[Leica] Ultimate travel Tripod... - not worthy of the Leica item??

[wanderjan at gmail.com (Jan Decher)]

Thanks, Geoff, for your more thoughtful response.
I knew of course, that the Leica was designed as a handheld camera and
doesn't need to go on a tripod etc. etc.  OTOH, I am not a "street
photographer" in the purist sense and I like my pictures to be ultra sharp
and shoot a lot of static subjects, landscapes etc.  My fastest lens is a
2.8/35mm C-Biogon and the next lens will be a 4.5/21mm C-Biogon for interior
forest vistas and shots of cathedrals, frescoed ceilings and other
architecture etc.
I even like formal group shots and frequenty use the mechanical self timer
on my older cameras!  How so non-Cartier-Bresson!!
Since this is the LUG, I didn't mention that I also carry a 1950s Rolleiflex
with a 3.5/75 Xenotar (and on occasion an SLR with 5.6/400mm for wildlife).
  So a good compact travel tripod is a must!
I do have a Leica table top but at 6 feet 3 inches prefer not to kneel down
and try to look through the Leica VF on the 25cm tall table top (easier with
the Rolleiflex WL finder).
Unfortunately, most zoos, botanical gardens and museums now discourage
"serious" tripod use (perhaps because they want you to buy their tourist
view postcards..).  Even the Kodak House in Rochester I learned 2 years ago
had a "no tripod and no backpack policy", which I thought was rather ironc
(well, perhaps in line with Kodak's mostly amateur approach to cameras...).
In those situations a Leitz tabletop can sometimes still be "sneaked in".
Anyway, I think there are many different types of "Leica photography"  and
if you really want to get the utmost out of your Leitz or Zeiss lens'
resolution  - as many tests have shown - a tripod is still the way to go
when the subject matter allows it.
Jan

=============From: Geoff Hopkinson <hopsternew at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 07:08:31 +1000
Hi Jan. I agree with the very experienced travel photographer Tina. However
if you are pepared to carry a tripod because you want to shoot very long
exposures, or just wring the very best from your lenses (doing a lot of
landscape photography for example), then the Gitzo that you mention is the
ultimate in portability. A not inconsiderable investment of course. Really
consider the compromise of a good quality monopod though. Also you can
improve both tripod and monopod by fitting a dedicated head for the
functions you want. Take a look at Really Right Stuff for some options
there. you can get their whole catalog online and it has a lot of useful
info in there.

I bought a set of good carbon legs from Manfrotto (price less ruinous than
Gitzo) and a Gitzo head. However the head while really well made is just too
bulky for what I wanted (with a quick release plate). G1278M I think. I
don't have it with me currently. I'm getting a more compact ball head from
RRS. Also the Gitzo still suffers from the trait of almost all tripods with
a flat plate on top. The camera can still twist, which is annoying. Consider
a system with a dedicated plate that fits your camera.