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
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
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