As I Xi It

My brand spanking new tripod is pretty cool. Lightweight and virtually infinitely manouverable while also being extremely steady. The only issue I have is how to conveniently carry it while scrabbling around out in the wild. My Lowepro Primus has a tripod holder built in, but it kinda puts you off balance when you’ve got a tripod strapped in and can be a bit awkward. If I’m using a monopod, I tend to strap it to the side and stick one end in the water bottle holder. For tripod carrying, I prefer to use a strap. I didn’t fancy springing £20 for a dedicated tripod strap and Amazon had the Lowepro Transporter camera strap on sale (£10) so I figured I’d do something with that.

Why the Lowepro Transporter? Well, it’s got a slidey shoulder pad. I initially used a knock-off Optech weight reducing strap I had lying around, but since the neoprene was in a fixed position and too far from the end, I took it off. It was way too long as well, even at its shortest length. It’s not compulsory to use Lowepro Transporter, but I found that it worked best for me. I guess you could substitute it with whatever strap works for you.

For this mod, you’ll need the following items:

• 1x Lowepro Transporter camera strap (or equivalent)
• 1x racket grip tape (or bicycle handlebar grip tape)
• 1x small cable tie
• 1x dog collar with quick release
• 1x rubber band style bracelet (for some reason they became very popular at one point in recent years)

Illustrated instructions below.

At some point in the near future, I’ll make some tripod leg pads.

I don’t know why, but I just felt like getting a new tripod. At first I settled on the Manfrotto 055CXPr03, carbon fiber, tall enough for me, flip locks and had that really cool horizontal centre column. Upon consultation with a fellow photographer, he suggested a Gitzo GT3530 or something like that. I thought about plunging down some of my hard earned cash for one, but then came across the Gitzo GT2531EX, it was like the Manfrotto crossed with the Gitzo. At first the lack of flip-locks concerned me, but having had a look at it in the flesh, it didn’t seem so bad.

Anyway, in the end I decided on the Gitzo Explorer. It’s rather smart. The box it comes in is pretty neat and the legs themselves are in a bag, a bit like those you get for posh shoes. There’s even a little LCD cleaner with the Gitzo logo on. It’s easily the most flexible tripod I’ve come across. There are no set angles for the legs and they’re pretty robust when locked down. The moveable centre column does what it’s suppose to do and does it rather well, there’s even a little retractable hook at the end for you to hang a counterweight for additional stability.  I’ve mounted my Manfrotto 486RC2 ball head since its the only ball head I have and the whole package from first glance seems fairly easy to deploy.

Of course, you can’t really give a true impression until you’ve actually used it out in the field. I guess there’ll be a part 2 coming up soon.