Travel Tripod Advice

Tom Tom

Tom Tom

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Ive been looking at a new tripod, I would like something that folds up fairly compact but isn't too flimsy. For example I'm heading to Iceland in March and I've heard the winds are strong so would like something quite sturdy. Im looking to spend around 100-150.

Have narrowed it down to the following 5:

Redged TCA 522K 130.00
http://www.redgedstore.com/tca-522k

Benro A1682T 150.00
http://www.fotosense.co.uk/benro-a1682t-b0-travel-angel-2-aluminium-tripod-kit.html

Redsnapper RSF 284 120.00
http://www.redsnapperuk.com/camera-accessories/RSF-284___RSH-12_Ball_Head.html

All basically come in under my budget and look pretty good just little concerned how stable they would be?

Then theres this 2 ebay specials:

Diat Tripod (UK) 120.00
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminium...13?pt=UK_Tripods_Monopods&hash=item35cbfddd5d

Beike Carbon Tripod (China) 110.00
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carbon-Fi...50?pt=UK_Tripods_Monopods&hash=item3f2159f1ae

Both look pretty good to me, very similar to the others and Beike is Carbon Fibre? Rest are Ali so in terms of weight will be beneficial

Can anyone advise? Thank you! :)
 
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If you go for the DIAT check they have stock before ordering I went for the carbon fibre version and wasted 3 days waiting for a refund!
 
a1ex2001 said:
If you go for the DIAT check they have stock before ordering I went for the carbon fibre version and wasted 3 days waiting for a refund!
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Sorry to hear you had problems with your purchase, Alex.

I bought one of these used here on the forum and have to say it is a fantasic tripod.
 
I don't have any experience of the tripods you've listed but I wouldn't rule out this............

VELBON ULTRA REXI L (3rd one down)
http://www.velbon.co.uk/ultra.html

I've used one for the last year or so as my travel tripod and its been brilliant. Very sturdy, light, compact and easy to use. I use a Manfrotto ball head and it holds up my heavy FF gear (3kg ish) without complaint.

A few people on here have one and the feedback for it is universally positive.

Cheers

Mark
 
killwilly said:
Sorry to hear you had problems with your purchase, Alex.

I bought one of these used here on the forum and have to say it is a fantasic tripod.
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I was really disappointed as I was looking forward to receiving it and after your recommendation was hoping it would more than fit my needs, sadly there is only one UK stockist, despite them having 3 ebay accounts in the UK and they fed me a line about stock damaged in delivery and how they were waiting two months for more stock. I questioned why the listing was still on ebay with 10+stock listed on all three accounts and they said they can't end it due to eBay policies, suffice to say negative feedback was left even after I received my refund.

I went with a Manfrotto befree in the end which I am very happy with although I still have the carbon fiber itch.
 
a1ex2001 said:
If you go for the DIAT check they have stock before ordering I went for the carbon fibre version and wasted 3 days waiting for a refund!
Click to expand...

I will message them!

Glenn Surtees said:
The Redged can be had for £119 from Cameraworld
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Thanks will make a note of that :)

Toxic said:
Check this thread, its been running a few days and Ray Lin has done a good review.

It may be helpful.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/best-compact-travel-tripod-just.528347/page-2#post-6098814
Click to expand...

Just been reading through and very helpful
Gupster said:
I don't have any experience of the tripods you've listed but I wouldn't rule out this............

VELBON ULTRA REXI L (3rd one down)
http://www.velbon.co.uk/ultra.html

I've used one for the last year or so as my travel tripod and its been brilliant. Very sturdy, light, compact and easy to use. I use a Manfrotto ball head and it holds up my heavy FF gear (3kg ish) without complaint.

A few people on here have one and the feedback for it is universally positive.

Cheers

Mark
Click to expand...
going to look at this now :)

a1ex2001 said:
I was really disappointed as I was looking forward to receiving it and after your recommendation was hoping it would more than fit my needs, sadly there is only one UK stockist, despite them having 3 ebay accounts in the UK and they fed me a line about stock damaged in delivery and how they were waiting two months for more stock. I questioned why the listing was still on ebay with 10+stock listed on all three accounts and they said they can't end it due to eBay policies, suffice to say negative feedback was left even after I received my refund.

I went with a Manfrotto befree in the end which I am very happy with although I still have the carbon fiber itch.
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been looking at the Manfrotto. It looks mores sturdy than the others which is important to me. Where did you purchase from ? I'll add it to the mix. I'm just concerned the others might flex in high winds. I'll only be somewhere like Iceland a few days but I'm sure I'll be kicking myself if it wobbles around in that time.

