Travel Tripod

[michaelborger]

Hi all. Has anyone found a good travel tripod? I'm off to NW China

or Tibet for a month and would like to give a go of taking a tripod

with me on my adventures. It has to be light, small and compactable

as I'll be backpacking. Or something of the sort. Any

recommendations? Thanks.

[rob_murray]

I have been researching the Slik Sprint Pro model. 2lbs, 64inches tall and will go down to about 6 inches. I can find plenty of people that really like them on the internet.

[maury_cohen]

Hakuba has some nice light and compact tripods. Of course Gitzo has their beautiful carbon tripods but they come at a higher cost. If one can afford them they're beautiful in function and appearance.

[alex_lofquist]

Gitzo G1227 (3 section) or G1228 (4 section) CF tripods.

[roger_hicks1]

Slik Snapman and its Velbon equivalent which has one of those silly lower-case-plus-caps-plus-numbers names that is all but impossible to remember: something like maXi343i.

 

I have both and my wife and I use them all the time for travel worldwide -- most of Europe, India, China, USA... Take a look at our pictures on www.rogerandfrances.com

 

They're a bit over $100 each as far as I recall, and weigh about 1 Kg each.

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Rich B NYC]

Michael,

 

Sounds like a nice trip you have planned.

 

I've been using Gitzo G1001 legs and a Gitzo G1177M ballhead for travel the past few years. I also use a RRS clamping system which helps to keep things nice and steady.

 

With my Nikons (FM FE2 type bodies) and lenses up to 200mm it works just fine.

 

Not nearly as expensive as carbon fiber and not very heavy either.

 

Rich

[dermot_conlan4]

Gitzo G1027 mk2 Weekend Mountaineer carbon fiber pod, folds to 17" I' ve

used with DSLR (1Dmk11, 5D) and even with my Pentax 645n in a pinch.

Weighs only 1.6 LBS (a big factor at evelvation), 3 leg sections with a twist

type lock, this has become my tripod of choice for travel.

[Brian]

<P>Robert Segal has done a good survey of the travel tripod market <a href="http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2gkrc/Tripod-Test.html">here</a> but he hasn't updated it recently. Still, it's got a lot of useful information.</P>

[Ed_Ingold]

A Gitzo 1227 (or 1228) makes a good travel tripod if you need optimum sharpness (landscapes, architecture, etc). Anything lighter-duty doesn't have the stiffness for serious use, but I suppose any tripod is better than none. I've walked hundreds of miles with this tripod on a shoulder strap or fastened to my backpack, with a Manfrotto leveling head and an Arca-Swiss B1 head. The aluminum counterpart, a G-1224, is much heavier and swings around too much on a backpack, IMO. The 1227 fits nicely in my checked baggage, but I carry the head on board in my backpack. A leveling head is essential when shooting for stitched panoramas.

[robert_hooper1]

I'm taking my first ever carbon fiber tripod on vacation to Europe next week (FEISOL CT-3401N). Normally I hate lightweight tripods, but I must admit this one has grown on me. I'm also getting older and less willing to schlep heavier gear.

 

http://www.feisol.com/english/enconnect-n.htm

[stemked]

Michael,

 

I had a similar trip to China. In addition to camera equipment, I had to tote my 1 year old's necessities. It was either no tripod or go with a feather light tripod. I went feather light tripod.

 

The one I choose was the Velbon Ultra MAXi-S 5-Section Trunnion Shaft Tripod with PH-243 Ball Head. It gets to 50" high folds down to 12" (30cm) and weighs all of 1.7 lbs (0.75 kg) and can handle 6 lbs of equipment. I replaced the head with a much better combo of a light Giotto and Strobobrame quick release. The SLR system that I use is pretty light, a small SLR with very light primes (20, 28, 50, 100 and a 1.4X TC). When I use the tripod I used either a remote or timer to shoot, but in doing so I got excellent photos even great long night exposures. This tripod sets up VERY fast and comes down fast too.

 

Do I put it in a league with a lightweight Gitzo? No, but it is lighter and it certainly can be put up/come down quicker. If you can handle a little more weight I'd go with a Gitzo too. But for what I needed it worked great.

[michaelborger]

Thanks for all the advice so far. Douglas, that Velbon looks very interesting. The one thing I'm wondering, though, and this goes for everyone as a general tripod question, is this: how much shorter than the user can a tripod be before it is generally uncomfortable? I'm 5'7" and that Velbon has a max height of 50" (4'2"). Is that generally considered too much of a difference? Yesterday morning at the DC cherry blossoms was my first time really using a tripod, so it's hard to say after one time how much it would bother me over much more use or over a long vacation.

 

Thoughts?

[stemked]

Michael,

 

You are about the same height as I am. No, its not a comfortable height, it is a compromise tripod, but for me I was willing to live with those compromises.

[wilsontsoi]

What's your gear? Are you shooting 4x5 large format, or a pocketable digicam? Mr. Segal link above is a wealth of info. Hands on experience leads me to recommend Velbon Maxi 343E for up to a small DSLR like Nikon D70/Canon rebel type. Any heavier than these you'll want to go for something sturdier with beefier ballhead. On the other side of spectrum, you might want to consider a tabletop tripod as an extremely light and compact support system.

 

Sounds like a fun trip!

[ilkka]

The Velbon 343 is okay for a light compact camera when extended fully. It is quite a lot more durable if only extended waist high. It is very much more comfortable to shoot from the knee around waist high than try to squat down a few inches from full standing position. The 343 is the ideal tripod if small size and light weight are essential. It can be improved further by fitting a sturdier ball head. If some more weight and size can be accepted, then the smallest Gitzo (1028 or its CF equivalent) is certainly better. I have and use both, depending on the expected need for light weight against solidity.