Benro tripods

idkb said:
Morning all - having searched around I have noticed people recommending Benro tripods. I am looking for a CF tripod that I can stick in my suitcase when I go on a business trip.

Has anyone got an opinion on the Benro Travel Angel range? I was looking at this one in particular:

http://www.benro.com/products_details_TRCB269.html#specs

TIA

Iain
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That's the one I would get. Seems like the pick of the bunch for max height from shortest folded length. With a B-1 head for £250 delivered from here http://cgi.ebay.com/New-BENRO-C-269...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3eff6916d6 Recommended store, v good fast service and no extra charges - at least for me although I guess that's always possible.

Benro are also available from various UK dealers now (google) and the official importers are Kenro http://www.kenro.co.uk/productgroup/14/Benro.html?PHPSESSID=766ev79ha4m4bfs1u3c8h1k5n3 but you'll pay more. Also sold as Induro branded from Calumet.

I have a a C-257 with J-2 head and it's excellent. I've played with the Travel Angels and they are a cute Gitzo Traveller copy, excellent quality at half the price :thumbs: J-1 head is a nice match too, just a different friction control.
 
I have the travel angel 168 - which it appears is no longer on their site. It's lovely and light, and seems rigid, although in fairness I haven't had many previous tripods to compare it to. Beware that the more extensions there are (i.e. the x69 series have 5, the x68 have 4), the less sturdy and slightly heavier it will be, at the cost of compactness. IMO a few cms isn't an issue! Due to the thinner legs of the 5 section tripods, I would have thought that the 4 section models were as sturdy as the model up from the 5 sections i.e. the 269 was only as sturdy as the 168.
 
Cheng said:
I have the travel angel 168 - which it appears is no longer on their site. It's lovely and light, and seems rigid, although in fairness I haven't had many previous tripods to compare it to. Beware that the more extensions there are (i.e. the x69 series have 5, the x68 have 4), the less sturdy and slightly heavier it will be, at the cost of compactness. IMO a few cms isn't an issue! Due to the thinner legs of the 5 section tripods, I would have thought that the 4 section models were as sturdy as the model up from the 5 sections i.e. the 269 was only as sturdy as the 168.
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All good points :) It's certainly true that the bottom legs of the 5-section jobbies are a bit spindly and the extra joint can't help rigidity. Trade off for the extra height and shorter folded length.

The best solution I guess is personal, presumably why they make so many slightly different versions. I'm thinking that for most people there will be one overriding consideration - maybe folded length for packing plus a bit more height, whatever.

Another thing to consider is the diameter of the pan base of the head, which is often a bit big on decent sized heads, and that prevents these taveller design from folding up nice and flush. The 1-series Benro Angels really need the 0-size heads or even 00-size, whereas I think with the 2-series you can get away with a usefully bigger 1-size head.
 
I have the C 268 with a J 1 head, I preferred the smaller number of leg sections to make it a little more sturdy, also the beefier J1 head takes up to 20kg & is a little bigger than the B series.

So far I'm really pleased, the quality of the head & legs is top notch, plus the light weight is an added bonus, all bought from DC stuff on ebay.

Thoroughly recommended and copes with a Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS on my 450D easily, also the Sigma 150-500.
 
Mad Badger said:
I have the C 268 with a J 1 head, I preferred the smaller number of leg sections to make it a little more sturdy, also the beefier J1 head takes up to 20kg & is a little bigger than the B series.

So far I'm really pleased, the quality of the head & legs is top notch, plus the light weight is an added bonus, all bought from DC stuff on ebay.

Thoroughly recommended and copes with a Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS on my 450D easily, also the Sigma 150-500.
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Sounds nice Steve :thumbs:

Just out of interest, can you confirm that the pan base of the J-1 head allows the C-268 legs to fold flush and parallel?

Many thanks :)
 
Yes indeed I can fold the legs flush & parallel alongside the J-1 ballhead & tuck one of the legs into the loop on my Slingshot 300 & off I go

:thumbs:
 
Mad Badger said:
Yes indeed I can fold the legs flush & parallel alongside the J-1 ballhead & tuck one of the legs into the loop on my Slingshot 300 & off I go

:thumbs:
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Cheers for that. Sounds like a very neat way to go with the Slingshot :)
 
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