Also some come with better ballheads. The Redged ballhead looks more basic compared to say redsnapper. I would definitely want a smooth operating quick release plate?
 
Tom Tom said:
I will message them!



Thanks will make a note of that :)



Just been reading through and very helpful

going to look at this now :)



been looking at the Manfrotto. It looks mores sturdy than the others which is important to me. Where did you purchase from ? I'll add it to the mix. I'm just concerned the others might flex in high winds. I'll only be somewhere like Iceland a few days but I'm sure I'll be kicking myself if it wobbles around in that time.

Also some come with better ballheads. The Redged ballhead looks more basic compared to say redsnapper. I would definitely want a smooth operating quick release plate?
Click to expand...

I got it from this ebay seller http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Manfrotto...314?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20d8aa90ca great price and two day delivery from Ireland which isn't bad at all. Mine is for a trip to Iceland the last day of this month as decent Northern light pictures without a tripod just were not going to happen. It is really well made and feels solid especially if you cn avoid extending the bottom leg section. The only thing lacking is a bag hook but I will improvise with a bit of paracord and a clip.
 
Ok will have a good look at it, could you post up a few pics of it? rather than ebay ones. Im going there on the 02nd just trying to get my equipment together :)
 
a1ex2001 said:
I was really disappointed as I was looking forward to receiving it and after your recommendation was hoping it would more than fit my needs, sadly there is only one UK stockist, despite them having 3 ebay accounts in the UK and they fed me a line about stock damaged in delivery and how they were waiting two months for more stock. I questioned why the listing was still on ebay with 10+stock listed on all three accounts and they said they can't end it due to eBay policies, suffice to say negative feedback was left even after I received my refund.

I went with a Manfrotto befree in the end which I am very happy with although I still have the carbon fiber itch.
Click to expand...


I first started to get interested in the Diat tripod back in November last year and sent the UK eBay vendor a message asking if they had it in stock and ready for despatch. The following was their reply:-

Dear customer

Yes we have this item in stock in the UK and can be delivered anytime.

Best regards,
Sabrina



I didn't buy one at the time because I was looking at other options, but then an almost new one came up for sale here on the forum, so I bought that.
 
Out of interest what determines a tripod strength in winds or moving water? A Carbon construction of course is light and strong but would its weight effectively be a disadvantage for stability?
 
Sadly you can't really get away from weight for ultimate solidity generally speaking a quality heavy tripod will be more stable than a quality light one. You can hang your bag on a lightweight tripod to counter act this to an extent but it's not the same and in a breeze the hanging bag can swing and cause more problems.

The best advice would be:
1) buy a quality tripod
2) buy the heaviest tripod you will actually use.
 
a1ex2001 said:
Sadly you can't really get away from weight for ultimate solidity generally speaking a quality heavy tripod will be more stable than a quality light one. You can hang your bag on a lightweight tripod to counter act this to an extent but it's not the same and in a breeze the hanging bag can swing and cause more problems.

The best advice would be:
1) buy a quality tripod
2) buy the heaviest tripod you will actually use.
Click to expand...

Its not something i want to skimp on for sure but its trying to find a balance. I do alot of travel so something too big/heavy might end up being an inconvenience. The ones I've posted all have good merits but its the stability I'm concerned about. I notice some have thicker tubing i.e. 28mm over 22mm. I think thats a good plus. Most have hooks to weight it down, also good.
 
You can't have the stability and light.

If it is light, then centre of gravity will be high which in turn will not be stable. You can't have a 6kg camera on top of a 1kg tripod with 22mm column and expect that to be as stable as a 3kg tripod with 28mm column.

There are some middle ground but as a whole that is the general rule of thumb.

I have a Manfrotto 055pro, aluminium. It is heavy, I don't deny it. That thing will support heavy gear easily, it is stable but I simply do not travel with it.

I also just purchased a Redged 525k. 1.2kg. It's so light and small it fits inside my messenger bag. However, putting a DSLR on top it will be top heavy (even if it's strong enough to take it twice over). So you are just going to have to "make do". For me, travelling with something light is better than travelling with something heavy, especially if you are walking a lot. You can always hook things under it to lower the centre of gravity or hope it wouldn’t be windy for that 20 seconds shot.

There are other tripods that falls in the middle ground which is around 1.4 to 1.6kg that are not as compact and arguably more sturdy. May be they will suit you. At the end of the day, no tripod is perfect and it depends on what you value the most. If you are travelling by car a lot then I would get the most sturdy one. If you are on foot then I would get a light compact one.
 
