Ok, what I really want is a very light weight yet sturdy tripod for misc needs... I was thinking about one of this gripper tripods... but I am not sure if I am going to be happy with it. I have a very sturdy and on the heavy side Basalt Gitzo, but its just too bulky... and honestly, I hate thinking about taking it out. anyone have a suggestion for me?
It depends on the budget and weight levels you are happy with, I suppose. Benro, a Chinese knock off brand make some surprisingly good tripods and ballheads that will take 4 - 20Kg of load. Aluminium and Carbon Fibre are available in their range. They are a heck of a lot cheaper than the known brands and the ones I've looked at in person have been exceptionally well made. They are plentiful on fleabay and may even be in your local camera stores too.
Sturdiness means less leg sections, but that then means you are carrying a much longer thing when compacted. The more leg sections you have, the more potential you have for vibration and for things not to be done up tight enough, etc...
Also look at water / sand and dust proofing of the tripod. Mine is in sand and water fairly regularly.
My current tripod is probably about 75cm long with the ballhead attached, in a sling bag I throw over my shoulder. It gets in the way if I am doing a spot of hand held work though, but I just grin and bear it and stumble on. My next one will have three sections to the legs, so it will be more stable again.
I have an aluminium tripod. Honestly, for the couple of hundred grams weight difference of a carbon fibre and the great leap up in price, it's not worth it.
Look at the thickness of the leg sections too, my thinnest leg section is 23mm in diameter.
Don't forget the ballhead either! A cheap one with just one locking mechanism will be cheap and nasty to use. Look at one with adjustment for damping the movement overall and adjusters for vertical, horizontal and complete movement.
Look at the Vanguard Alta Pro 263A. It is the tripod I use in the field. It light and sturdy. You can flare the legs, the center column extends vertical too.
Vanguard is good but they had some QA issues for a while. I went through two 263A last year before they replaced it with a carbon fiber model. Really a frustrating experience. They admitted to me they had a factory issue.
I love the one I use most often -- the Manfrotto 190CXPro3: http://www.adorama.com/BG190CX3.html
The ball head has to be purchased separately. I use this one: http://www.adorama.com/BGMH055M0Q2.html
This setup has been really steady in windy and unsteady conditions, on sand as well as regular surfaces.
But I've heard a lot of good things about the new beFree model which is more of a travel model, lighter weight.
I recently went on a trip to London and took the Velbon P-max with me. This tripod is folded 36 cm and unfolded can go up to 131cm. I carried it in my hand luggage. The tripod is specified for a maximum load of 1.5kg and I was planning to use it to support a Nikon P7100 compact camera. I took several pictures however with a Nikon D200 with battery pack and 70-200 VR lens attached which must amount to something like 2.5kg and that worked out well using the timer to avoid vibrations. The tripod is very sturdy but does not have a central column, height must be adjusted with the telescoping legs. All in all I find this a convenient tripod for traveling. For home use or places I can visit with the car I use a longer and heavier tripod.
I use a MeFOTO Backpacker Travel tripod that folds up to 12.6 inches and weighs less than 3 pounds. I use it with my 5D Mark lll and have no trouble. I love that it is so small, but functional. It is great when you are walking lots of miles and can't carry that much weight. For all other times I use my heavier Manfrotto.
I've just bought the '3 legged thing' 'Brian'. It's carbon fibre, weighs 1.5kilo with ball head so very light. It folds very small too so that it fits in carry on bags if going on holiday. Comes with ball head. I love it but was expensive at over £350.
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Sturdiness means less leg sections, but that then means you are carrying a much longer thing when compacted. The more leg sections you have, the more potential you have for vibration and for things not to be done up tight enough, etc...
Also look at water / sand and dust proofing of the tripod. Mine is in sand and water fairly regularly.
My current tripod is probably about 75cm long with the ballhead attached, in a sling bag I throw over my shoulder. It gets in the way if I am doing a spot of hand held work though, but I just grin and bear it and stumble on. My next one will have three sections to the legs, so it will be more stable again.
I have an aluminium tripod. Honestly, for the couple of hundred grams weight difference of a carbon fibre and the great leap up in price, it's not worth it.
Look at the thickness of the leg sections too, my thinnest leg section is 23mm in diameter.
Don't forget the ballhead either! A cheap one with just one locking mechanism will be cheap and nasty to use. Look at one with adjustment for damping the movement overall and adjusters for vertical, horizontal and complete movement.
Another tripod I have is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-Professional-65-inch-Carbon-Release/dp/B004RCHX0W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386465413&sr=8-1&keywords=tripod+carbon
I've had this one for 3 years and have traveled with it all over the US. Still going strong.
The ball head has to be purchased separately. I use this one: http://www.adorama.com/BGMH055M0Q2.html
This setup has been really steady in windy and unsteady conditions, on sand as well as regular surfaces.
But I've heard a lot of good things about the new beFree model which is more of a travel model, lighter weight.
http://www.amazon.com/Vista-Explorer-60-Inch-Lightweight-Tripod/dp/B000V7AF8E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383618181&sr=8-1&keywords=vista+explorer+tripod