Tripod recommendation...

Hi All,

I have read full the sticky post and a lot of review but still cannot come up the conclusion of what tripod should i consider or buy.

My Gear is XSI (450D), with Tamron 17-55 or Canon 55-250 (most heaviest one). I am about 180cm tall

I need for travel around so WEIGHT is my absolutely requirement. I need it as light as possible, and easy to carry as possible too.

My next requirement is budget. I cannot afford 320$US for a tripod. The best I can go is 200US. Unless, I can (or you can) justify the extra cost to my wife. She cannot see the different between a tripod 70$ and a tripod of 300 tripod leg and 100 ball head. I explained to her that it will be more stable on expensive tripod but she didn't buy it as she cannot see it at all.

I saw everyone is recommend the 055xprob setup with the 488rc2 but it is too expensive and too heavy.

I like the Bencro travel Angel but it has too many sections at the legs which reduce the stability (i guess).

Could someone please help me out and suggest me something good or can help me to justify to my wife that extra dollar on tripod is worth.

Thank you all

weight/stability/low price... you can pick any 2 from those 3

bohdank wrote in post #9361450
weight/stability/low price... you can pick any 2 from those 3

hmm....Weight is a must for me as I hand carry it a lot if i go travel. It is why i consider Bencro Travel Angel which is about 2.8lbs without the ball head. I cannot accept something like 5 lbs which is too heavy in long run.

Low price is another key for me for sure. I find 300US is too expensive... something around 150-200US is more reasonable for me to get.

Stability... be honest....is it really different for an XSI with even the heaviest lens i have (55-250) on a 150US tripod and 1000 US tripod? I read a lot of the post in this forum and i cannot justify it. You may say carbon fiber is more stable than aluminum. But i don't see it. I can only see the weight different.

so... I go for weight and price (+ easy to put into luggage and carry around)

Well then you give up stability. Now, whatever you may end up with may be good enough for it's intended use. It's just that out of three, you are sacrificing some level of stability.

Enlist your wife to carry the heavy, inexpensive and stable tripod. She'll begin to understand. The Benro Angel has some decent reviews here.

man... if weight is a huge thing for you, it may be hard to find one for $200.

Carbon Fiber is probably the best for weight and the cheapest legs i have seen are about $200

If you can save up for one, try and go for a gitzo tripod... they are expensive, but i hear they are the best. I cant afford that and right now i am trying to save up for cheap manfrotto aluminum legs and the 498rc2.

Check around for feisol... that name has been coming up around the forums a lot lately and they are all carbon fiber for $300+ i think

The Benro travel angel is reported to be very good. It looks like a copy of the much more expensive Gitzo Traveler, which I have with a Benro head. Benro sells it all as a kit, so that should do the trick for you--if it is essentially the same as the Gitzo, the stability is more than adequate for what you have and up to a 70-200 zoom or a light 300 f4.

What you need to do if you are concerned is weight it down when you are shooting.

Thanks everyone....

I think Benro is my only option if I concern the weight and the budget.

I can find a Cabon fiber Benro travel angel in Ebay for 300$ US (man... i think 300US should consider the min cost for tripod now)

I can get a Aluminum one Benro travel angel too...for less than 200U.S. It is a bit heavy but it is only 1.2 to 1.4 Kg compare to CF for 0.84 kg....

Is there any other Aluminum tripod, that is light and small like Benro A069? Do other brand has it within 200U.S?

If not, then i believe that is one i should get...

Consider price, weight are perfect for me.

tonytsang wrote in post #9362383
Thanks everyone....

I think Benro is my only option if I concern the weight and the budget.

I can find a Cabon fiber Benro travel angel in Ebay for 300$ US (man... i think 300US should consider the min cost for tripod now)

B&H has those Benro's for the same price. I would not deal on ebay for that kind of money, unless it's Adorama there. You want someone who will refund or exchange if there is an issue. It's worth the $5-10 more to get it from B&H or Amazon.

Get plastic accessories, lens caps and cable releases on ebay from HK, not major items.

Benro looks like the best choice.

Also the Canon 55-250 (390g) is the lighter lens, the Tamron 17-50(430g) is the heavier lens.

tvphotog wrote in post #9364090
B&H has those Benro's for the same price. I would not deal on ebay for that kind of money, unless it's Adorama there. You want someone who will refund or exchange if there is an issue. It's worth the $5-10 more to get it from B&H or Amazon.

Get plastic accessories, lens caps and cable releases on ebay from HK, not major items.

You are right. However, I live in Canada so that Shipping cost and brokage fee will be another issue for me if I don't buy it from the ebay.

Cashoo wrote in post #9364756
Benro looks like the best choice.

Also the Canon 55-250 (390g) is the lighter lens, the Tamron 17-50(430g) is the heavier lens.

Thank you for your clarification too... I didn't know that the 55-250 is lighter...haha

tvphotog wrote in post #9364090
B&H has those Benro's for the same price. I would not deal on ebay for that kind of money, unless it's Adorama there. You want someone who will refund or exchange if there is an issue. It's worth the $5-10 more to get it from B&H or Amazon.

Get plastic accessories, lens caps and cable releases on ebay from HK, not major items.

+ 1 Totally agree. Have you looked at a brand called Feisol? Pretty good for the money as well.

Benro A-068m8 (probably need to change the head), C-058m8, and Feisol CT-3402 are the ones I'm deciding between. Been going back and forth for so long I can't make my mind up.

http://www.amazon.com …ics&qid=1263215​476&sr=8-1

I got this one for Christmas this year. For the price I doubt it can be beat. Carbon fiber construction, ball head and fairly tall. Admittedly, I haven't used any of the real high end tripods but this one is far from cheap feeling. It's not the lightest thing ever but it sure isn't heavy. The head is removable in case you want to change it out later.