Then theres the matter of shooting vertical photos. This is a great tripod, but I really want to make sure that people buy the right tripod for their needs! Two tripods of the same design made from different materials provide an interesting comparison. I feel, it goes above and beyond Peak Design and is almost half price. So with that in mind, would you say Gitzo is better option (keeping money aside)? Most people would consider being a standard feature on anything but the absolute cheapest of tripod heads. Peak Design has taken this one step further and created a bespoke mini multitool that can be stored in your bag or attached to the leg of the tripod in a removable plastic sheath. A good tripod can be an essential tool for the traveling photographer, but when you're on the go size matters. The circumference difference of the two tripods is significant. A whopping 27,169 backers raised a record amount of $12,143,435. Joby Gorillapod or Ulanzi Camera Stand? Several table-top tripods. Much like the multitool, Peak Design has also gone to great lengths to make a good tripod bag. 0 Comment. Look at the Feisol CT-3441T travel tripod. I thought the small ball head would be more likely to slip but you know you have to put a ridiculous amount of weight on it for that to happen and even then, only if it's at a wonky angle. It's an inch shorter folded but you get roughly 5" less in height when the column is fully extended. But it is so light and small that I do not hesitate taking it on the most strenuous hikes. But once you retract the two thinnest sections, the tripod is immediately rock-solid even with a telephoto. By submitting a comment this form also collects your name, email and IP address so that we can prevent spam. Canon 24-70mm f2.8L II USM vs Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L USM. Great piece, love your honest reviews. Specifications Material: Carbon fiber, or aluminum alloy Extended height: 153cm Folded height: 39cm Weight: 1.27kg (carbon fiber)/1.56kg (aluminum) Feet: Pads (spikes optional extra) Leg sections: 5 Max load (legs, head): 9kg Today's Best Deals Peak Design Travel Tripod (Carbon Fiber) Check Price 9 Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 263CB 100 Check Price 10 Gitzo GT5563GS Check Price (Image credit: Luk Vatko on Unsplash) The best carbon fiber tripods are some of the best tripods that photographers can buy. You can buy tripods that are objectively better for less. Quick, easy, and frustration-free claims. The Anchor System allows a strap to be quickly disconnected, so you can swap it from the tripod to the tripod bag in a few seconds if need be. The Travel Tripod is perhaps more fairly compared to the higher-end Gitzo Traveler series, which retails for up to $1,000. The quick-release plate also works with Peak Design's Capture Clip carrying system. Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Tripods on the market. Nikon Z 9 N-RAW Lab Test (FW 3.00) - Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude. As you can see above, the tripod legs are made up of five sections that are tightened using four quick-release levers. Disclaimer: The tripod was provided at no cost for this review. The four levers are positioned one over the other, so you use four fingers simultaneously to loosen them. Sort: Clear All. Databases. Thats a weight saving of 307g for the price increase of $250. What I started to notice, though, is that a lot of people were considering this tripod when it was clearly not the right choice for them. For this tripod to be the right tripod for you, you must be looking for a tripod that prioritizes lightweight and compact collapsed size. You have to measure the stability of the tripod to get a sense of the weight rating. While they do have a broad product range that includes cheaper tripods, their top-of-the-range Fotopro Eagle tripods and gimbals are easily Gitzo and Really Right Stuff levels of quality, stability and price. I commented on that pre-production version at the time, but today Im gathering even more information together to create the ultimate resource for people to learn about this tripod. The platform diameter is 5.4cm (2.13), but you could use a head that is bigger than this if you needed to. It is more of a triangle with rounded edges. In the West, we tend to associate the Chinese photo brands with cheaper, low-end photo gear, but Fotopro should not be thought of in this way. His passion is birds. You can also remove just one of these stopper screws to allow you to slide the tripod plate in from the side. To determine your tripod's compatibility, read on: 1. Its doubtful you will find a head for less than 126g, so going this route does increase the overall weight of your setup. In many situations, a panning base is not 100% necessary, but it is nice to have when you want to make small compositional adjustments in landscape shots. The tripod might be all great, but Its plate and the fact that you need a special tool to screw it on a camera is a no go for me. However, its nice to have the option if you want to do a lot of low-level landscape photography or macro work. I have no info on that, but youd have to assume that they will at some point. Compare Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Benro TMA38CL Long Series 3 Mach3 Carbon Fiber Tripod vs Gitzo GIGT1545T Traveler Series 1 Carbon Fiber Tripod vs FEISOL CT-3442 Tournament