Lightweight compact tripod .. any recommendations.

I bought a 190CXPRO4 for my goddaughter for around $250 last year. It is heavier than what I use, but I do like the way the centre post can swing horizontal. I can see that being useful in the forest. A couple of years ago I bought something lighter, recommended by my camera strore expert when I went looking for a monopod. He recommended a light weight tripod, the Slik 614CF carbon fibre with 4 sections. I have a little Manfrotto ballhead on it. I have used it with Leica and 135 f4, and recently in the forest above Lorne with a Rolleiflex. The thing about the forest is there is no wind. I carried an M9, a 21, 28 and 50 and the Rolleiflex and this tripod, with a broken rib of one week's duration, and I had no problem. There was no movement at all in any of the shots where I used the tripod, mostly the 21mm on the Leica and the Rolleiflex.
 
david.elliott said:
Yeah I need to come up with a shallow, wide, sturdy bag to attach to that hook. Not sure where I will find one (grocery bag did not work well). Open to suggestions if you have any. 🙂
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To be honest I don't use the hook that often really. However when I do I attach my camera bag on to it (Lowepro Micro Trekker 100 or Domke shoulder bag).
 
I have been using the MeFoto backpacker. Lightweight, packs up really small and strong enough to use with my Linhof PC612. Cheap as well and comes in lots of colours🙂
 
Roger Hicks said:
Quote from Redged: Our tripods are only about 90% as good as Gitzo, but they're 50% of the price...

Yes, Gitzo Traveller is undoubtedly the way to go if you can afford it, though even they aren't perfect (the foot fell off my wife's Traveller monopod) but calling Benro, Redged, 3-Legged Thing, Sirui, etc., 'knock-offs' is not really accurate, any more than a Mercedes is a 'knock-off' of a Rolls Royce.

Cheers,

R.
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I think you might be referring to my remark, which was a little off the cuff, with no disrespect intended to the manufacturers or tripods you mention above. In my mind, I imagined a brand that made tripods very similar to gitzo designs, or at least that I recall, and my mind seemed to attach Benro to that brand, which I may have done wrongly. Its been quite a while since I looked at/ researched tripods, and no unfair feathering of brands was intended 🙂
 
Keith, not sure which state you're in, but if you're located in Sydney, have a pop by Mainline and have a look at the Sirui tripods. I've got one of their carbon fibre tripods and they're pretty good,. won't comment on the price though since I got it at wholesale prices through a mate...
 
Dear Damien,

Sorry: didn't mean to single you out. Benro is a major manufacturer and, as far as I can see, they actually make some of the other high-end non-Gitzo tripods. Yes, they nicked Gitzo's reversible-leg design, though that wasn't patentable: it had been around for decades, just not in so elegant a form.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Dear Damien,

Sorry: didn't mean to single you out. Benro is a major manufacturer and, as far as I can see, they actually make some of the other high-end non-Gitzo tripods. Yes, they nicked Gitzo's reversible-leg design, though that wasn't patentable: it had been around for decades, just not in so elegant a form.

Cheers,

R.
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No, not at all, Roger. In fact, thanks, you turned me on to a few tripod manufacturers I had not been aware of. Just took a peek at RedReg, and like their lighter weight, travel tripods. May look at them in the future, when replacing my klunky old manfrotto 190 🙂
 
FA Limited said:
i thought you were getting the DP2M 😛

this is always the most classic tripod article. it helps you SAVE money by spending money! 😎
http://bythom.com/support.htm

anyways lightweight tripod = Gitzo Traveller, it's really the most standard choice. there may be knockoffs or even monopods but they might not be as light or sturdy or annoyingly may not have Anti-Rotation Legs. my Traveller and Markins Ballhead weigh in at an astonishing 1.5kg, usually i will carry the tripod around when i travel now because it's that light and gives so much more flexibility.
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Yes ... I saw that typo this morning and frantically checked my order with B&H thinking I may have ordered the wrong camera ... luckily not!

As nice as a DP3M would be that 75mm focal length isn't what I need at the moment. Maybe next time! 😀
 
Ong said:
Keith, not sure which state you're in, but if you're located in Sydney, have a pop by Mainline and have a look at the Sirui tripods. I've got one of their carbon fibre tripods and they're pretty good,. won't comment on the price though since I got it at wholesale prices through a mate...
Click to expand...


Thanks for this ... I just had a look at their site and the Sirui carbon fibre travel model is very cheap and looks OK to me.

I've dealt with Scott on several occasions and he's always been great. I've bought a couple of CV lenses from him.

