Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-06-28)

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TRIPODS EXPLAINED Testbench

Thesolidworkhorse

Forphotographerswhouselargercameras
andlenses,a sturdyandsubstantialtripodis
essential.Suchmodelstendtoberelatively
largeandheavy,butmakeupforit bybeing
abletoholdheftykitat eyelevel.We’rehuge
fansof theBenroMach3range:budget-
consciousphotographersarewellserved
bythe£119aluminiumTMA28A,while
itscarbon-fibreequivalentTMA28C
costs£269.Bothoffera 155.5cm
maximumheightand53cmfolded
length,whileweighing1.76kg
and1.54kg,respectively.Those
lookingfora morecompact
packageshouldalsotakea
lookat theVelbonUltra 655
(£100),whichpacksdown
tojust37.2cmbutextends
to154cm,and
weighs 1.48kg.

Tripodscomeinmanydifferent

stylesandsizes,eachwith its

ownspecificstrengths

Top tripods

and kits

Lightweight bargains
Decenttripodsdon’thavetoweigha ton
orcosta fortune,andit’spossibletoget
lightweightbutsturdytripodsforunder
£100.Compromisesincludea lower
maximumheightandrecommendedload,
meaningthesetripodsarebestsuited for use
withsmallerDSLRormirrorless
cameraswithtiltingscreens,
andnotidealforshootingwith
largelenses.Ourtoppickis the
BenroSlimCarbonFibretripod+
N00ballheadkit,which
extendsto146cm,packsto
51cm,andweighsjust1kg.
Atjust£89,it’sanabsolute
steal.Anothergreatchoice
is theVanguardVEO
235AB,whichuses
a uniqueswivelling
columntofolddown
to38cm,while
extendingto
145cm .Weig hing
1.5kg,it canbe
boughtforas
little as £80.

Travel companions

Ifyou’rejettingoffona citybreak,orplanon

carryinga tripodaroundalldaylong,thenan

ultra-lightandcompacttravelmodelis

desirable.Five-sectionlegsandtwo-section

centrecolumnsallowgood-sizedtripodsto

folddowntocarry-onfriendlydimensions.

Foranultra-portableoption,thecarbon-

fibreSiruiMyTripMT5-Cis hardtobeat:it

foldsto31cmandweighsjust0.9kgincluding

a strongballhead,butcanextendto1.3m.

Itsaluminiumcounterpart,theMT5-AKis

slightlyheavierbuthalftheprice,at £109vs

£219.If youneeda full-sizealternative,take

a lookat the3 LeggedThingPunksBrian

(£219),whichextendstoanimpressive

1.87mbutfoldsto41cm, and weighs 1.45kg

including its ball head.

Ata premium

Ifyou’repreparedtospendalmostasmuch

ona tripodasyoumightona decentlens,

thensomefantasticpremiumoptionsare

available.Gitzoleadstheway,withits£619

GT1555TTravellerbeingperhapsthefinest

traveltripodonthemarket.It’snot so much

thecorespecsthatmatter

here– 138cmmaximum

height,35.5cmpackedlength,

and1.03kgweightwithout

a head– asthesheerbuild

qualityandrigidity.Other

premiummodelsinclude

thesuperbwaterproofSirui

W-2204,whichemploys

twistleg-locksthatare

sealedagainstmoisture

orsandgettinginside.

This£410,1.7kgleg

setwillraisean18kg

loadtoa maximum

heightof 180cm,

whilefolding

to 52cm.

Low-levelmacro

Ifyourinterestsincludeshootingsubjects

veryclosetotheground,thena small

setof legscanbemorepracticalthana

full-sizetripod.Unlikemostminitripods,

theFeisolTT-15M2is essentiallya

miniaturisedversionof a ‘serious’tripod,

withstrongcarbon-fibrelegsthatcan

beindependentlysettothreedifferent

angles,givingheightsfrom11cmto

16cmwithouta head.It’llhappily

holda full-frameDSLR,butweighs

just200g,meaningyoucancarry

it allthetime.Usersona tight

budgetcouldexperimentwiththe

VelbonEXMacro,whichcanbe

usedforshootingat heightsbetween

20.3cmand56.3cm, and only costs

around £25.

Extra

f lexibility

Thevastmajorityof

tripodshavecentre

columnsthatcan

onlybepositioned

vertically.Butif you

wanttoshootfrom

a widerrangeof

angles,for

example

overhead

close-ups,a

tiltingcolumncanbereally

handy.Manfrotto’sexcellent 190 Go!has

a columnthatcanbeflippedtohorizontal

usinga neatmechanismconcealedwithin

thecentralspider.Itsvitalstatisticsinclude

a heightof 147cmandclosedlengthof

45cm,withpricesof £139forthe1.66kg

aluminiummodelor£229forcarbon

fibre(1.35kg).Anothergreatchoiceis

theVanguardAltaPro+264,whose

columncanbetiltedandrotatedto

almostanyangle.Itsdimensionsare

broadlysimilartotheManfrotto’s,

butit weighsa touchmore,at

1.9kgforthealuminiumversion

(£174)and1.7kg for carbon

fi b r e ( £ 1 9 9 ).

Topbargain:

theBenroSlim

Carbon Fibre kit

Maybetheultimate

traveltripod:the

Gitzo GT1555T

Manfrotto’s 190 Go

providesexceptional

versatility

TheFeisolTT-15M2

is perfectfor

low-level shooting

Benro’sMach3models
suchastheTMA28are
strong and great value

TheSiruiMyTrip

MT5-Cfoldsupextra

small for travel