Rapid . This Peak Design travel tripod is made of weather-resistant and impact-resistant materials for durability. The opening of the legs is similar as you can in one motion, open the cam locks, extend out the single leg, and lock. Compare Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Gitzo GT4553S Systematic Series 4 Carbon Fiber Tripod Standard . The Feisol CT-3441S is three ounces heavier but 25% stiffer and ~$200 cheaper. In fact, I think it was less than 2 days before the starting time question hit my in-box. Expert news, reviews and videos of the latest digital cameras, lenses, accessories, and phones. Optional accessories also include stainless steel spikes or the aforementioned ultralight conversion kit (both $30). The downside to the low-profile head design is that it doesnt have an independent panning base. The Gitzo tripod I have used so far did not have a center column. This means you can shoot straight up into the night sky, straight down for macro work, or simply fold it downwards to make your tripod more compact for travel. All of which phones are highly capable of capturing these days. The foldable phone holder is cleverly hidden inside the centre column, accessible by rotating and removing the centre columns bottom hook. However, the Peak Design tripod is clearly very good, extremely compact and much more likely to be within people's budgets. I doubt that many people will buy this tripod for the sole purpose of using it with a phone, but Youtube creators will likely find it handy for behind-the-scenes shots, b-roll and time-lapses. Yeah its a crazy number isnt it! Add at least two items to compare Compare Benro MeFoto GlobeTrotter Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod Kit Black vs Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Gitzo GT2545T Series 2 Traveler Carbon Fiber . However, if you often shoot on surfaces like slippery ice, loose dirt, or gravel, replacing the rubber feet with metal spikes is worth considering. Perhaps an extremely long multi-day hike. Both tripod and head are very good quality and cost less than the Peak Design. I dont say this as a negative of this particular tripod, its just a gentle reminder to everyone that you should think carefully about what you are giving up when you decide to opt for a tripod that was built with a focus on its small size and light weight in mind. I was worried the k-10x wouldn't be strong enough for my setup but it adjusts as smooth as butter and locks down rock solid. This requires the purchase of a universal head adapter for $30. In order to minimize the folded size of the tripod, it features 5 telescoping leg sections that have a unique cross-sectional shape. For more info check our privacy policy. The price of the carbon fiber model tested is currently $650 at B&H, at the time Im publishing this review. In practical conditions I rarely have more than 1kg on the tripod so why was I worrying about it? In the future, you can always look to add the flat base and a 3rd party ball head when it makes financial sense. Gitzos Traveler series has even smaller models,the lightest of whichhas a weight of just 0.9kg, including the head. Another way to think of it is, for a 270 g savings in weight, you pay $270 extra. Get answers to your questions in our photography forums. In other words, for every gram of weight you save, you spend an extra 83cents! Keeping the centre column collapsed is always a good idea in anything but the calmest wind conditions with any travel tripod. Gimbal heads are incredibly useful for wildlife photography with longer lenses and panoramic photography. Perhaps in the next $12M pre-order V2 by PD! Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Ive found the PD head better than suggested in the article: it holds my Nikon D850 with a battery pack and a long lens perfectly firmly and, slightly loosened, works reasonably well to pan. A robustly built walkaround lens for daily use, this FUJIFILM X-mount lens is ideal for landscapes, cityscapes, portraits, street scenes, and more. At $349.95 I think the aluminum version of the Travel Tripod is excellent value. Are you serious? But the reality is that if you want the sharpest images, you will spend more time using the tripod with the column lowered. All travel tripods make sacrifices in stability in order to achieve their compact folded size and light weight. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); document.getElementById("ak_js_2").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); I have looked a couple of times to the Peak Design tripod. If your budget can stretch to it, I think the carbon version is worth the extra money for the weight savings. You should be able to look at the cross-section above, and the other photos of the lower leg sections, and see that there will be some flex in these skinny legs compared to larger tripods. 