods. They are definitely expensive and I have no doubt that there are other brands out there that can do pretty much the same thing for less. With Gitzo, though, I know exactly what I am getting and don’t have to worry about making a mistake and investing twice. Also, unlike cameras that have comparatively short lifetimes, a high-quality tripod can last a lifetime.
With tripod heads it is pretty much the same thing. A lot is literally riding on them and it makes no sense to risk expensive equipment on budget models. In this case I really like the Really Right Stuff (RRS) ball heads and Wimberley gimbal heads. As with tripods I am sure there are a lot of other less inexpensive options that could work just fine. I just prefer to go with what I know.
Since I work in a variety of areas, I have also managed to acquire a number of tripods and heads to best suit what I am doing. It really comes down to small, medium, and large setups. Small for travel, medium for most things, and large for big lenses. Below are my specific tripods and heads.
Tripods:
Gitzo GT1545T Traveler – This is my smallest and lightest tripod. Part of Gitzo’s Traveler Series, it folds down small and packs away easily. I usually strap it on to a daypack or pack it in a standard carry-on size 40L travel duffel when on lightweight travel. In spite of its size, it quite sturdy and can easily support camera and lens combinations up to a full-frame 70-200mm f/2.8 or so. Of course, it is capable of supporting considerably more weight but it is really more about sufficiently damping vibrations with slow shutter speeds.
Gitzo GT2543L Mountaineer – This is absolutely my favorite and most used tripod. It is the best combination of small size, light weight, and sturdiness of anything I have ever used. I also like that it has a well designed and sturdy center column. It really adds convenience and flexibility for fine height adjustment for my landscape and art reproduction work. When I want ultimate stability, I simply don’t raise the center column.
Gitzo 4543LS Systematic –
When it comes to sturdy, this tripod is tectonically stable. I use it mainly for deep sky astrophotography where it needs to support my camera, lens, and tracker for minute long exposures without any movement or vibration. I also use it for long lens wildlife photography when I don’t have to carry it very far. I also opted for the long version so I could work with it on uneven terrain as well as easily getting a heavy camera and lens combination up to eye level.
I used to have a Really Right Stuff TFC-24L but have since sold it off. I found that I was using my Gitzo 2543 Mountaineer far more often for most of the same things. Interestingly, even though the TFC-24L has larger diameter legs, the 2-series mountaineer actually felt more sturdy to me. Certainly, with heavy telephoto lenses lenses at extended heights the TFC-24L did show a little less vibration, but at that point I much prefer to just go with the much more solid Gitzo 4543LS. The TFC-24L just fit in too narrow of a niche for me, which is why I sold it.
Heads:
RRS BH-30 – A nice compact ball head that is pretty much permanently attached to my Gitzo 1543T Traveler tripod. I like this ball head better than the Gitzo model designed for the Traveler Series. The BH-30 is more compact and sits lower making the overall tripod setup shorter when folded.
RRS BH-40 –
This is the main ball head I use for my Gitzo GT2543L Mountaineer tripod. It pretty much never comes off as it is a nearly perfect all-arounder that covers me for pretty much everything.
Wimberley Sidekick –
I absolutely love this ball-head to gimbal head solution. It really helps me travel light when I don’t want to bring along the much larger Wimberley WH-200 gimbal head. The sidekick works perfectly with my RRS BH-40.
Wimberley WH-200 –
Solid, smooth, and sturdy, this gimbal head it perfect for long lens photography. I use it all the time for deep-sky astrophotography since it holds things very steady and makes fine position targeting much easier than with a straight ball-head