Benbo Trekker

stuart38 · 29 Apr 2006 at 15:37

Does anyone own one of the Benbo tripods? If so what are your thoughts on it and its pro's/con's?

I have been wanting a new tripod for ages and like the idea of having the horizontal swing arm to do macro photography or studio type stuff. Looking around I can only really see the Benbo ones and some of the Gitzo Explorer ones (£200+) as giving me the kind of functionality I want.

The Manfrotto range offer fixed horizontal center colums on some models in their range but Im not sure if that would be as good as the Benbo or Gitzos with the option to angle in all degrees.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

stuart38 · 29 Apr 2006 at 15:54

what things put you off the benbo's - build quality, weight, lack of features?

Im thinking I could get the benbo trekker with head for about £60 2nd hand.. whereas a manfrotto would cost me about £90 for the tripod and another £30 or so for a head

stuart38 · 29 Apr 2006 at 18:11

I think I'm going to get one (Benbo Trekker) from an auction site and see how I get on with it.. at the end of the day I can always re-sell it if I dont feel comfortable using it for landscapes etc.

Cheers for the input

stuart38 · 8 May 2006 at 20:48

I bottled it with the Benbo in the end as I couldnt find one to try out and have heard more bad than good about it. I think I may keep an eye out for a 2nd hand one as a backup tripod to try out.

In the meantime Ive bought the following for £155 delivered from a UK retailer:

GIOTTOS MT 9170 INNOVATOR Tripod Legs
3 way Tripod Head MH-5000
180 degree centre column collar

I did quite a bit of research and considered a Feisol tripod from China which was very resonable until you add in all the extra parts (still very good value for a carbon fibre tripod though), I also considered the Manfrotto 190 Pro and a couple of others but for value for money I reckon this one meets all my requirements.

Cheers for the input

stuart38 · 9 May 2006 at 09:13

you are correct - however looking at the uni-lock tripods that he now makes look more or less the same despite reviews that say it's easier to use.
I'm sure they are great tripods but for now I'm sticking with a tried and trusted until I can afford to own both.