Gitzo G-535 Geared Lateral Side Arm for Studex Tripods

Comments about Gitzo G-535 Geared Lateral Side Arm for Studex Tripods:

I bought this lateral arm to replace a Feisol lateral arm that was not adequate for my tabletop macro work. If you've been discouraged from considering the Gitzo lateral arm because of the one-and-only review, a very negative one, you might want to reconsider. Read on.

FIRST REVIEWER: "Not up to Gitzo normal quality". I disagree. See list of my Gitzo items in the last paragraph.

FIRST REVIEWER: "The L shape bracket isn't strong enough to support heavy setup." The bracket is more than adequate for supporting the lateral arm when I have attached to the arm the large and heavy (almost 2 lb) Gitzo GH3750QR off-center ball head, and attached to the ball head the Novoflex Castel Q focusing rack (about 2 lb also), and attached to the focusing rack a Nikon D3200 camera (about 0.5 lb) with a Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Zoom Lens (1.2 lb), for a total weight of over 5 lb.

FIRST REVIEWER: "Gear lever difficult to operate." I don't find it difficult at all.

FIRST REVIEWER: "The locking ring take a lot of force to securely lock down. (At least 5 time as much when compare to a Gitzo leg)". In my experience, the locking ring works easily and does a good job.

FIRST REVIEWER: "Counter weight hook not well design and may let the sand bag to slip out." I use a Baby-Boa 5-lb sand bag. Firmly in place.

MY EQUIPMENT: In addition to the equipment I mentioned above, I use a Gitzo GT3320BS tabletop tripod and a Gitzo GS3311S rapid column.

Comments about Gitzo G-535 Geared Lateral Side Arm for Studex Tripods:

The L shape bracket isn't strong enough to support heavy setup.

Gear lever difficult to operate.

The locking ring take a lot of force to securely lock down. (At least 5 time as much when compare to a Gitzo leg)

Counter weight hook not well design and may let the sand bag to slip out.

Comments about Gitzo G-535 Geared Lateral Side Arm for Studex Tripods:

I bought this lateral arm to replace a Feisol lateral arm that was not adequate for my tabletop macro work. If you've been discouraged from considering the Gitzo lateral arm because of the one-and-only review, a very negative one, you might want to reconsider. Read on.

FIRST REVIEWER: "Not up to Gitzo normal quality". I disagree. See list of my Gitzo items in the last paragraph.

FIRST REVIEWER: "The L shape bracket isn't strong enough to support heavy setup." The bracket is more than adequate for supporting the lateral arm when I have attached to the arm the large and heavy (almost 2 lb) Gitzo GH3750QR off-center ball head, and attached to the ball head the Novoflex Castel Q focusing rack (about 2 lb also), and attached to the focusing rack a Nikon D3200 camera (about 0.5 lb) with a Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Zoom Lens (1.2 lb), for a total weight of over 5 lb.

FIRST REVIEWER: "Gear lever difficult to operate." I don't find it difficult at all.

FIRST REVIEWER: "The locking ring take a lot of force to securely lock down. (At least 5 time as much when compare to a Gitzo leg)". In my experience, the locking ring works easily and does a good job.

FIRST REVIEWER: "Counter weight hook not well design and may let the sand bag to slip out." I use a Baby-Boa 5-lb sand bag. Firmly in place.

MY EQUIPMENT: In addition to the equipment I mentioned above, I use a Gitzo GT3320BS tabletop tripod and a Gitzo GS3311S rapid column.

Comments about Gitzo G-535 Geared Lateral Side Arm for Studex Tripods:

The L shape bracket isn't strong enough to support heavy setup.

Gear lever difficult to operate.

The locking ring take a lot of force to securely lock down. (At least 5 time as much when compare to a Gitzo leg)

Counter weight hook not well design and may let the sand bag to slip out.