Gitzo Leveling Base for Systematic Tripods

2019-02-06T23:39:24

Solid and very well made. This greatly enhances the users ability to position their camera simply and quickly, while maintaining a solid unshakable platform.

CHARLES S.

2018-09-04T13:28:57

This thing works great. Get your tripod set, loosen base, adjust base, tighten and your done.

JAMES L.

2017-10-11T13:40:39

I primarily shoot wildlife, and with a tripod use only gimble heads. Since head leveling devices came out, I would not use a gimble head without one. By incorporating an inverted ball in a socket, the head can be quickly tilted to whatever angle, relative to the tripod, which will level the head platform. This makes it much quicker to set up to shoot subjects before they take off, than having to adjust leveling by fiddling with leg length. (It also allows one to shoot up or down more steeply than one could with tripod leg adjustment alone in those rare instances when such steep shooting is called for.) I prefer head levelers which have an adjustment stick that sits between the tripod legs, since they allow more degrees of adjustment and are easier to use. (One needs a fairly broadly spaced set of legs to accommodate such a design.) To use this style of leveler, one must match a ball device (this part) with a socket designed to accommodate it and a tripod designed to accommodate the combination. Both Gitzo and Really Right Stuff manufacture levelers of this design for their own tripods. I don't know whether any other manufacturer does so. Thus, to use this device one needs a Gitzo tripod which is designed to accommodate it. Such a combination is a joy to use, and I would recommend it to anyone considering buying a heavy tripod for use with a gimble head. (For tripods that will not accommodate such a design, Really Right Stuff offers a more universal one that does not include an adjustment stick between the tripod legs.) This is Gitzo's second version of this design. I have now owned both. While each is a great improvement over not having one, this version is easier to loosen and tighten than was the first, and it in combination with the socket designed for it, operate more smoothly and quietly than did their predecessor. I would strongly recommend them to anyone considering using a gimble head with a heavy Gitzo tripod. (Such combinations are the best I have ever used. I suspect that the only other combination that might match them would be heavy duty legs and a similar combination from Really Right Stuff. Neither company offers a gimble head that I have used or would recommend. For that I would recommend a Wimberley WH-200 series II head.

Robert S.

2017-10-06T21:10:56

This piece of equipment is made as you would expect from Gitzo. It is a pleasure to admire the quality. It makes setting up my Gitzo Systematic tripod and leveling it so easy. I use it with a panoramic head and it works great. It's pricey but worth it.

MICHAEL O.