Tripod required for travelling!

Depending how small you want to go, in my recent downsize I've ditched a large tripod in favour of a Manfrotto Pixi, very solid for a little thing cracking build quality and suits the A6000 and my Gopro perfectly.
 
Amp34 said:
Essentially... Not the same. :)
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I don't want to sound like a **** this is a genuine question:

If you've tried them side-by side, what was it that made you decide the RoadTrip/Redged was worth the extra £100-150 over the cheaper one?

They look identical; same design, same materials, the only difference is the colour.

Was the ball head sturdier? Were the legs easier to extend/collapse? Did the build quality feel better? Were the materials better quality or was there a more secure warranty?

I bought it as a bit of a punt based on the reviews on 'the river' that said they were the same. I've just been travelling for a month and it didn't skip a beat even with a heavy camera and lens combination attached. It passed Raymond's test with flying colours too.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it (as I did above) so I'm trying to work out what extra you get for your money?
 
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I didn't try the redget, sorry if my previous post suggested I did. I couldn't find one to try in person (it was on my list). I ended up trying multiple tripods available at camera shops around London, both the cheaper "identical" and similar/more expensive tripods. I've tried tripods that others have said are rock solid and found them quite flimsy so was/am not keen on buying a tripod without trying it out.

Perhaps the redget is just as sturdy, but I wasn't keen on finding out and having to try and negotiate a return after using it (especially as I had a reasonably limited time to get one). There are a number of tripods that are "identical" yet are actually quite different sturdiness wise, which is why, as much as it looks ostensibly the same, I wasn't going to take the chance.

In the end I tried multiple tripods in person and used my experience from the three other tripods I own (30cm Giottos, 190CX and 055Pro - all bought for specific purposes). I decided on the Roadtrip as it ticked all the boxes I was looking for, for the particular purpose (extremely small folded, light, tall) and it was the sturdiest one that did. The redget may be just as good/better, along with others in this thread, but I couldn't try it in person so didn't buy it.

Edit: didn't really answer your question. The main issues with the other tripods I tried were usually related to the flex at the joints. Many of the tripods I tried were excessively flexy where the two diameters of leg met. This one was the least flexy and gave the most stability because of it. My normal camera is a d7000 and f/2.8 normal lenses so a reasonable (but not excessive) weight, but also the occasional use of the 120-300 f/2.8 (3kg) in extreme situations so sturdiness was important.
 
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Amp34 said:
Also worth reading the latter posts of this thread I started on TP a while ago.

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/3-legged-thing-tripods.448520/

It explains why there are a number of "identical" tripods out there. Lots of design theft around it appears...
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Thanks for the two replies. :)

It would be interesting to compare the two side-by-side at a meetup or something and see just how close the stolen version gets to the original.

schizo said:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2015-Came...6-Max-156cm-/121347447468?hash=item1c40df1aac

Been using this for 4 months now,superb little tripod,sturdy,small and fits lovely on the back of my Lowepro Flipside 400 AW.

Also comes in its own bag which is handy.
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That's the aluminium version of the carbon model I posted in the first reply. Nearly half the price again. :o

The carbon version is 1.38Kg, the aluminium one looks to be 1.46Kg so I expect there's not a lot of real-world difference when carting them about.

If everything else is the same, that is a crazy price for such a good tripod.
 
I've got the Redged 522K. It's OK, but I'm not blown away by it for the money. I find the twists locks for the central column very stiff, to the point where undoing them will often wobble the tripod completely out of position which can be really irritating on uneven ground.

A couple of times I've also had problems with the little plastic sleeves inside the legs (which keep the sections correctly aligned) slipping out of place, requiring a tear-down to fix.

When it dies I'll certainly be looking at alternatives.
 
Irish_Tom said:
Thanks for the two replies. :)

It would be interesting to compare the two side-by-side at a meetup or something and see just how close the stolen version gets to the original.



That's the aluminium version of the carbon model I posted in the first reply. Nearly half the price again. :o

The carbon version is 1.38Kg, the aluminium one looks to be 1.46Kg so I expect there's not a lot of real-world difference when carting them about.

If everything else is the same, that is a crazy price for such a good tripod.
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Sorry,didnt see your post about this tripod,for the money its superb,cant fault it to be honest,had a Nikon D7000 with grip and 70-300 lens on with no trouble at all.
 
Irish_Tom said:
XCSOURCE Q666C (Google it).

It's what I've just used on my trip to Australia.

It's essentially a Chinese knockoff of a very well known and reputable brand but it's less than £100 rather than over £250.

Obviously depends on the weight of the camera and lens your using but this happily dealt with a D810 and 16-35mm (not light).
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This is a rather good bit of kit and carbon fibre is what you are really paying for !

For me I use a joby gorillapod SLR which is great for clinging to almost any thing !
 
Bean bag is the best bet, small, ultra portable, sturdy, easily packable and a great price.

I've yet to find a travel tripod that can macth a bean bag. Shouldn't be too bad but everyoneI have tried is simply not stable. In fact the closest I have come is my main tripod, Gitzo 3530S, being the systematic series it saves a load of wait by not having useless central column that reduced stability. It comes in at 2.3Kg

I would love a tripod like my Gitzo 3530S but remove the 3rd leg section and drop the tube diameter slightly (ala 2035 series) and the tube length to help portablity, replace the steal connector with Aluminum. The tripod will end up quite short, like 80-90cm but that would be the price you pay for getting stability in a lighter package.
 
Irish_Tom said:
The only problem with a beanbag is having something at the right height to sit the beanbag on. :p
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Bean bag is good for ground level or an urban environment were there are plenty of walls, bench, chairs etc.
Otherwise bean bag is just enough as an alternative for a tripod, hence my grolliapod just gets by most of the rime for me.
I even used the grolliapod I iceland to capture the northern lights from ground level . A bit more height would have been a big advantage. However a bean bag wold not have worked at all !
 
Irish_Tom said:
The only problem with a beanbag is having something at the right height to sit the beanbag on. :p
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That is what the backpack is for. The thing is even travel tripods are pretty short, for good reason because breaking th laws of physics is fairly difficult.
 
I've ordered a DiC&MiC E302C from China for £78. It's another variation of the Q-666C theme but it's meant to be built with some improved features and gets some good reviews.
 
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