Seeking the best tall and lightweight tripod

[Bill_Fach]

David: I have the RRS TVC-34L. I’m also 6’4" and so I have found tripod nirvana. I also have one of the early 3-Legged Thing versions which is MUCH lighter than the RRS but also a lot less sturdy. On my TVC-34L I typically only extend the top two sections which makes it sturdier still. If I do extend all three sections I can actually get the camera over my head and if I extend the center column (which I like because it makes macro and flora fine height adjustments easier) I can get the camera almost 8 feet above ground which makes images like this possible. Of course I had to stand on a ladder to get myself to the right height. My RRS with a RRS BH-55 aboard weighs 8.6 lbs while the 3 Legged Thing with Kirk BH-1 aboard weighs 5.2 lbs. Around the house I don’t care about the weight but when I head to Colorado and Wyoming in a few weeks I may find myself strapping the 3 Legged rig to the backpack. Using my 200 mm macro or 70-400 I use the RRS rig at least 98% of the time but with my lighter lenses it’s probably overkill.