Gitzo S.A. is a manufacturer of photographic accessories, including bags, but specialising in tripods and supports.
Gitzo S.A. is a manufacturer of photographic accessories, including bags, but specialising in tripods and supports.
Gitzo was founded in France by Arsène Gitzhoven in 1917, [1] initially producing wooden and metal cassette filmbacks, and later expanding to include a line of cameras, shutters, and cable releases. [2] Between 1942 and 1944 during World War II, the company produced military support systems. [2]
During the late 1940s, tripods and tripod heads were introduced into their product range, and shortly after, Gitzhoven retired in 1960, succeeded by his daughter, Yvonne Plieger, [2] who also modeled in early Gitzo advertising photographs. [3] She and her husband became more and more dedicated to creating a range of high quality photographic tripods. [4] In 1950, Gitzo marketed its first tripod.
In 1992, Gitzo became part of the Vinten group (now Videndum), which also owns Manfrotto. Vitec are described in corporate literature as "a multinational holding company specialised in supporting professional photographers, broadcasters and filmmakers." [5] 1992 also marked the discontinuance of products outside camera support systems, including tripods, monopods, and tripod heads. [2]
Gitzo introduced the first professional carbon fiber tripod and monopod at Photokina in 1994. [2] The Gitzo factory in Paris was expanded in 1996 to 6,200 m2 (67,000 sq ft). [2]
In 2005, Gitzo completed their transfer of production from France to Italy, a process which began in 2001. [5]
In August 1999, Gitzo unveiled their revised "Mk2" aluminum tripod range, eliminating the rivets in the joint connecting the leg to the shoulder and repositioning the center column lock on rapid models to above the 'spider'. [6]
A number of different designs have been introduced under Vitec:
Gitzo have used a variety of materials. Early Gitzo tripods and monopods were manufactured from aluminum alloys, finished in the characteristic 'noir décor' hammered grey powder coating process developed in the 1970s. [12] In 1994, carbon fiber legs were introduced into the range. [2] In 2004, Gitzo introduced a new "basalt" series with tubes manufactured from silica fibers drawn from crushed and melted basalt rock, touting its vibration-damping properties. [5] [13] [14] By 2015, carbon fiber was the sole leg material offered. [12]
Today, most cast parts (such as the 'spider' where the legs are joined) are made from magnesium, replacing the aluminum alloys previously used, although Gitzo have made limited production items with more exotic 'spider' materials, such as titanium (to mark their 90th anniversary) and carbon fiber (to mark their 100th anniversary). [15] [16]
Gitzo used a series of names interchangeably with the current "series" notation:
| Series | Name | Top tube diameter | Maximum load | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Loisir or Table | 16 mm 0.63 in | 2.5 kg 5.5 lb | Loisir (French for 'leisure') |
| 0 | Weekend | 20 mm 0.79 in | 2.5 kg 5.5 lb | "MonoTrek" combination monopod/walking stick with integrated ball head has a 20mm diameter top tube. [19] |
| 1 | Total or Sport | 24 mm 0.94 in | 4.5 kg 9.9 lb | Sometimes written as 'Tatalux' |
| 2 | Reporter | 28 mm 1.1 in | 6.0 kg 13.2 lb | |
| 3 | Studex | 32 mm 1.3 in | 9.0 kg 19.8 lb | Monopods offered up to "Studex" (32mm) diameter. |
| Inter Pro Studex | 10.0 kg 22.0 lb | Compared to Studex, includes wing lock-offs on top tube and platform interchange system instead of center column, in common with Series 4 and 5. | ||
| 4 | Super Studex | 37 mm 1.5 in | 12.0 kg 26.5 lb | In the 1987 catalogue, no wing locks and fixed leg spread (non-Performance). |
| Pro Studex | In the 1987 catalogue, no wing locks and Performance variable leg spread. Later, wing locks were added to all Series 4. | |||
| 5 | Tele Studex | 41 mm 1.6 in | 20.0 kg 44.1 lb |
Gitzo also used the term "performance" to distinguish tripods which offered multiple leg angles of 24° and 55° (plus an additional 80° leg angle on Inter Pro Studex, Pro Studex, and Tele Studex models), compared with "standard" tripods that had a fixed leg opening angle of 24°. [20] "Mountaineer" tripods and monopods are manufactured with carbon fiber legs. [18] [20] "Safari" tripods and monopods (now discontinued) featured an olive drab finish and reversed legs, where the largest-diameter section is on the bottom, to improve environmental sealing. [21]
When center columns are fitted to tripods, "rapid" columns are secured with a friction-based twist lock and "geared" or "crémaillère" use a rack-and-pinion mechanism to adjust column height coupled with a twist lock. [17] "Compact" and "geant" tripods feature more leg sections either for a more compact package when folded ("compact", typically four leg sections) or to reach greater heights ("geant", typically five leg sections). [22] "Compact" is also applied to special short rapid columns intended to allow the tripod to get closer to the ground. [23]
Products introduced after 2007 follow a standardized coding system: [5] [11] : 69
| G T | S | M | L/H | R | F | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gitzo Type | Series | Material | Le.g. sections | Head type | Release/Generation | Features | Family | ||||||||
| B | Boom | - | Table [lower-alpha 1] 16 mm 0.63 in | 3 | Aluminum | 3 | 3 leg sections | 2 | 2-way | # | Rev number [lower-alpha 2] | C | Compact [lower-alpha 3] | EX | Explorer [lower-alpha 4] |
| C | Carrying solution [lower-alpha 5] | 0 | Weekend 20 mm 0.79 in | 5 | Carbon fiber | 4 | 4 leg sections | 3 | 3-way | GT | Giant [lower-alpha 6] | F | Safari [lower-alpha 7] | ||
| H | Head | 1 | Sport 24 mm 0.94 in | 7 | Magnesium | 5 | 5 leg sections | 5 | Off-center ball | L | Long [lower-alpha 8] | LVL | Leveling [lower-alpha 9] | ||
| K | Kit [lower-alpha 10] | 2 | Reporter 28 mm 1.1 in | 9 | Basalt | 6 | 6 leg sections | 8 | Center ball | O | Ocean [lower-alpha 11] | Q | Quick Release [lower-alpha 12] | ||
| M | Monopod | 3 | Studex 32 mm 1.3 in | XL | Extra-long | S | Systematic [lower-alpha 13] [lower-alpha 14] | ||||||||
| S | Accessory | 4 | Pro Studex 37 mm 1.5 in | T | Traveler [lower-alpha 15] | ||||||||||
| T | Tripod | 5 | Tele Studex 41 mm 1.6 in | ||||||||||||
For instance, GT3541L means the product is a Series 3 (studex) carbon fiber tripod with "long" four-section legs, release/generation 1.
