Travel tripod

[Mark von Kanel]

Work away a lot, normally i dont take my camera but i now have a job where i am allowed to take one. I have a Giottos carbon fiber tripod which i love but its just TOO BIG for carry on luggage so im in the market for a travel tripod. my budget is £450 MAX i have heads but would consider a travel version within that price.

All recommendations greatly appreciated.

[Shadowman]

Hi Mark, since you are willing to compromise, why not consider a table top tripod or monopod. Both will require some trials to get into the perfect position, but they will both meet your weight restrictions.

[Tringa]

I have no personal knowledge of this tripod but this review

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/...roduction.html

seems to like it and it is compact.

I think they are about £200 in the UK.


Dave

[Mark von Kanel]

Hi Mark, since you are willing to compromise, why not consider a table top tripod or monopod. Both will require some trials to get into the perfect position, but they will both meet your weight restrictions.

Ill Have a look but i want it for starscapes, landscapes and macro work so i dont think either of theses will work for me, i already own a monopod i thought about a gorilla pod but im not sure on its caperbility of carrying a d800 and 70-200 f2.8 lens

[Mark von Kanel]

I have no personal knowledge of this tripod but this review

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/...roduction.html

seems to like it and it is compact.

I think they are about £200 in the UK.


Dave

A definite contender thanks! does anyone have experience with this tripod?

[LocalHero1953]

Starscapes, landscapes on the one hand and macro on the other have different requirements. For macro you probably want a centre pole that can be manoeuvred towards horizontal to get close to the subject. This sort of facility adds bulk and weight. For the first two uses you could get away with no centre pole.

I wanted a tripod for macro, and for lightness, but not specifically for flights. I ended up with a Benro carbon fibre model, a Versatile, I think. I was impressed with the design and construction, but haven't had it long enough to assess durability. These new Chinese tripods (and there a couple of others than Benro) are worth looking at IMO. Bought from WEX.

Edit: just seen the previous link. Sirui was another Chinese brand I had in mind, but couldn't find a convenient place to go and see them before buying.

[Mark von Kanel]

Hi Paul,

the benro was already on my list not sure about its value for money though, im also thinking of the 2 legged thing brian, does anyone have one?

[Manfred M]

I have a tiny Benro carbon fibre travel tripod; and it is well made and the price was quite good too. The particular unit I have has been discontinued and has been replaced with their "Travel Angel" line. By the way, if you run into Induro tripods; they are the same as Benro tripods (made in the same factory, etc.).

I also have a larger Benro, that is not quite as portable and a large Feisol which is not portable at all (all carbon fibre). The reason I have three tripods is simply that they all fill a use category for me. The small Benro is for travel, but only if I take either a crop frame or smaller camera. There isn't a hope that it can handle my full-size camera; hence the second Benro, that can. I do travel with the Feisol, but only if I am driving. It is not going to be a lot of fun to drag through airports...

The small Benro tripods fold back on themselves to become even shorter (I can even fit it into my camera backpack). The downside is that the legs are quite skinny and are in five sections, so it is not particularly rigid and does take time to set up. I have no issues taking low light shots with it that run into the seconds, but would not trust it to hold steady for long exposures, especially in windy conditions. I tend to use the centre column extended to get maximum height (and I am of average height), so again, this reduces the stability. It is coming to South Asia with me (we are backpacking) and the larger ones are staying at home (as is the D800).

I hope that this helps...

[Mark von Kanel]

well all things considered and if no more suggestions come forward it looks like ill be buying the 3 legged thing called brian

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-3...black/p1533203

its made in England so thats a plus... ill let you know what i think thanks for your help.

[Adrian]

I have a couple of three legged thing tripods. I my case I use the Eddie for travel as it has a higher weight capacity for the camera and the next level up ball head. Folded size is only 5mmm more than the one you propose. Comes wit an excellent carry bag.

I have used this tripod in the arctic at -40c and in the rain forest at +40c with pro Canon gear similar in weight to your Nikon set up and it has been fine. I am not super find of the ball head : not as good as an Arca -Swiss for example.

By the way, these tripods are designed in the UK, not made in the UK. I believe they are made in China, probably the same factory as Benro and similar. Despite their claims, I suspect 3 legged thing is really an exercise in branding. Still, I bought direct from them on a few occasions (they do lights too) and have always had excellent service.

Adrian

[Mark von Kanel]

Adrian, thanks for the advice, much appreciated, I too am not overly happy with the ball head i got with my giottos but i was thinking the air head might be better, ill look at eddie and arca swiss

[TareqPhoto]

Ok, i don't know if you can afford it or even think about it, many avoid very expensive item because they think there are cheaper items doing better job or same without wasting much, yes, that is true, but if i waste too much budget on an item i know definitely that it will save me another budget, so for tripod, i didn't look anything less than Gitzo brand.

I bought 4 tripods from Gitzo and each of the 4 is different series [1, 2, 3 and 5], and i can say that i only use series 3 and 5, series 5 i use it only locally at my country, and series 3 for my travel, it is lightweight, carbon fiber, sturdy, nice design, and carry is not bad at all, it folds up to about 60cm or nearly which i can fit into any luggage, and i bought a dedicated bag for this tripod that is 75cm large, so what else you want?

I bought that tripod in 2007 or 2008 i can't remember, and since that i never never think about any other tripods, Really Right Stuff now have tripods that match or surpass Gitzo but i didn't look as i am very happy with my Gitzo series 3 for travel.

With your budget i think you are able to buy Gitzo or you need to save little more, i know the head is also important, but make that another invesment in the future, get a better tripod first then head can be done later, the head i am using right now is RRS BH-55, it is heavy and very expensive but i am hapy to use it, i have another one for travel but i prefer BH-55 for its overkill heavy weight/design, the other one i recommend for travel is Markins Q3T, "T" is referred to travel, i think it is the best ballhead for travel if i will vote, but for my general use i will not vote it, i more like RRS ballheads over Markins.

Well, as i said in begnning, i spend a lot or over-budget once and i never spend again as i got the combo that served me for years, since 2007 until now i never felt i want to replace my gitzo tripod or RRS/Markins head, but i am thinking to buy another head that is not a ballhead for some cameras i have.

[Mark von Kanel]

Hi Tareq,

Thanks for the advice but ive already made my purchase a 3 legged thing called Eddie with an air 2 head, its too early to be certain but from initial use its brilliant, super light and compact super strong and stable ultra flexible. its early days but as i say im well impressed so far.

[TareqPhoto]

Ok, good to hear, this is the key, as long you are happy then this is the point, not necessary to go with high end quality names if you can find something else you like, at the end many companies want to have their products to be sold and not only big names.

I was late to reply and i thought you didn't make your decision yet, but good to hear you did, so enjoy it and post shots that you this tripod helped you with.