10: I'm way more likely to take this with me when I go out shooting. I learned to live with it and never really missed it. A universal adapter is provided for this purpose. And it also lacks stability when you have forces applied to the legs from any angle other than directly downwards. The tripod is obviously lightweight and portable, but that would be useless if it had issues supporting a camera. However, a standard ball head will give you the benefits of a proper 90-degree drop notch for portrait shooting, as well as a panning base foe panoramic photography. In this effort they have been spectacularly successful, but they cannot operate outside the laws of physics. Lots of different photographers with lots of different styles and lots of different needs all saying that this one tripod is the best ever? The tripod clearly takes design cues from the Peak Design Travel Tripod and the RRS Ascend-14 tripod, but it hits a much lower price point than either of these options. They seem to be making some very good tripods for very competitive prices. The unique design of the Travel Tripod doesnt stop at the legs. The problem is that most gimbal heads are quite tall and heavy. This Tilta Full Camera Cage for Kinefinity MAVO Edge 6K offers enhanced protection for the Kinefinity MAVO Edge 6K/8K and expands options for mounting various camera accessories. If you dont really care too much about those two criteria, this is the wrong tripod for you. Back to Product List . Offering a sleek and retro design, the 35mm f/0.95 Lens from TTArtisan is an ultra-fast normal-length prime for APS-C-format cameras. Unfortunately not. Click to reveal My travel tripod is a Sirui N-2204. Professional photographer based in Yukon, Canada, and founder of Shutter Muse. It is the first tripod I have actually used during my 50 years of photographing. Portrait-length prime is designed for APS-C-format Canon RF-mount mirrorless cameras and offers a 75mm equivalent focal length. Starting from a clean sheet of paper instead of being influenced by iterated designs from a current product lineup has catapulted Peak Design into the upper echelons of the tripod market. lighter than the 3-section Gitzo setup at 6.4 lbs. It rises to 60 (150 cm) which is very impressive for a tripod that packs down to just 15.4 (39 cm). Thanks for the kind words. However, one needs to be very careful in protecting the tripod head from sand and other fine particles. Seeing you tubers all thirsty over a $600 tripod turns me off personally. Print Email. These are the questions you will have to ask yourself, and the answers will be personal. Yes portability is top of my criteria - no tripod is good if I have to think twice before packing with me. Peak Design was laser focused on making the most compact possible, fully featured tripod. Im late to the discussion, but Ive been using the aluminium version for a couple of years, and have just bought the carbon fibre version as I needed another tripod for lighting. , Thanks. For the photo below, at 35mm, I shot a 240-second long exposure in a moderate breeze, and I didnt get any observable blur. In terms of price and specifications, the Travel Tripod by Peak Design is most similar to the Gitzo Series 2 Traveler (for $649). The conversion process is relatively simple and involves the removal of the telescoping leg sections using an included tool. Even with todays image stabilization, a tripod is still a requirement in many cases, so its important to find one with the right balance of characteristics. But keep in mind that the Peak Design tripod is intended primarily as a travel model. Theres also a small lever that locks the jaws of the head to prevent accidental release of your camera. Our pick: Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 263AB100. There are far better alternatives out there. He recently wrote a starter guide on how to pick up a vintage lens from the Soviet era, condensing almost a decade of hard-earned knowledge into an easily accessible resource. When Ulanzi offered a tripod for testing, I was keen to see how it fared. In fact, I find it generally more impressive than the overall stability of the legs, and Im confident you could comfortably lock a heaver-than-specified load as almost any angle. Instead of just reducing the folded length as many travel tripods do, Peak Design has dramatically reduced the overall folded volume. He reached a total of 5,258 backers who put in $364,698. There will be other larger and heavier tripods that offer a more stable platform. And even your own tripod head. Fotopro is a Chinese tripod company that makes some very high-end equipment. Lab Test. To me the big fail of the PD tripod is the non standard clamp. It is rated for 2 pounds more, but is 5 inches shorter when extended. A great waterproof tripod: Sirui W-1004K10 Tripod . Included with the tripod is a built-in ball head that doesnt look like most head on the market. In the table below I have provided my measured weights for all individual parts of the Travel Tripods, as well as combined weights of the most common setups using included parts and optional accessories. Both the case for the Travel Tripod and the tripod itself has connection points for the Peak Design Anchor System. I get what they were going for, and it's a really clever idea. Your email address will not be published or shared. The other downside to this design is that the head is designed to nest into the top of the tripod legs when fully collapsed. Or, if you are willing to rely on natural height assistance from rocks or fallen trees when you need extra height. This article was a great help and helped me in my purchase. This week Chris and Jordan review four great travel tripods from Manfrotto, Sirui,. But again, that's just me. Despite having bigger legs, the Peak Design Tripod has a circumference of 27cm, against 34cm for the Sirui. // Angels Diamond Club Tickets, Articles P