Portable tripods

Mystery57

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Andrew
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Looking at the options for a more compact light weight portable tripod to use with my 5dMk3 camera and zoom lens 70-250

Ideally maximum length of about 400mm

I do not like or get on with the twist grip leg releases so would prefer the snap lock type.

What do people recommend

At the moment I use Manfrotto normal sized tripods and have quite a few release plates

cheers
Andrew
 
That's quite a heavy outfit to be using on a tripod that closes down to 40cm (assuming you mean 70-200mm lens)

My smallest tripod folds down to 48cm, but that has twist locks and is still pretty stable with a 5D and 70-200 f/4, but wouldn't want to go any smaller or lighter.

Also the more compact you go (unless it has multiple leg sections) the extended height may not be adequate

Be careful mounting your expensive gear on an ultra lightweight tripod, could become very top heavy which might lead to disaster
 
What about a Manfrotto Befree Travel tripod ? Closed length is 40cm and it's got snap locks but the max supported weight's only 4Kg.

Or a Benro Travel Angel, aluminium as looks like the CF ones have twisty legs. Max load on this one's 6Kg.
 
I did a bit of research and ended up buying the RedGed TCA-522K that comes the RNB-0n ball head and took it on a holiday to Jordan just last week. What I liked was:

- Very compact at just 36cm (only the Befree is close)
- Very light with just 1.25Kg
- Good head that allowed panning. I didn't like the equivalent priced ones didn't have panning or like the Manfrotto Befree couldn't be replaced
- Great price at £119

I was very happy with it, good quality overall, easy to carry around and stable enough. The last leg extensions are a bit thin so in wind you wouldn't want to extend them and use a weight on the hook that it has but that will always be the case with a travel tripod that doesn't weight too much and folds into something small.

I used it with my Canon 6D and both the Canon 24-70mm and 70-200mm mk1 IS lenses without problem. The spec says up to 4Kg.

I got it from Outdoors Photography at a great price for just £119 including next day delivery fully tracked. I would definitely recommend those guys.

http://shop.outdoorsphotography.co.uk/redged-tca-522k-travel-macro-tripod-aluminum-r-0n.html
 
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