recomended lightweight travel tripod suitable for milky way and long exposure

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Hi

I am sure this topic has been done to death.

I was hoping to go down to wex today and try a few... but i've tested positive so posting here instead to get some opinions. I've been using an aluminium manfrotto xprob for years but trying to lug that on eurostar and through the netherlands last week was just a PITA as its heavy and bulky, but it is strong and sturdy.

The benro carbon fibre "slim" tripods look a good option but I am not sure they are high enough or will fold down to their minimum hight (legs bent back over tripod head) with my leveling base attatched. Another option is the Manfrotto befree carbon but its overly expensive IMHO for what it is and again may cause a problem with the leveling base.

Just wondering if anyone has any other compact and light options? I see some decently priced options from KF concept and Neewer on Amazon (I have a Neweer leveling base and interveloperometre and they do the job).

I sometimes feel tripod and bag manufacturers do milk it with their mark ups... especially as the options above include heads and I already have enough heads....!!!!
 
It was quite a while ago I went through the same journey, but I think my observations hold up so suggest reading through my blog post here: https://www.simotre.co.uk/blog/2012/7/travel-tripod-comparison-and-recommendation

Buy a good tripod once and keep forever. Lenses and bodies get superceded far more often.

If however you're looking for real pocketability, then the manfrotto tabletop tripod fits nicely in top of a bag - and with a bit of improv you can get it quite high. This was my hotel room last week when away on business...

DDF7D6D9-9025-4500-B3AE-B5A3D74BF3B9.jpeg

And the outcome...
C6368C16-9208-4D07-A37B-F5CD4E6ED3B3.jpeg
 
I’ve only ever used it for long exposures in very very calm conditions (nothing more than a gentle breeze), but I’ve found the Siriu AM-225 both sturdy and very lightweight. I cannot unfortunately tell you how it would perform in more extreme conditions, and to be honest I probably wouldn’t use it as a first choice in more extreme conditions. I have a Benro Tortoise for that which is also pretty light for its size.
 
I can only comment on those that I've used/owned and my current choice of travel tripod is the Gitzo 2545t.
Stable, light, but unfortunately not cheap, can't have it all I suppose.
Only other one I would recommend is a FLM CP26-M4S, my daughter has this now and uses it regularly.
 
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Pick 2 out of cheap, sturdy and lightweight...

I have 2 travel tripods, a 3LT Travis and a Peak Design aluminium. Stability-wise they are the same, however, the 3LT's head is better. But the reason the 3LT will be ending up in the classifieds is that the Peak Design tripod folds down so much smaller, which makes it better for travelling.
 
I bought the manfrotto Befreelive tripod metal version
_DSC5567.JPG

couple of reasons why. I wanted a tripod that would not easily blow over.
Yet tall enough so as not to have to keep bending over it. One thing I like is the built in ball in the head, makes levelling easy
 
Thanks for the reomendations so far.

The article you ref simon was very useful and seems to back up everything said here - buy expensive and buy once!

Bazza does the manfrotto have a leveling head built in in addition to the ball head or is it part of the ball head? I'd be replacing the ball head with a wedge for astro so need some form of leveling base.
 
All the 'travel tripods' I can recall seeing use the same basic design 'trick' to minimise the folded size - namely the legs 'reverse' to enclose the center column and head.
This is likely to be an issue for you if you change to a larger head.

One 'trick' I used when I went to Iceland and wanted to take my Manfrotto 055 was that the center column was easily removed - and by removing it, and having the legs as as one piece, and the center column + head as a second, I found it became possible to fit in our (large) suitcase.
You may find doing something similar (not sure if you have an 055 or 190 Manfrotto) makes transporting easier for you - and saves the cost, etc. of getting a replacement?
 
The bottom of the centre column on my gitzo traveller can be removed and reattached to the head so that the centre column can be removed. Provided you can get a compact enough (and strong enough) head, you can still invert the legs when folded but still have tripod ready quickly without needing to drop the centre column before use. Will try to share a pic
 
For you stated uses I would definitely look at the sturdier travel tripods.
I also have a small Vanguard that stays in the back of the car, handy when you need something better than hand held
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanguard-VEO-3GO-235AB-Aluminium/dp/B08HQD5M8H?th=1
There is a plethora of these light travel tripods, but something like the Befree GT you mentioned has got larger diameter legs.
The Gitzo 2545t I use now is about the sturdiest of the fold back over the head type and serves as a do it all tripod
 
A_S said:
Thanks for the reomendations so far.

The article you ref simon was very useful and seems to back up everything said here - buy expensive and buy once!

Bazza does the manfrotto have a leveling head built in in addition to the ball head or is it part of the ball head? I'd be replacing the ball head with a wedge for astro so need some form of leveling base.
Click to expand...
the ball head comes with the tripod.

View: https://youtu.be/aeHlgQUielg


What I like is no having to adjust the tripod legs . in the video above easy to lock and unlock the ball head. OK it is not a full ball head as a normal one but it does allow to level up easier It is that final getting a camera level that makes life that little bit easier. You still have that side to side and up/down movement as normal. as below. the trick is now the lower half is level as shown below. THink of it as two parts in one. the lower allowes for levelling up the tripod and the top half allows pan and tilt with tension adjusted by two knobs.

The third knob is me trying to demo and hand hold a camera at the same time


the other bit of kit I have clamped to the handle just out of shot as a remote on/off /zoom rocker switch for my Panasonc HC-X1500 camcorder

View: https://youtu.be/Oj8u3ynNvvkn
 
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Another vote for Gitzo. I thought my travel pod was a 2545T as already mentioned above, but checked to be sure and it's actually a 1545T. With a Benro B1 head it stands slightly taller than my larger Gitzo systematic, and has been a great supporter of my 1Dx, typically using 35/1.4 or 16-35/4 lenses and inclusive of long exposures. The legs fold back over and around the head for storage (see it folded here), but do avoid the pinch points else it bites..
 
I went the opposite way and bought the Benro Mach 3 TMA48CXL. For astro stuff you want something sturdy and rigid. It also took the small skywatcher eq head well.
 
I have the manfroto befree but don’t recommend for astro if you’re thinking long exposure as it’s not especially stable. The one I prefer for astro is Sirui MT2204 but it is more.
 
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