Travel Tripods

[Rob C]

I'm just in the process of researching a good sturdy, lightweight, tripod for my next trip; Armenia and Georgia. Just wondered if anyone has any recommendations. Budget of around £200.

[MDM]

If you can stretch an extra £50, the Manfrotto Befree Carbon Fibre is an amazing piece of kit - ultra light (1.1kg), very compact, sturdy and can take up to 4kg. Wex have them for £249 including small ball head (normally £299). I got mine for a real bargain price of £189 I think a few years ago but I haven't seen them that cheap since. There are a number of aluminium ones that are cheaper and heavier but are within your budget - I think the one for £139 from Wex has the same general specs as the carbon fibre but weighs 1.4kg.

[David_Buzzard]

I was in South Africa in 2015 and found it was cheaper to get a study aluminum tripod in South Africa than it was to pay for the extra baggage weight fee to bring one with me.  I picked one up for less than $100 USD, which I ended up giving it away to a local photographer when I left.  It actually worked pretty well, are it is in a thunderstorm in Kruger Park.  

 

[wiskerke]

I'm just in the process of researching a good sturdy, lightweight, tripod for my next trip; Armenia and Georgia. Just wondered if anyone has any recommendations. Budget of around £200.

 

What does it need to do?

Carrying a camera obviously, but how heavy and or big is it?

How long is the longest lens you will be using?

How much is the maximum weight and length you are willing to carry?

How much is the maximum weight and length you are allowed in your luggage?

 

There have been a couple of discussions about tripods here albeit some time ago.

Not much has changed though.

Here and here.

 

That budget will buy you the best travel ball head, but there will be not a lot left for the legs.

I have one and still recommend it to everyone.

However I recently got a Chinese copy, well not an exact copy, but more or less engineered along the same line of thought. It came with a free table tripod.

You do need a proper camera specific plate though. The tiny generic one that is included will only work with very small cameras or you will need to modify it so it will not turn.

 

My tripod setup is still the same as in the older discussions.

The Chinese copy is used on a 8m / 24 ft high stand that I only take by car.

 

wim

 

edit: The newer version of my Sirui is GBP 139,99 on Ebay (+ GBP 11 postage)

It's better because you don't have to mod it any more, the extension can just be unscrewed.

Together with the Chinese ball head it would fit your budget. I would not recommend the ball head that comes with the tripod.

[Rob C]

It should be able to support a 5D Mk III with 24-105 f4 or 70-200 f2.8.

[Dyn Llun]

My sturdy travel tripod is in the photographs on the top right of this page!   http://www.pete-davis-photography.com/news.html- Probably not quite lightweight enough though!

[wiskerke]

In this thread there's some more info about shooting with heavy lenses and light tripods.

 

Pete's travel tripod is a good example of another question you should ask: how high does it have to go?

Is a table tripod high enough?

In that case a bean bag always beats everything: take it empty, buy rice; beans or some husks; fill bag.

Do not fill it with coriander (extremely low specific weight, but is not squishy like polystyrene) and try to cross the Australian border.

I think I escaped life in prison because it had a label that said it had been radiated.

Luckily I did not have an eraser or a rubber ducky with me.

 

Pete probably travels with an umbrella too, as a wind shield.

Mine is this one.

 

wim

[Dyn Llun]

In this thread there's some more info about shooting with heavy lenses and light tripods.

 

Pete's travel tripod is a good example of another question you should ask: how high does it have to go?

Is a table tripod high enough?

In that case a bean bag always beats everything: take it empty, buy rice; beans or some husks; fill bag.

Do not fill it with coriander (extremely low specific weight, but is not squishy like polystyrene) and try to cross the Australian border.

I think I escaped life in prison because it had a label that said it had been radiated.

Luckily I did not have an eraser or a rubber ducky with me.

 

Pete probably travels with an umbrella too, as a wind shield.

Mine is this one.

 

wim

I have my big, heavy Welsh flag focussing cloth that I can hold up as a windshield if necessary. Can be a problem as the extended bellows of the 10" x 8" act as a sail. Would take quite a gale to blow over that rig though! Tripod weighs a ton! I use the tripod to stabilise me when I'm atop the ladder!

[Bill Brooks]

I have been doing my best to develop shooting methods to eliminate the use of a tripod. Not completely there yet, but am willing to fly without one.

 

Using a tripod tends to make me a “beside the car photographer” but I get more images if I walk.

 

Use high ISO and downsize to 12 megapixel to suppress noise etc.

 

Here is one no tripod. Camera wedged against handy signpost. Focussed and framed using live view both to lock up mirror and see what I was shooting, because I could not get my eye to viewfinder due to wedge.

 

[Liam Bunce]

I have just ordered the  

Q666C Portable Carbon Fibre Tripod Monopod from amazon not a top make but has good reviews and is capable of carrying up to 15kg it can also be used as a monopod witch is very handy.