Gitzo GM3551 monopod

November 20, 2008 12 Comments

My monopod was in major need of upgrading so, when I had another trip to Florida just a week away, I decided to take the plunge and go with a nice new carbon fibre Gitzo 3551 to take along – as I was taking my 200-400 this time, my main monopod lens! I’ve never had a decent MP before so when I unwrapped the nice black box with it’s shiny, silver Gitzo lettering on the side I was quite excited to see what the fuss was about!

The 3551 with it's travel bag

Ok, so when all is said and done this is ‘just’ a monopod, but it’s such a beautifully built bit of kit it would be well worth talking about – if only to aid anyone out there who may be in the market.

Built to last!
Having come from a very old, plastic, wobbly tripod I wasn’t quite expecting the very impressive solid build of the 3551. I was also expecting something slightly lighter (that’s not to say it’s ‘heavy’, far from it, but it certainly has more weight than I was expecting) when I opened the box and also, a bit less sturdy. Gitzo have a very good reputation for making some of the best camera support out there but even knowing that, having been used to my old monopod for so long, the quality of build really did impress me.

Sturdy, solid and light 6x Carbon Fibre

Max weight 18kg!! Is it really THAT sturdy?
I have to admit, the reason I went for this model was due to the full height which comes in at just over 6’2″ as I didn’t want something that would require me to hunch over for the times I wanted to use it fully extended. I was worried if there would be a trade off between that extra height and a loss of sturdy support with an additional, thin lower leg section, despite the impressive 18kg claimed support load. My fears, thankfully, were put to rest as soon as I fully extended to 3551 to full height…there is no bend, give or reduction in it’s rigidity at all, regardless of how many sections you have extended – it always feel like one solid piece, and not several sections joined together…and that is very impressive indeed when under load! I’ve tried it with my 200-400 and even my 600/4 and it feels rock solid regardless of the lens used, although I think it will be a rare occasion I use the full height as the camera sits perfectly at my eye level with all bar the bottom section extended, and I’m 6 foot. For anyone wondering, the height when at it’s shortest is 21″.

Bottom section is very solid dispite it's width!

Clever locking system
Anyone familiar with Gitzo will know all about their leg locking system. You basically give a small twist to the lock (clockwise, even though the instructions say counter clockwise!) a quarter turn or so and then you can smoothly slide the leg section out. A quick twist in the other direction and the lock is tight again. The best thing about this system is the leg sections themselves do not rotate making the whole locking/unlocking work so much easier…in fact, it’s possible to loosen all of the locks with one hand all at once if needed, making it very fast to operate – as seen below, and for reference, I have quite small hands for a man so this quick operation would be possible for both men and women I think.

Other little touches
I quite like the small touches that let you know this is well designed and thought out bit of kit. The attached hand strap has a small hook on the inside of it so you can clip it to your bag or even belt when you don’t need to have the camera on the end.

The attached strap

Handle and strap with clip

Also, the inside of the top plate can be unscrewed with a (supplied) Allen key, and then reversed to reveal a larger diameter mounting screw for bigger kit (film camera’s?). The mounting screw also has a nice little screw on cap as well to keep it protected when there is nothing attached – sure not overly useful but again it’s that attention to detail that remind you where your money has gone.

The end cap and mounting plate

In summary
Well there isn’t really too much more to say as like I said at the start, this is ‘just’ a monopod. I would, however, absolutely recommend it to anyone who is on the look out for a good quality support that’s capable of not only holding a lot of heavy equipment up, but doing it regardless of how many leg supports are fully released. Out in the field it’s great to use and provides you with plenty of confidence when you need to support your heavy gear. The quick release locks make operation very speedy and that can be very important when you need to get more height or drop down lower unexpectedly, especially when photographing unpredictable subjects like wildlife. Overall,a very nice bit of kit and one that I can highly recommend to anyone shooting with some of the heavier equipment out there.

Thinking of buying?
If you live in the UK the Gitzo 3551 monopod can be purchased from Warehouse Express
And if you live in America the Gitzo 3551 and entire Gitzo range can be purchased from B&H Photo, or Adorama