Fiber or fibre is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate fibers, for example carbon fiber and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene.
Carbon fibers or carbon fibres are fibers about 5 to 10 micrometers (0.00020–0.00039 in) in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. Carbon fibers have several advantages: high stiffness, high tensile strength, high strength to weight ratio, high chemical resistance, high-temperature tolerance, and low thermal expansion. These properties have made carbon fiber very popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military, motorsports, and other competition sports. However, they are relatively expensive compared to similar fibers, such as glass fiber, basalt fibers, or plastic fibers.
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged design provides good stability against gravitational loads as well as horizontal shear forces, and better leverage for resisting tipping over due to lateral forces can be achieved by spreading the legs away from the vertical centre. Variations with one, two, and four legs are termed monopod, bipod, and quadripod.
A bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, onto which wheels and other components are fitted. The modern and most common frame design for an upright bicycle is based on the safety bicycle, and consists of two triangles: a main triangle and a paired rear triangle. This is known as the diamond frame. Frames are required to be strong, stiff and light, which they do by combining different materials and shapes.
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A bipod is a V-shaped portable attachment that helps support and steady a device, usually a weapon such as a long gun or a mortar. The term comes from the Latin prefix bi- and Greek root pod, meaning "two" and "foot" respectively.
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The CheyTac Intervention also known as the CheyTac M200, is an American bolt-action sniper rifle manufactured by CheyTac USA, which can also be classified as an anti-materiel rifle. It is fed by a 7-round detachable single-stack magazine. It is specifically chambered in either .408 Chey Tac or .375 Chey Tac ammunition. CheyTac Inc. states that the system is capable of delivering sub-MOA accuracy at ranges of up to 2,500 yd (2,286 m). It is based on the EDM Arms Windrunner.
In photography, a tripod is a portable device used to support, stabilize and elevate a camera, a flash unit, or other videographic or observational/measuring equipment. All photographic tripods have three legs and a mounting head to couple with a camera. The mounting head usually includes a thumbscrew that mates to a female-threaded receptacle on the camera, as well as a mechanism to be able to rotate and tilt the camera when it is mounted on the tripod. Tripod legs are usually made to telescope, in order to save space when not in use. Tripods are usually made from aluminum, carbon fiber, steel, wood or plastic.
The specific strength is a material's strength divided by its density. It is also known as the strength-to-weight ratio or strength/weight ratio or strength-to-mass ratio. In fiber or textile applications, tenacity is the usual measure of specific strength. The SI unit for specific strength is Pa⋅m3/kg, or N⋅m/kg, which is dimensionally equivalent to m2/s2, though the latter form is rarely used. Specific strength has the same units as specific energy, and is related to the maximum specific energy of rotation that an object can have without flying apart due to centrifugal force.
Manfrotto is an Italian brand of camera and lighting supports, including tripods, monopods, and other accessories, that is manufactured by Lino Manfrotto + Co. Spa, a company headquartered in Cassola, Italy. The brand is wholly-owned by Videndum plc.
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Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers, carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers, carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic, also known as carbon fiber, carbon composite, or just carbon, are extremely strong and light fiber-reinforced plastics that contain carbon fibers. CFRPs can be expensive to produce, but are commonly used wherever high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness (rigidity) are required, such as aerospace, superstructures of ships, automotive, civil engineering, sports equipment, and an increasing number of consumer and technical applications.
A weapon mount is an assembly or mechanism used to hold a weapon onto a platform in order for it to function at maximum capacity. Weapon mounts can be broken down into two categories: static mounts and non-static mounts.
A tripod head is the part of a tripod system that attaches the supported device to the tripod legs, and allows the orientation of the device to be manipulated or locked down. Modular or stand-alone tripod heads can be used on a wide range of tripods, allowing the user to choose which type of head best suits their needs. Integrated heads are built directly onto the tripod legs, reducing the cost of the tripod system.
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Berlebach Stativtechnik from Mulda, Saxony in Germany, is a manufacturer of Tripods and Monopods for Photography, Telescope and Surveying made from ash.
