Giottos GB Black Pro Classic GB1060 Review
- Product:
- Giottos GB Series Black Pro Classic GB1060 (company site)
- What’s Good:
- Weight, Folded Length, Support
- What’s Bad:
- Maximum Height
A tripod can be your best friend or that annoying friend. For the most part, a tripod takes away any hope of traveling light and it dramatically affects the speed, convenience and sometimes fun of photography. However, without one, some shots are very difficult to capture hand held.
Keeping a tripod in the car is easy but when traveling, I rarely check any luggage and I'd prefer not trying to take my Manfrotto (22 inches folded) as carry-on (let alone carry it around all day). This is where either my GorillaPod or lately the Giottos GB1060 comes in handy.
Folded Size
The biggest reason for this purchase was folded size. With the center column removed, this tripod will fold down to 12 inches. In comparison to the Canon 70-200 f4 at 10 inches, this tripod may even fit into some camera bags without the need of attaching it to the outside.
In Use
This is a small tripod so don't expect to use it standing up. Fully extended, the base will reach 23" and then with my Manfrotto 486RC2 Ballhead attached, 27" from the floor. For greater support, you can spread the legs out more but this will lower your maximum height to 21.5".
This is definitely not ideal for many photographers, but has been useful for me. It has allowed me into locations where security has said no tripods (it is small enough that I can let it hang from the camera), it has allowed for quick setup in crowded places and has provided me with the chance of getting photos I probably would not have been able to make otherwise.
Unlike the GorillaPod, I don't need to find something to attach it to, or fuss with it's legs to make it stand on it's own.
Comparing Sizes
View photo with items labeled
Final Thought
Although still not the perfect travel tripod, it has proven to be useful. It boards the plane wrapped in with my clothes and then perfectly attaches across the top of my ThinkTank Urban Disguise 50.
It is not super cheap at $75 USD (legs only) but not nearly as expensive as others that can reach $400 or more. If you don't mind shooting from roughly 2 feet from the ground, the GB1060 is very stable.
Comments
abby - March 26, 2009 5:31 am
The tripod on the picture is so similar with mine which I bought at Tradestead ,
I like my tripod very much , when I go out to make pictures I will carry it with me, I saw it as my best friend!
mark - November 4, 2009 7:25 am
What an indepth and interesting review! Thanks yet again.