Tripod for holiday

BeatMaster

BeatMaster

BeatMaster

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Heading to Las Vegas in a few weeks and trying to decide on a compact tripod.

Any thoughts on these:

Hama Traveller Mini Pro Tripod £17
+ Lightweight, only weights 740g
+ Min height is 39.5cm
- Only extends to 117cm
Hama Traveller Compact Pro Tripod £36
+ Extends to 163cm
- Weighs twice as much 1370g
- Min height is 52cm
 
They may be cheap and light but will they be stable, the classic tripod conundrum?
It really depends what sort of camera and lens you intend using.
 
BeatMaster said:
Heading to Las Vegas in a few weeks and trying to decide on a compact tripod.

Any thoughts on these:

Hama Traveller Mini Pro Tripod £17
+ Lightweight, only weights 740g
+ Min height is 39.5cm
- Only extends to 117cm
Hama Traveller Compact Pro Tripod £36
+ Extends to 163cm
- Weighs twice as much 1370g
- Min height is 52cm
Click to expand...


You forgot the most important aspect of a tripod, is it stable? Can it support your camera and lens combinations appropriately?
 
I think gorillapods are a good option for travel. I'd rather have one of those on a wall or a rock than a flimsy tripod jittering in the wind.
 
I got the hama traveller mini pro for £5 to try. I still haven't taken it out the box. I will test it tomorrow to see how stable it is.

I got it by subscribing to 5 issues of Digital photo mag for £5 and the tripod was free

What combination are you thinking of using? I will try to match the weight to see how good it is.
 
That's a bargain for the Mini Pro! Wish that offer was still on :(

I'll be looking to mainly use a Canon 450d with a Tamron 17-50 lens. The tripod is rated to supporting 4Kg so weight shouldn't be an issue but its initial lightweight may affect its stability.

Will be good to hear your thoughts :)
 
Just keep checking mag sub sites for offers, they come up often. I've had all sorts on 5 for a £5. Lens pens, reflectors, tripods, grey cards and so on. I even rotate the offers round my work colleges to get more :D

I have a 50D so will lob on my 17-55 and test the stability tomorrow outside :)
 
theheyes said:
I think gorillapods are a good option for travel. I'd rather have one of those on a wall or a rock than a flimsy tripod jittering in the wind.
Click to expand...

robj20 said:
+1 love my gorillapod, great for hiking and travelling in general.
Click to expand...


I don't trust it at all. I've got and SLR Zoom model and the ball joints started coming off not long after I bought it. I'd just get a very small tripod in future, especially as the gorilla pod is so difficult to angle.
 
Have no trouble with mine it gets lots of use and gets chucked about.
Also have a small standard tripod but 99% of the time prefer the gorillapod.
 
Nexus said:
I don't trust it at all. I've got and SLR Zoom model and the ball joints started coming off not long after I bought it. I'd just get a very small tripod in future, especially as the gorilla pod is so difficult to angle.
Click to expand...

Never had any problems with mine, the simple solution to the problem angling them is to add a cheap ball head so you can plant the pod and then level and frame using the ball head.
 
I've got the official Joby Ballhead...

I find it unbalances the tripod and even then, as soon as you think you've got it set level the way you want, it will move.

Its a clever design, but the way the ball joints just snap off when I'm trying to angle it... which is the whole point of the design! It basically means I just can't trust the thing at all, when I do use it, I'm always holding onto the camera.
 
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