Travel tripod + cleaning kit question

Hey ,

I'm afraid it's another help me to choose a travel tripod thread ,

i'll be travelling to Egypt for 2 months , so i need a tripod mainly for landscapes or outdoor portraits , (no sports or action shoots) .

its weight is not an issue , i don't mind if it's a little heavy ,

i'll be using the 550D + kit lens (18-55mm IS) and may be the 50mm 1.8 and 85mm 1.8 occasionally , so nothing heavy .

i have a budget around 150$ ,

what do you think about these ?

Benro A-069M8 Travel Angel Aluminum Tripod with BH-00 Ballhead

Manfrotto 7302YB 4-Section Aluminum Tripod w/ Ballhead - Supports 7.7 lbs (3.5kg)

I'm open to all suggestions ,

i'll be buying from B&H , so i'm limited to what's offered there .

---------------

About the cleaning kit , will anything do ?

i have these in my BH cart , will they do the job or do i need to consider other stuff ?

General Brand Lens Cleaning Kit
Giottos Rocket Air Blower - (Medium) 6.6"

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Thank you very much .

for the tripod, check out my photo-review of the A169 at https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=879433

In my opinion the 068/069 will be a bit on the thin/light side for your gear. If the weigth doesnt matter than there is not much reason not to go for the 168/169, especially if you may buy larger/heavier lenses later on.

Secondly, I would go for a kit with the B-00/B-0/B-1 ballehad in stead of the BH-series. It gets better reviews and is more flexible in switching QR-plates. It also feels more solid.

i've seen the review before , but it's beyond what i can afford now , as i'm starting with DSLR so i'm spending a little on everything (OCF , filters , lenses ...) .

thnx anyway .

Guys ! i'll be ordering in a few days ! any input would be appreciated , thank you .

the final plea ...

sorry, i don't own a benro, i splurged on Gitzo GT 1550T + markins Q3T (damn slow getting here tho...)

here's what i've found on the search function...

about B-00
Want a Benro Travel Angel but heard the Benro heads were junk. True? (B-00 head)

user review of your setup in question

and other results of benro search...

seemed like a nice tripod... i too was considering this.. .but went with gitzo for the added "portability"

hope it helps.

a lot , thnx , i've seen the first thread before , but not the review , i'll check it out , thanks again .

kinghong1970 wrote in post #10283083
sorry, i don't own a benro, i splurged on Gitzo GT 1550T + markins Q3T (damn slow getting here tho...)

here's what i've found on the search function...

about B-00
Want a Benro Travel Angel but heard the Benro heads were junk. True? (B-00 head)

user review of your setup in question

and other results of benro search...

seemed like a nice tripod... i too was considering this.. .but went with gitzo for the added "portability"

hope it helps.

I was in the same boat about a month back and after reading up on the Benro Travel Angel, I invested more money and got a Feisol which I had heard great things about. Glad I did. You only pay for it once as they say. The Feisol is awesome and my signature tells of a great guy (Kerry) to buy them from. He also sells the Photo Clam ballheads. I couldn't be happier with this set up. With this said, I have not used a travel angel and for the money, they could represent a good value on travel tripods. I am just at the point where I am tired of throwing good money after bad. This is my 5th tripod in 3 years. It is actually cheaper to get a high quality tripod the first time to my way of thinking.

OK, i hope i do not offend any benro owners... i'm sure there are many...

but when i was at Yodobashi... (dammit, that damned jingle is in my head again!!!) i took a close look at benro vs gitzo and basically, this is what i found...

some of benro's locking mechanism at the leg joint seemed "plastic-ish" and it seemed to be a push to lock, pull to open... it may have been spring loaded but the sample i saw was not... maybe the display?

whereas gitzo is metal, spring loaded so it snaps back into position...

as for heads, i've seen some posts about the benro heads creeping... markins head and/or photoclam heads are rated very high for their size... hence added comfort in em.

btw, kerry is very nice person to deal with... i've confirmed my purchase of the Photoclam head last night for my monopod.

i should soon have both Photoclam head and the markins Q3T on me...

lastly... i have to be honest... despite having full confidence in chinese manufacturing when it comes to garments (where 99% of all my productions have been with utmost satisfaction)... i was still a bit skeptic when it came to buying a tripod that will hold my latest hobby investments.

oh, the size of gitzo... you just can't beat the size of the GT1550T.... tho i think when i splurge into bigger lenses, i may have to look at Feisol.

Mitch... if i were you, i'd get the Photoclam head for sure...
and brownbag lunch for a week or two and then get the feisol...

spend once and make it last...

thnx guys , well i understand and i would love to invest more , but i simply can't

i'm starting with DSLR , so i'm building my gear from scratch , i tried to divide my budget on everything i might need for now to start with ,

i'll see if i can squeeze the budget a little to 200 to afford this tripod , but more than that ? i don't think i can afford it . (especially that i'm a unemployed univ. student for the moment , but not for long "hopefully" )

do you recommend the manfrotto over the Benro ? any other choices within this range ?

thanks again .

Mitch,

i don't think there's nothing wrong with getting something decent as a starter... manfrottos are fine... i had one myself but sold it in order to go more portable.

best thing for you is to go and test it out.

i know you have just a T2i on hand but heck, if you can, test a T2i + 70-200 or whatever you imagine to be the biggest lens you'll get in the future...

see how it feels and make a decision after you see the actual product.

then come back and get some opinions as well...

i'm sure that the original item in question, Benro + B-0 head can work for your intial setup... perhaps as you get more aquainted, you can upgrade the head to a Photoclam or Markins...

just some quick thoughts...
good luck.

thanks again for your help , i'll see if i have time to go out and check for myself , if not , i guess i'm going for the manfrotto ,

-about the cleaning kit , any recommendations ?

Mitch.A wrote in post #10301993
thanks again for your help , i'll see if i have time to go out and check for myself , if not , i guess i'm going for the manfrotto ,

-about the cleaning kit , any recommendations ?

lenspen and a blower is what i have...
i've been told against compressed air...

also, i have a wad of microfiber cloth from glasses shops...

kinghong1970 wrote in post #10287861
OK, i hope i do not offend any benro owners... i'm sure there are many...

but when i was at Yodobashi... (dammit, that damned jingle is in my head again!!!) i took a close look at benro vs gitzo and basically, this is what i found...

some of benro's locking mechanism at the leg joint seemed "plastic-ish" and it seemed to be a push to lock, pull to open... it may have been spring loaded but the sample i saw was not... maybe the display?

whereas gitzo is metal, spring loaded so it snaps back into position...

as for heads, i've seen some posts about the benro heads creeping... markins head and/or photoclam heads are rated very high for their size... hence added comfort in em.

btw, kerry is very nice person to deal with... i've confirmed my purchase of the Photoclam head last night for my monopod.

i should soon have both Photoclam head and the markins Q3T on me...

lastly... i have to be honest... despite having full confidence in chinese manufacturing when it comes to garments (where 99% of all my productions have been with utmost satisfaction)... i was still a bit skeptic when it came to buying a tripod that will hold my latest hobby investments.

oh, the size of gitzo... you just can't beat the size of the GT1550T.... tho i think when i splurge into bigger lenses, i may have to look at Feisol.

Mitch... if i were you, i'd get the Photoclam head for sure...
and brownbag lunch for a week or two and then get the feisol...

spend once and make it last...

What about those that already brown bag lunch?

theague wrote in post #10302297
What about those that already brown bag lunch?

then we're both up the creek with no paddle...

there's always a dollar and a dream...?