Tripods and their weight

[MrDrizz]

Hey,
So I have the Manfrotto 190XPROB I've had it for a long time and it's a solid and reliable thing. I have the 324RC2 head attached, together they come in at 2.25kg.
As landscape tripods go is that considered heavy? It feels heavy.
I've been looking at some Carbon fiber alternatives (the 190xprob is aluminium) but they don't seem to be much lighter, maybe a few hundred grams.

I could probably save that by swapping out the head for a ball head with Arca-Swiss mount, as I use Fuji x-series and the grips I have have Arca-Swiss built in so this will save a few grams.

Anyway sorry for rambling on, no real question, just me weighting up things. No real need to change my tripod is a great tripod if not a little long and heavy (ish)

 

[chris malcolm]

People talk about heavy tripods being good in the same way as they talk about expensive tripods being good -- heavy and expcensive usually means more stable. But just as sometimes happens with lenses, sometimes a cheaper and lighter tripod can actually be better. Also you can make any tripod more stable by dropping down the centre column and not extending the final leg section.

 

[sirch]

I've got one of these as a light weight tripod, it is 1.1kg including the head
https://www.7dayshop.com/products/7...essional-photo-video-use-includes-case-DS-055

It's a bit cheap and cheerful and the twist-lock legs are a real double-edged sword, on the one hand they make the tripod very light but on the other they can be a bit of a faff to adjust on uneven ground. However it does the job and is stable enough with a light camera or a heavy camera with only the first couple of sections extended, here's a 1 second exposure shot using that tripod with a 6D and wide lens on it.

Kendal Caving Club - Alum Pot by TheWub, on Flickr

The head does come off if you wanted to put something better on it but the one supplied does the job and has a a quick release plate. And the big advantage is that at this price I can trash a few of these before I've got anywhere close to a heavier Carbon job.

 

[MrDrizz]

So I went a bit the bullet on a Zomei Z818C carbon fiber.
Up to now I'm very impressed with the quality but only time will tell how well it lasts. Bonus is that the ball head uses Arca-Swiss which the grips I have on my Fuji cameras have built in. It's also more then 700g lighter which my back will thank me for.

 

[Jayst84]

Hey,
So I have the Manfrotto 190XPROB I've had it for a long time and it's a solid and reliable thing. I have the 324RC2 head attached, together they come in at 2.25kg.
As landscape tripods go is that considered heavy? It feels heavy.

I'd say that's pretty damn light, the 190 is a small tripod, and joystick heads are generally small.

My set up is probably about double that weight. And there are plenty of heads that weigh more than that whole setup by themselves.

 

[simonkit]

That's pretty light, I wouldn't class the 190 as a heavyweight setup.

Tripods can often be a compromise, certainly for landscapes when you might be walking long distance and climbing some height. I use a lighter setup than you, the Benro Travel Angel 2 CF, weighs 1.7kg and have never really had any issues regarding stability...perhaps a couple of times over the last 4yrs or so when it was blowing a gale when I'm not convinced any tripod would have stood it anyway.

I run workshops and people bring along lots of different tripods, the main problem I see with them is that cheaper "no brand" tripods have poor joints that don't lock securely, heads that wobble around and poor design that doesn't allow for good adjustment...any well known brand will prove pretty effective in 95% of situations.

Simon

 

[ian-83]

So I went a bit the bullet on a Zomei Z818C carbon fiber.
Up to now I'm very impressed with the quality but only time will tell how well it lasts. Bonus is that the ball head uses Arca-Swiss which the grips I have on my Fuji cameras have built in. It's also more then 700g lighter which my back will thank me for.

Be interested to see how you get on with this tripod as I am in the same situation as you have the newer Manfrotto 190 Xpro3 and a 3 way head and it's weighing in at 2.7kg! Been looking at the Zomei on Amazon and was wondering how they last and the quality is like.

 

[Craig_85]

I have a gitzo and I love it. Bought it to save weight, achieved that but because I still have my old manfrotto I quite often like to set 2 cameras up using different lenses on either tripod to save changing lenses and missing the light. Now my gear weighs more!