PSA – Zipshot discontinued

[Chris Rhoades]

http://www.zipshottripod.com/product.cfm#!prettyPhoto

If you were on the fence of wanting to purchase one of these, they are discontinued. I called Tamrac and spoke to customer service. They are out of stock and are not planning on producing any more anytime soon.

That said, you can still find them online at some vendors. I just picked one up at Amazon.

[Bob Moulder]

Thanks for the heads-up!

I have the Zipshot already, but it reminded me to get one of the minis as well, before they too are discontinued.

They are barely adequate for a 35mm camera, but I find the Zipshot stable enough for a p&s like my Nikon AW110. Great for when the shutter speed drops to 1/8s and you've got the focal lenght stretched out a bit.

Quick deploy and breakdown for stowing are extremely convenient.
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[Chris Rhoades]

Great photo! Question for you: Why would you need the short one if you have the long one? Would it be sufficient for all of your shots? Thinking weight differences and utility. I'm just newly getting into outdoor photography and will be hiking catalina island, Lake Tahoe and seeing the redwoods in a few weeks and wanted a tripod to bring with me. I will be picking up the new Sony RX100 m3 as my camera. Thanks!

[Bob Gross]

"Why would you need the short one if you have the long one?"

I can understand needing the long one in order to shoot out over foreground clutter.

In many situations, you want the camera height to be close to eye level. That gives the image a fairly normal perspective.

The short one may be slightly lighter in weight and quicker to deploy.

Personally, I don't find small tripods to be much good unless the legs are co-braced at the mid-point or lower. Plus, small tripods that don't have a weight rating can't be trusted.

–B.G.–

[Bob Moulder]

The short one is lighter (~9oz vs ~11oz) and more compact, and I think it might still get the job done. One of the problems when using it is getting the legs somewhat near level and somewhat stable, caused by the fact that leg length is not adjustable. Unless, of course, there is a situation where it might be desirable to shorten the leg length by one section and let the ferrule/shock cord rest on a rock or log.

The way I like to use it with the P&S is to set the tension on the ball head so that the camera is stable but can still be moved by hand to adjust the composition, and then use the self-timer to trip the shutter.

This is great with a P&S because there is no shutter vibration to speak of. However, it would be a different story with a SLR because the mirror slap/shutter vibration could definitely affect image sharpness with shutter speeds from 1/4sec to about 1/60sec, depending upon focal length.

It would not be unfair to call this tripod "rickety", but if you are willing to work with its limitations in return for its light weight and compactness, it most definitely can be done.

For a little more stability in the wind, one could probably rig up a little rock anchor using a tiny stuff sack, some 1mm cord and a short section of shock cord, attaching it somewhere around the neck of the ball head.

[Chris Rhoades]

Thanks again! Mine is on the way. Have you used the Trailpix system? Any comparisons? Need for both? When hiking and having 2 poles already, I can see that for the weight difference you can get nicer ball and mounts. However just for random trips and having the zipshot as a lightweight all-in-one system would be cool too.

[Bob Moulder]

Yes, I have seen photos of the Trailpix but have not used it, nor seen one in use.

It looks as if it would be much more stable for larger rigs and no doubt it is better for SLRs, although not as quick to deploy.

My former "lightweight" tripod was a Gitzo 001 with a Bogen ballhead, with a total weight of 2lb 2oz. A few years back, that was hard to beat, and it was indeed stable enough for a full-sized SLR. To have an option that is around a quarter of that weight is extremely welcome, even if it does require more effort.

Looking forward to seeing some photos from your trip!

[Author]

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