Recommend me a travel tripod.

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I don't know of any tripods with pivoting centre columns that can get you lighter and smaller than the one you have now.

However, if you're willing to look at tripods without that feature, I have nothing but positive things to say about the Feisol 3441T and/or 3442. It is about half the weight of your current tripod, folds smaller, and can hold the gear you listed just fine. I've used mine in pretty much any environment you could think of; in snow, in the sea, on mountains, in rivers, forests, ice, mud, sand, solidified lava. It's taken a lot of abuse, and it has kept right on working. I've even showered with it to clean it after a particularly sandy wave washed over it and filled it with grit.

The 3441T has a centre column which you can replace with a short version to get lower, the 3442 has no centre column which means no extra spending to get low. Both models can reverse fold over the head to make them even more compact. Weight is just over 1kg, and price is around $400. Feisol customer service is top notch.

Benro makes a range of tripods they call Versatile, they come in various sizes, aluminum or carbon fiber, flip locks or twist locks. I use a medium sized aluminum twist lock copy and it's been very reliable.

peter_n wrote in post #17383655
Benro makes a range of tripods they call Versatile, they come in various sizes, aluminum or carbon fiber, flip locks or twist locks. I use a medium sized aluminum twist lock copy and it's been very reliable.

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NQ.
No problems at all with my MeFoto Globetrotter CF with gear listed below. Bought specifically for traveling by air this summer to Paris and Dublin.
Shot at night with long exposures with gripped Mark III along with 70-200 f/2.8 Mark II and the 24 TS-E with sharp results.
As sturdy as it gets with the smaller, lighter, shorter folded requirements for traveling weight restrictions. It is also small enough to carry on in the included case.

i'm vary happy with my induro CT014 that use mostly as a travel tripod,you owe it to your self to take a look at INDURO ! thats my pick.

If you can live without an articulating (wobbly) center column I would echo Sirrith's comments. 2 friends of mine have one each of these models:

http://www.feisoleurop​e.com …ament-tripods-c-1_14.html

For their price and weight they are really very good. I have used the 3342 quite happily with a Gimbal head, Canon 300 F2.8 L IS and 1DX. It is not designed for this sort of thing but quite up to the job!

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I have a Sirui T2204X with their matching K20X ball head as my travel tripod. 1.5 kg for the total combo, folds up to about 41cm. The legs are a good diameter and stable, and the ballhead is smooth and stable. It's a good combo. You can find smaller tripods, but I find it to be a good compromise between size and weight on the one hand, and stability on the other. It sounds a bit like the Feisol described by Tom in his post above.

It comes with a short centre column to get low. A bit fiddly, but it works. If you intend to do a lot of low shooting, I suggest that you buy legs with no centre column.

nqjudo wrote in post #17383675
Thanks Peter. I've tried a Benro in the past (MeFoto I think) and I found it insufficient in terms of stability/vibration particularly with the last section extended. Have you had a chance to do a comparison of these two models by chance?

I use more than one Benro; I have a travel tripod and one with an articulating center column which is definitely not wobbly. I'm in my 5th year of use with the travel tripod and it has been reliable and durable. I reviewed it several years ago and you can still buy it at the same price.

MeFotos are cost reduced Benros and Induros are upscale designs of the standard Benro models. Benro is a huge OEM manufacturer. Feisols are good but I'm not too keen on the smaller Sirui tripods, I haven't seen the larger ones. Sirui makes some good ballheads though, I recently saw and used their K-20X, 30X and 40X line and was impressed.

peter_n wrote in post #17384651
I use more than one Benro; I have a travel tripod and one with an articulating center column which is definitely not wobbly. I'm in my 5th year of use with the travel tripod and it has been reliable and durable. I reviewed it several years ago and you can still buy it at the same price.

MeFotos are cost reduced Benros and Induros are upscale designs of the standard Benro models. Benro is a huge OEM manufacturer. Feisols are good but I'm not too keen on the smaller Sirui tripods, I haven't seen the larger ones. Sirui makes some good ballheads though, I recently saw and used their K-20X, 30X and 40X line and was impressed.

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Sirrith wrote in post #17383302
I don't know of any tripods with pivoting centre columns that can get you lighter and smaller than the one you have now.

However, if you're willing to look at tripods without that feature, I have nothing but positive things to say about the Feisol 3441T and/or 3442. It is about half the weight of your current tripod, folds smaller, and can hold the gear you listed just fine. I've used mine in pretty much any environment you could think of; in snow, in the sea, on mountains, in rivers, forests, ice, mud, sand, solidified lava. It's taken a lot of abuse, and it has kept right on working. I've even showered with it to clean it after a particularly sandy wave washed over it and filled it with grit.

The 3441T has a centre column which you can replace with a short version to get lower, the 3442 has no centre column which means no extra spending to get low. Both models can reverse fold over the head to make them even more compact. Weight is just over 1kg, and price is around $400. Feisol customer service is top notch.

Your review a year back prompted me to buy the 3441T with a Markins head and it's been a stellar combo for travel... Reasonably priced, awesome build quality, super light, incredibly sturdy, tall enough to get over tourist heads in front of me if necessary, yet compact enough to easily pack in my suitcase (either diagonally in my carry-on or down the side of my checked bag).

Mine has been packed around Las Vegas, Boston, Ankor Wat, Singapore, Hanoi, Hong Kong, London and parts of the UK, Paris, and the South Pacific in the last year and it doesn't look any different from the day I got it.

I can't thank you enough for turning me onto this combo.

VirtualRain wrote in post #17384920
Your review a year back prompted me to buy the 3441T with a Markins head and it's been a stellar combo for travel... Reasonably priced, awesome build quality, super light, incredibly sturdy, tall enough to get over tourist heads in front of me if necessary, yet compact enough to easily pack in my suitcase (either diagonally in my carry-on or down the side of my checked bag).

Mine has been packed around Las Vegas, Boston, Ankor Wat, Singapore, Hanoi, Hong Kong, London and parts of the UK, Paris, and the South Pacific in the last year and it doesn't look any different from the day I got it.

I can't thank you enough for turning me onto this combo.

I'm glad I could help!

nqjudo wrote in post #17384715
I'm going to go through all the Q&A in the thread and see what else I can learn. Definitely one to consider.

Well just remember that my travel tripod doesn't have an articulating center column. However the Benro Versatile will have the same construction in the legs and the pivot point where they join the base. The Versatile will be heavier and slightly bulkier in that area too because of the two rotating lock knobs for the center column.

Feisols are very popular on this forum, Tom (member Sirrith) has really hammered his. You should give them strong consideration too.

peter_n wrote in post #17385221
Well just remember that my travel tripod doesn't have an articulating center column. However the Benro Versatile will have the same construction in the legs and the pivot point where they join the base. The Versatile will be heavier and slightly bulkier in that area too because of the two rotating lock knobs for the center column.

Feisols are very popular on this forum, Tom (member Sirrith) has really hammered his. You should give them strong consideration too.

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