The current state of my photography centers on getting out for a walk and taking the camera. If I happen to take a few pictures, then cool. If not, I got out for a nice walk. Lugging around the Giottos/BH-55 combo had become a chore and I wanted a smaller tripod. I hunted around the web for a while and starting reading about Feisol. I read a couple good reviews and a couple bad reviews. I decided to take a chance and bought a Feisol CT-3401 tripod. My main priority was having a smaller tripod that would pack down a bit and was light. Also, I decided on carbon fiber as I like to shoot during the winter and the metal tripod gets cold in the hand. The CT-3401 has four-section legs that do not rotate when you extend them. This is a feature is part of their "Rapid" line of tripods.
CT-3401 specs (2010)
max height (no center column) 51.9"
folded length:18.8"
weight: 2.62 lbs
max load:19.8 lbs
The tripod arrived nicely packaged - box in a box. The first thing that stuck me was how light the tripod was. I tried the BH-55 head on it, but it was way oversized and made the tripod very top heavy. I purchased a RRS BH-40 ball head with a clamp head. It matched perfectly. Not exactly precise, but my bathroom scale says this combo is about 4 pounds. I had read a few complaints about the tripod bag not being long enough to fit the tripod with the head attached, but Feisol must have gotten the message because this combo fits in the bag. The RRS storage bag fits over the head and part of the legs while attached to the tripod and provides a little protection out in the field (I already dropped the new head....) The viewfinder of my camera sits at 58". I am 5'10" and have to bend over a bit to look through the viewfinder. Feisol does offer a center column kit for the CT-3401 that adds about 12".
I took the tripod out last Sunday walked around San Francisco for about 4 hours. I don't have a way to attach the tripod to my backpack, so I carried it in hand or over my shoulder for the whole time. I shot with a Canon SLR and a couple different lenses - 28mm, 50mm and 70-200mm. The 70-200mm has a tripod collar that attaches to the ballhead clamp. Overall, I thought the combo was stable. I did notice some movement through the viewfinder when I was working with the 70-200 at 200mm when my hand was on the camera. Not a big deal for me as I usually use a cable release or timer when shooting with longer lens on a tripod. The combo seemed a little too light some times as when I was on a steep slope and hadn't adjusted the leg angles, it seemed like I could have easily knocked the tripod to the downhill side of the street. I did some shooting on a busy street in Chinatown and didn't feel too conspicuous with this tripod.
So overall, I'm pretty happy with this combo. I'm sure there are better tripods out there for more money, but this fits my current budget.
Feisol CT-3401 :$289
RRS BH-40 w/ LR clamp" $375
