Gitzo Safari Traveler Tripod
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Review Highlights
- Gitzo’s
superb, carbon-fiber tripod kit
- Incredibly
compact and lightweight
- Combines
pan and tilt controls in one knob
- Provides
an ultra-stable photographic platform
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An age-old question for birders
traveling to far off locations is "Should I bring my scope and tripod,
and how do I pack them?" With today’s restrictions on luggage size and
weight and the extra cost of carry-on bags, the gear we use at home may
not be the best choice for travelling. The Gitzo Safari Traveler tripod
solves the problem of tripod size and weight. The Safari Traveler is a
carbon fiber tripod that weighs only 4.2 pounds including the head and
folds down to 20.9 inches. With dimensions like these, Safari Traveler
tripods will easily fit any suitcase, duffle, or backpack.
Size
and Stability
Despite its small folded size,
the Safari Traveler is a full-size tripod. Its maximum height is 64.6
inches with the center column fully extended, and 51 inches with the column
retracted. Gitzo combines full size with compact folding dimensions by
using a 4-section leg design. Despite its low mass, the Safari Traveler
tripod provides excellent stability for heavy spotting scopes or video
cameras. The leg design incorporates multiple layers of interwoven carbon
fibers for maximum vibration dampening and rigidity. Additionally, the
design of the center joint (where the leg hinges attach and the center
column passes through) and the "neck" (the tube through which the center
column slides) both contribute to greater overall stability. The hinges
are precision manufactured to have virtually no side-to-side play. The
neck is, so far as we know, unique to the Safari Traveler tripods. This
tube is about three inches long where the corresponding section of other
tripods is not usually much longer than an inch. Thus, the neck more effectively
restricts sideways play when extending the center column. It also is easier
to operate since this longer tube enforces better alignment of the column,
making it easier to adjust. Lastly, most center joints feature a set-screw
to adjust tension on the center column, but the presence of this screw
as part of the center joint actually contributes a bit of instability.
The Safari Traveler employs a twist collar lock (similar to the leg locks)
at the top of neck portion, which is inherently much more stable than
a set-screw.
The Safari Traveler achieves its most compact folded conformation by first
extending the center column to its full height, and then collapsing the
leg sections with the twist collars. The final step is to use the spring-loaded
sliding leg angle locks located just above the hinge on each leg. Opening
these slider locks allows you to fold the leg completely up until it is
next to the extended center column.
Legs
As noted above, the carbon
fiber legs feature a 4-section design. This is inherently a trade-off:
more sections provide more compactness but at the cost of slower deployment…
usually. As a rule, we prefer lever-locks on tripod legs to twist collars,
which are usually slower. But that was before we saw the twist collars
on the Gitzo tripod. These collars deploy with less of a twist required,
as though the mechanism had a steeper pitch inside - what you notice is
that you don't have to twist as much to lock or unlock these. The second
point is that when the legs are fully collapsed, by correctly placing
your hand, all three locks can be undone with just one twist, which makes
this quite quick indeed. The feet on the Safari Traveler legs are rubber
and are sort of rounded and pointed at the same time, a nice bit of design.
Like many tripods, the Gitzo Traveler has a hook mounted on the bottom
of the center column from which to suspend stabilizing weights. The difference
with this one is that it is squared in shape and spring loaded so that,
when no weight is on it, it retracts neatly until it's flush with the
base of the center column. This means it won't catch on anything inadvertently.
Head
Another birder-friendly addition
to the Safari Traveler is the inclusion of the Gitzo GH2720 head. This
head incorporates both the pan and tilt controls in a single knob . Not
only does this one control efficiently combine both functions, but it
features a lovely intermediate tension level whereby both controls can
be freely manipulated, but without being so loose that the optic swings
or falls inadvertently. This is really well designed! The head accommodates
quick release plates compatible with Manfrotto 501 series heads. The head
comes standard with a Manfrotto 501PL plate and can also accept the 501PLONG
plate (see "Digiscoping" below). The bracket for the quick release
plate is short (about 1-inch long) but precisely manufactured so that
the plate slides easily along its track. The head features a two-part
safety catch, with a tension adjusting screw on one side and a spring-loaded
release button on the opposite side. Both controls are positioned so that
they don't interfere with the handle in any position.
Digiscoping
The Safari Traveler, due to
its inherent stability and advanced head design, makes an excellent platform
for digiscoping. By easily accommodating the extra-long 501PLONG quick
release plate, the Gitzo Traveler offers the option of precise counter-balancing
of the heavier digiscoping rigs with a DSLR camera, or the more lightweight
rigs with a point-and-shoot digital camera. However, if you wish to use
the Safari Traveler for general photography, we recommend purchase of
an alternate head as the GH2720 head can only be used in a landscape orientation.
Conclusions
There is basically nothing
that we don't like about the Gitzo Safari Traveler tripod. The design
is innovative and elegantly functional. This tripod is feather light,
and yet it achieves its extremely compact form without sacrificing performance
or stability. Gitzo has since discontinued the Safari Traveler and replaced it
with the Gitzo Traveler Tripod Series 0 Legs
in their traditional gray for $499.99,
paired with the Gitzo 2 Way Fluid Head at $399.95.
This is fairly considerable even for a carbon fiber tripod kit. There are
so many things to like about this tripod though, and if your particular
needs require these features, there is nothing else like this on the market.
Now if we can just talk Gitzo into letting us keep it for more "testing"…