Gitzo S.A. is a manufacturer of photographic

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 accessories, including bags, but specialising in tripods

Tripod (photography)

In photography, a tripod is used to stabilize and elevate a camera, or to support flashes or other photographic equipment. All photographic tripods have three legs and a mounting head to couple with a camera...

 and supports.

Founded in France by Arsène Gitzhoven in 1917 initially producing cameras, shutters, and cable releases, but between 1942 and 1944 with World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the company closed for the duration of the occupation.

During the 1950s, tripods were introduced into their product range, and shortly after, Gitzhoven retired, and his daughter, Yvonne Plieger took over the company. She and her husband became more and more dedicated to creating a range of high quality photographic tripods.

In 1992, Gitzo became part of the Vitec group, that also owns Manfrotto, described in corporate literature as "a multinational holding company specialised in supporting professional photographers, broadcasters and filmmakers."

In 2005, Gitzo completed their transfer of production from France to Italy, a process which began in 2001.