Good for macro work. Light weight.

Poor materials used in constructing this tripod.

I'm a user of model G2227. As a person who likes to do macro photgraphy, initial view of this tripod is excellent considering that it can go to any angle that you want it to. But after one and half years of use, the bolt securing the center column snap off suddenly, and I was not using any excessive force. After checking with the local dealer, it seems that this is a common problem. I'm not sure if users in other countries have encounter a similar problem. When I receive the spare part, I guess I will remove the bolt and screw in a stainless steel bolt instead.

Customer Service

Slow

Similar Products Used:

Manfrotto 550B.

The tripod is extremely flexibly, and can get to very low position, which is very convenient for macro-shots.

I have used this tripod for three years now. Most of time I used it in cities and parks and carry it for short distances. I took it for one back country trip a year and half ago, I accidently knock the tripod down when I was setting up the camera. The tripod fell and hit a piece of rock and created a dent. I was surprised it damages this easily since the tripod is not yet fully extended and it fell less than 3 feet.
Afterwards, the dented leg cannot be extended anymore.

Another unpleasant thing followed was that one of the plastic shim broke a year ago. I believe I had less than 60hour of use when it happened. Fortunately, the leg is still useable without the shim.

Late winter this year, I took this tripod for a snowshoeing trip. It was disastrous. I lost a knob of the tripod head (the tripod came with a gitzo ball head), a weight hanger knob and a foot of one of the leg. I had a theory of why this would happen. It might have to do with the sharp temperature changes in the mountain. This tripod has tens of screw-on parts and they are made of different materials that will expand and shrink differently with temperature changes. Small parts got loose and lost during the hiking trip.

One more weakness that I have found during this trip was that you cannot easily extend/tighten the legs when wearing gloves, so it is extremely unpleasant to use in cold weather.

Not durable, screw-on parts lost easily, esp. for hiking trips. Not easy to setup when wearing gloves which maked it very difficult to use during cold weather.
The tripod is good for city and every day use though.

Customer Service

customer service reponds quickly.

Similar Products Used:

I have a heavier bogen and a low-end silk.

Solid support and great customer information support. Can go to positions few others and offer.

The plastic clips must be released before closing the tripod - not a problem, just another step.

I wanted a 'portable' tripod to use in the field. I had tried Velbon's latest and quickly sold it on eBay. I bought the Gitzo on reputation and it has served me well for the past few years. I do VR panoramic work - this little tripod lets me get low to make rooms look big, or lets me go high for scenic pix. Well worth the money, in face it seems a better bargan after seeing the new crop of wanna'bes from other makers.

Customer Service

Via e-mail. Quick and friendly, exactly what I needed to know

Similar Products Used:

Velbon, Bogen, Star-D

Versatile positions for setup lightweight stable at all positions

takes some understanding to maximize ease of use, but not a problem once you've figured it out.

Perhaps the most versatile tripod on the planet. Easy to setup (contrary to other comments)lightweight and well made. Goes into positions other tripods simply can not.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Benbo 2227 Gitzo

Versatility Strenght Relative low weight (CF version is only 250g lighter, but at more than twice the price).

For my applications, none.

Wow, what a great tripod, unbelievably versatile - puts the manfrottos with their horizontal centre column facility in the shade. With this tripod you can set the centre column at any angle you like without having to remove it. As versatile as a Benbo but without the weight and very likely more sturdy. It gets into any position with ease, and goes lower than any other, and with the variable spread of the legs you can give it a larger footprint for more stability when needed. If you do macro work of any sort outdoors then this is the definitive tripod, it's very versatile and very very stable.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Manfrotto 190

Design, weight. Looks pretty cool. Obvious quality of manufacture.

Hard to get absolutely level for panorama photography

The design of this tripod really attracted me. The tilt-column with a hook on the bottom I think is really innovative. Tripod has quality feel and is quite lightweight. One small problem is getting the tripod absolutely level since the legs do not have a traditional stopping point when extended out. This allows use of the tripod on unusually uneven ground and this is a plus, but on level ground you must try to even each leg with a mark on the body of the tripod. The spirit level on the tripod may not be set correctly since the one on my panoramic tripod head disagrees with it.

Customer Service

Not tried.

Similar Products Used:

Bogen 3221