Yes, lightweight travel tripods are always going to involve some compromise when it comes to stability. You may want to look at the Sirui range too - I am very happy with my Sirui T005X (cost me £70 with ballhead included). When I was looking around I narrowed it down to the Sirui, Mefoto Roadtrip and Velbon Ultra Rexi. The Velbon may be the best compromise/all rounder in terms of height and stability (it's the tallest and there are a few reviews saying it coped okay with a full frame camera (D800, 5D mkiii) and 70-210 lens combo. Budget for a decent too head though as it's £94 for the legs. I did not really look in to the Redged range as had not heard of them at the time, but they look similar in some ways to the Sirui and Mefoto designs.

Some reviews of the Velbon here:
Reviews:
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/velbon-ultra-rexi-l-tripod-review-16157
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...il&Q=&sku=743062&is=REG&si=rev#costumerReview
http://www.spraggonphotography.co.uk/blog/2013/10/14/velbon-ultra-rexi-l-travel-tripod-review/
http://www.wexphotographic.com/blog/three-long-legged-friend-velbon-ultra-rexi-l-tripod-review

For carbon fibre (more expensive) I liked the Feisol: http://www.globaltechcommerce.co.uk/feisoluk/25-ct-3442-tournament.html Folded length was too long for me though. Feisol do some nice ballheads too. Sirui also do a carbon fibre version of my tripod (T-025X) but for me I did not think the minor weight saving justified paying more than twice as much. http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/sirui-t-025x-travel-tripod-review/introduction.html
 
applemint said:
The Velbon may be the best compromise/all rounder in terms of height and stability (it's the tallest and there are a few reviews saying it coped okay with a full frame camera (D800, 5D mkiii) and 70-210 lens combo. Budget for a decent too head though as it's £94 for the legs.
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I have this one, the Velbon Ultra Rexi L. It holds my 5D3 + 24-105L no problem at all. It folds down to 36cm (without head). With ballhead and camera attached, it's tall enough for me (I'm 6ft), not quite eye-level but I don't need to bend too much. The legs weigh 1.3kg, so it's pretty light. It's made of some kind of alloy and feels strong, with top leg diameter of 30cm, the lowest leg isn't too thin at all. Centre column can be split in two, so you can have a short column and then fold the legs flat out, so the camera is very near the ground. However, there's no hook on the column to hang a bag - I rectified this by putting a hole through the column end-cap and adding my own hook from a local DIY store. The twist lock legs take some getting used to. Also I'm not sure how easy it would be to strip & clean.
 
Tom Tom said:
Ive been looking at a new tripod, I would like something that folds up fairly compact but isn't too flimsy. For example I'm heading to Iceland in March and I've heard the winds are strong so would like something quite sturdy.
Click to expand...

I've just been through the same exercise (hope to see you there :)) and narrowed it down to a Mefoto Globetrotter. It's not quite as compact as other "Travel Tripods" but it does handle a lot of weight (12Kg). I'll probably not load it that much with camera kit but it means I'll be able to hang a bag from the bottom hook on the centre column to keep it secure in the wind :D

Tripod with 7D + Grip + 24-70 (I bought the carbon version by mistake or so I told Mrs G)

tripod.jpg
 
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Raymond Lin said:
Anyway, what do you think of it? That was on my shortlist too !
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I had a quick play with it fully extended with the 7D + grip + 24-70 and it seemed pretty solid. Ball head was smooth & secure with all the leg twist locks having a nice positive feel. The monopod works like you'd expect and it comes with a set of spikes in the bag. At full height the 7D view finder is at my eye level (6' 2") so for a travel tripod it pretty much does everything the same as a "normal" tripod does.

I'd say it's well worth the price for the alloy version, whether the carbon is worth £130 for 650g........... but it does look nice & techy ;)
 
As I said in Raymond's thread, I bought a BeFree. Because I could, I visited Clifton Cameras today to have a look at the TCA525K. I couldn't get on with the rotating leg clamps as I found them too fiddly compared with Manfrotto's levers. It's very nicely made and goes usefully low but those leg locks.....
 
The Twist leg locks does take some getting used to. I am still having to double check them every time before I mount my camera, with the manfrotto there is a visual confirmation, you dont get that with a twist lock.
 
I was unsure about twist locks too (my Manfrotto has clip locks, the Sirui twist ones) but you soon get used to them - it's just a case of remembering to check them. They are faster to open though when setting up - just grab them all together twist and extend the whole leg at once.
 
I think i wouldn't have a problem with the leg locks. Looks easy to me.

