Sturdy travel tripod - suggestions welcome

Caporegime
Joined
1 Nov 2003
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Lisbon, Portugal
Hi all,

Looking at upgrading my tripod. Currently I have a Velbon UT 43 II which to be fair, has been fine the past couple of years. I don't necessarily have heavy equipment setup nor use it THAT much anyway not until recently where I have been getting into photography more and especially moving toward more long exposure landscapes.

The tripod itself is great, it folds up to 30cm, weighs about a kilo. Stands at 150cm tall or thereabouts, made from aluminium. The problem with it however, when the legs are fully extended it feels like a strong breeze could move it, coupled with the inability to hang a bag from it to weigh it down (also nor would I want to hang one either) - basically I want to eventually upgrade it to something more sturdy and stronger...something which can stand up to the elements a more.

In terms of my setup I use mirrorless Olympus stuff, so it doesn't need DSLR worthy robustness (not necessarily anyway!)

Looking around, I've drooled over Gitzos, but one of their top spec travel ones is coming in around €800-900 with a head. *gulp*

I've seen Velbon do a carbon version of my tripod for around €500.

However, I checked out Manfrotto today and saw the Manfrotto Befree Advanced Carbon tripod. It looks like a fantastic bit of kit and is €270. Not sure if it includes a head or not but it seems like a bargain!

Does anyone have any comments on this tripod? or have any recommendations of any other lightweight travel tripods? :)

TIA :)

Jake
 
Associate
Joined
3 Feb 2004
Posts
733
Been looking at the Benro tripods recently in particular Travel Angel FTA28CV1 Carbon Tripod with V1 Ballhead. That Manfrotto looks a little lightweight, also not a fan of the Manfrotto quick release on the legs.

Which Velbon tripod you looking at?
 
Caporegime
OP
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Lisbon, Portugal
Velbon UTC-63 - basically a carbon fibre edition of mine.

I'll check out that Benro. The Manfrotto I was checking reviews of last night and its overwhelmingly positive it seems!

Which release do you mean? Do you mean the twist lock or the level based release? The Befree advanced comes with either option so its personal choice :)
 
Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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London
Wow some of those prices, I do wonder if the Benro Travel Slim CF might be too small time league considering what you're looking at :p.

Decided to bring its test forward a little and take it to Wales next weekend (walks, beach etc) so should have some views shortly after :).
 
Caporegime
OP
Joined
1 Nov 2003
Posts
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Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Wow some of those prices, I do wonder if the Benro Travel Slim CF might be too small time league considering what you're looking at :p.

Decided to bring its test forward a little and take it to Wales next weekend (walks, beach etc) so should have some views shortly after :).

Haha don't be fooled! For me I am someone who researches everything and tries to buy something which firmly does the job I need, regardless of the price. If something is cheap and fits the bill, then that will do. If I HAVE to buy a Gitzo....then..well, yeah :p

No rush on the feedback :) - I won't be buying until maybe Sept or October :) - deadline is my next trip which is Vienna in December! Looking forward to it all the same.
 
Soldato
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6 Jun 2008
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Finland
The tripod itself is great, it folds up to 30cm, weighs about a kilo. Stands at 150cm tall or thereabouts, made from aluminium. The problem with it however, when the legs are fully extended it feels like a strong breeze could move it
Number of leg segments must be high with innermost leg being awfully thin...

This site has good search filters so might want to use it to search for possible candidates:
https://geizhals.eu/?cat=dcamstat&xf=
 
Caporegime
Joined
25 Jul 2005
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Canada
I have a Mefoto Roadtrip which is definitely worth a look. It’s around the same size and weight as your current one. I’ve used it quite a lot over the last couple of years and it’s pretty sturdy, even with long fast glass on it. I believe Mefoto also do a smaller tripod as well if that’s of interest.
 
Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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28,087
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London
This is the most basic of thoughts but had a little play with my Benro at the weekend. Left the bloody thing in Wales though :o:mad:.

+ construction and weight are great, it feels well built and doesn't weight much at all
+ very easy to use in terms of attaching the camera and the bubbles help to quickly align properly
+ love the look and style but I am a huge fan of blue/black
+ felt sturdy but I did not give it much of a challenge (my D5200 body and a 35mm prime) - a wedding next weekend will be a better test as I will likely use my much heavier Sigma and yet to be purchased flash
- after using a tripod with clips to secure the legs, twist ones do seem a touch more faff

I took it to the beach so when I get it back, I can see how it handled the sand. Overall, for the brief time I have used it. I really like it and it's leagues ahead of the forgotten step child Manfrotto I previously had.
 
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