🙂
 
The most popular value brands are probably Benro and Feisol. Feisol have recently upgraded their metal parts to milled aluminum which is a great improvement over the cast alloy parts they were using previously. Their better tripods are sold without center columns for stability but you can buy a center column separately if you need the flexibility. Their travel tripods come with center columns as do most of the smaller tripods. I would stay away from 5 leg section tripods as in my experience that's just one section too many (poor stability). For a smallish travel tripod 4 leg sections provides a good balance between small folded size and good stability.

I'm in my third year of (ab)use with a Benro travel model that I bought as a backup to a Gitzo traveler I was using. Pretty soon I dropped the Gitzo and was using the Benro all the time, it's just a better tripod. If you want to read the details I reviewed it here. The Benro is a Gitzo copy and very well made and durable and you can interchange some parts between the brands.

WRT ballheads I've used three Markins Q3T heads but ultimately dropped them because they are a little finicky to use and they lock up in very cold weather. They are good though. Currently I'm trying out an Acratech Ultimate which has a very open design that is apparently very reliable in extreme environments. The Photo Clam ballheads are a less expensive product than the Markins but are very popular, both are copies of the Arca-Swiss Z1. I'd advise getting a head with an Arca-Swiss type of quick release clamp as the design is now more or less accepted as the best on the market with many companies making the clamps and camera plates.
 
Tripods are like lenses; it’s nice to have more than one. I use a monopod quite a bit when travelling as its very light and quick to set up, but clearly can’t do all that a real tripod can. A short while ago I got a very good deal on a mint Gitzo series 3 tripod. That’s my “serious” tripod: very stable and a little on the large side for carrying into the bush but it can be done. In between lies the lighter tripod for travel. I don’t have one, but I was seriously looking at the Feisol range.

Some things I’d look out for in a travel tripod: Anti rotation legs are very nice. The leg fold-back feature makes a compact carrying configuration, which I think is a big plus for carrying into the woods. Low weight is essential, so the 2 series Gitzo equivalents are what to look for (personally I wouldn’t go lighter). Based on use, I like twist-locks as opposed to flip-locks, although some people prefer the flip-locks for field work. 4 leg sections are good for carrying compactness. Something to consider is height. My 3 series Gitzo has a full height of 57 inches without a center column. I thought that would be too low (I’m 6’2”) but with the head and camera it’s okay. Traveller tripods are often much shorter, so I’d check out the hunching over factor before buying. Like lenses and camera bags, it’s hard to get just one!

Steve
 
The MeFoto A1350Q1A is a 5 leg section model and one look at the bottom leg section in the link above shows you why even 4 leg sections can be marginal with small tripods. Also the photographer is shown using it with the center column fully extended - the least stable configuration. He's hung the bag so it can swing, also not good. If you bought the DP2M for landscape or nighttime shots where you have long exposures this tripod wouldn't work - too flimsy.

I'm with Steve above, I use a Gitzo 3-series systematic for most things and also the small fold-up Benro for travel but it's pointless buying a tripod if it's not going to be stable. A good tripod/ballhead combination will last for many, many years, through several generations of cameras and it's worthwhile to do your research and visit a store to handle a few and see what works for you.
 
peter_n said:
The most popular value brands are probably Benro and Feisol. Feisol have recently upgraded their metal parts to milled aluminum which is a great improvement over the cast alloy parts they were using previously. Their better tripods are sold without center columns for stability but you can buy a center column separately if you need the flexibility. Their travel tripods come with center columns as do most of the smaller tripods. I would stay away from 5 leg section tripods as in my experience that's just one section too many (poor stability). For a smallish travel tripod 4 leg sections provides a good balance between small folded size and good stability.

I'm in my third year of (ab)use with a Benro travel model that I bought as a backup to a Gitzo traveler I was using. Pretty soon I dropped the Gitzo and was using the Benro all the time, it's just a better tripod. If you want to read the details I reviewed it here. The Benro is a Gitzo copy and very well made and durable and you can interchange some parts between the brands.

WRT ballheads I've used three Markins Q3T heads but ultimately dropped them because they are a little finicky to use and they lock up in very cold weather. They are good though. Currently I'm trying out an Acratech Ultimate which has a very open design that is apparently very reliable in extreme environments. The Photo Clam ballheads are a less expensive product than the Markins but are very popular, both are copies of the Arca-Swiss Z1. I'd advise getting a head with an Arca-Swiss type of quick release clamp as the design is now more or less accepted as the best on the market with many companies making the clamps and camera plates.
Click to expand...

Great review, and disturbingly thorough 🙂
 
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