Ive just written down a few specs from the above and actually the Redsnapper scores highly

46cm Folded (on the large side but no problem)
155cm working height
Max Load 8kG (more than most)
28mm Tubes as supposed to 22mm
Weight 1.6Kg is competitive
Decent Ballhead & Quick release plate
Hook to weight it down more
Grip for handle (thinking of the cold)

The Manfrotto Befree and Redge 522K also score well but i tried the manfrotto today in store and unsure on those extendable legs. Seem a tad flimsy. Argh not sure, now looking at tripods double my budget haha
 
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The budget is always something to keep in mind I started off aiming for £100 stretched by 37 quid for the DIAT I originally chose and when that fell through started to seriously consider options like the redge that smashed my budget to pieces. In the end a quick reality check was needed to get my spending back under control!
 
Tom Tom said:
Ive just written down a few specs from the above and actually the Redsnapper scores highly

46cm Folded (on the large side but no problem)
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I think that's the folded height of the Redsnapper tripod WITHOUT the head attached, the head adds another 100mm
 
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mrgubby said:
I think that's the folded height of the Redsnapper tripod WITHOUT the head attached, the head adds another 100mm
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Ok so 56mm, thats actually getting on the long side. I will check that.

a1ex2001 said:
The budget is always something to keep in mind I started off aiming for £100 stretched by 37 quid for the DIAT I originally chose and when that fell through started to seriously consider options like the redge that smashed my budget to pieces. In the end a quick reality check was needed to get my spending back under control!
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Haha yep know the feeling! I should be a little strict on this occasion but i know the tripod could last me years so hard to make a decision :)
 
Looking at a travel option too even though I already own a Benro C2692T, which is itself quite compact and light for hiking etc. The Benro though is still just too bulky for citybreaks etc and for me one of the main criteria is folded size as I just won't be taking it anywhere if it isn't compact. This takes out the likes of Redsnapper, Velbon, Mefoto.. I think the Redged 525K has the ideal proportions for a travel tripod. Obviously it's compromised as the 5 sections won't be ultra stable and full height is limited but from my experience it's one I'll definitely take along and use. I think more than 1 tripod is probably needed to cover different uses, there really isn't 1 single perfect choice for all occassions

Simon
 
Thanks Simon :) Still not sure :s

Even back looking at the carbon ebay one now.
 
If you are buying FOR Iceland then what tripod to buy would dependent on how you are travelling on the island.

Are you travelling by hired car or by bus? If its by hired car then the weight isn't and won't be my concern, and to be honest, something like a Manfrotto 190 would be perfect.

If I want like and stable but not extreme compact then I think the Mefoto Globtrotter is a good option or the Redged 427. The Globtrotter even comes in aluminium version which is under £200. Have a look at that.
 
Raymond Lin said:
If I want like and stable but not extreme compact then I think the Mefoto Globtrotter is a good option or the Redged 427. The Globtrotter even comes in aluminium version which is under £200. Have a look at that.
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Exactly my thinking, I wanted something rugged & light enough to hike from a 4x4, the alloy globetrotter fitted my real needs but the carbon just appealed to the tart in me ;)
 
Carbon fibre tripod stands up to the weather better than you think. I have a rather light gitzo ocean traveller, and never had any problems in the wind/weather of Northern Scotland, Iceland or Norway.
You can always weigh it down by hanging your camera bag from the hook.
Just don't get caught out on Vik beach (Iceland) with the tide rushing in and sweeping your gear away as other people have!
 
Raymond Lin said:
If you are buying FOR Iceland then what tripod to buy would dependent on how you are travelling on the island.

Are you travelling by hired car or by bus? If its by hired car then the weight isn't and won't be my concern, and to be honest, something like a Manfrotto 190 would be perfect.

If I want like and stable but not extreme compact then I think the Mefoto Globtrotter is a good option or the Redged 427. The Globtrotter even comes in aluminium version which is under £200. Have a look at that.
Click to expand...

My current tripod needs replacing, the next trip happens to be Iceland so i was buying based on that rather than lets say Egypt where i know winds won't be a high problem. I do like the look the Mefoto Globetrotter, i assuming thats same as a Benro?

mrgubby said:
I think that's the folded height of the Redsnapper tripod WITHOUT the head attached, the head adds another 100mm
Click to expand...

Just to confirm on this Redsnapper emailed me and said the length with legs folded is 46mm, not 56mm so thats good.
 
Tom Tom said:
Just to confirm on this Redsnapper emailed me and said the length with legs folded is 46mm, not 56mm so thats good.
Click to expand...

From what I can tell that is the length without the head attached so either you've got to carry the head separately or it's 56cm (unless the legs fold over the back)
 
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