Need tripod advice please

I would greatly appreciate advice on buying a new tripod. I think I am looking at Gitzo tripods.

I am 56, 6ft and have back and neck problems which mean that I am very limited on walking. Many days I am down to 50yds before needing to sit but on other days I can get maybe 400 yds. I am also limited on what I can carry together with my stick seat. I made a bit of a mistake and bought a second hand Manfrotto/Bogen 058 which is as solid as a rock and weighs as much as a fair sized one! This means that I can only really get it a few yards from the car. Obviously I need something lighter.

The advantage of the 058 was the height it can get to without extending the column. I have trouble bending to look through a viewfinder and crouching is completely out of the question so I need as much height as I can get.

The biggest lens combination I am likely to mount is the 70-200VR plus 1.7TC and I would like to get more into stitched panoramas using the 17-55 DX. I will be mounting my D2X on the Markins M20 together with the Manfrotto 438 levelling base.

Can anyone give me their recommendations from the current Gitzo range please? I'm getting completely lost in the various ranges and leg combinations.

 

Thanks very much. It looks as though the G3530LSV is probably what I should be going for. The lighter 2530 has its attraction but the extra weight is so little I think I could live with it for the extra strength. My 058 weighs 13.5 lbs so it's a great improvement. I don't really need a centre column as I have a uniloc tripod as well which can do amazing things if I need something for low down shots (assuming I can ever get down and get up again :frown: ).

 

Thanks for the suggestion Rich. These seem to be available in the UK at £79.
It's best however that I carry stuff on my back. I need the support of a stick and pulling the trolley would be tricky and create an imbalance which would make the back and leg problems worse. I'm sure that with a much lighter and shorter (collapsed) tripod and trimmed down gear list I will be able to get by a lot better. The suggestions above all seem to lead in the same direction.

In particular there is a shot I want to get locally of distant hills over the water with a rocky beach in the foreground at sunset. It's about a mile from the house but I've never been able to get there with a tripod. It's a minor ambition but I'd settle for it :smile:

Now all I have to do is convince myself that I cannot live without a 500ukp tripod. It may take a couple of weeks.

 

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