Photo Plus - USA (2019-07)

The Canon Magazine 111

TRAVEL TRIPODS

CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL Carbon fibre

ALTERNATIVE MATERIAL Aluminium,

1.2kg, £109/$150

WEIGHT 1.06kg

FOLDED HEIGHT 33cm

MAX, MIN OPERATING HEIGHT 143cm,

21cm (L A A)

MAX MONOPOD HEIGHT N/A

HEAD ADJUSTMENTS Lock, pan

BALL HEAD Vanguard T50

QUICK-RELEASE PLATE Arca-Swiss type

LOAD RATING 4kg

SPECIFICATIONS

VANGUARD VEO 2

GO 235CB £179/$220

The Vanguard is more than just a handsome

head and a gorgeous set of legs

ne of Vanguard’s new

generation of VEO 2 Go

tripods, this one’s smartly

turned out in gunmetal

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and a two-section centre

column, all made from carbon

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centimetre more than for the

Benro Slim Travel and SIRUI

kits, but the Vanguard beats

them for max operating height,

at 143cm. It’s also lighter in

weight than the Benro and

SIRUI tripods, but only by 10g

and 40g respectively, despite

both competitors having an

aluminium construction. Unlike

the Benro, one of the legs isn’t

detachable for monopod duty.

The min operating height is

33cm with the centre column,

but a low angle adaptor is

supplied. This shrinks the min

height to 21cm and, while that’s

no match for the 8cm of the

SIRUI, the Vanguard’s centre

column can be inverted for

even lower-level shooting.

With a modest max load

rating of 4kg, it’s not surprising

that there’s no adjustable

friction damper in the head, but

the main lock works well, as

does the independent panning

lock. A bubble level on the

camera platform is just visible

at the edge of the Arca-Swiss

quick-release plate.

Performance

Considering the usual plethora

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section legs and a two-section

centre column, rigidity remains

good even at the maximum

operating height. It’s not quite

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Benro Slim Travel kit but a little

more so than the SIRUI kit.

FEATURES

VERDICT

01

The panning locks

are effective and

easy to use.

02

Like the legs, the

two-section centre

column has a carbon

fibre construction.

03

If black’s not your

thing, the gunmetal

grey finish might be

a bit of light relief.

04

The centre column

can be replaced with

a supplied low angle

adaptor.

05

Interchangeable

rubber pads and

metal spikes are

supplied for the feet.

FEATURES

BUILD & HANDLING

PERFORMANCE

VALUE

OVERALL

02

01

03

04

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04

BOOM BOOM

How come more travel tripods don’t have a pivoting centre column?

he Benro GoPlus Travel

FGP18A is a top performer with

the usual attractions, plus the

addition of a pivoting centre column.

Unlike the system featured in the Kenro

Ultimate Travel, its design lets you lock

the centre column at a large number of

angles through a full 180-degree arc,

rather than just at regular upright and

horizontal boom positions.

A pivoting centre column can be

helpful for extreme close-ups with

macro lenses, and for shooting with

ultra-wide or fisheye lenses. However,

the Benro and Kenro tripods weigh in

at around 2kg and, given the more

lightweight nature of most travel

tripods, there’s a greater risk of

them toppling over when using the

centre column as a horizontal boom.

T

The Benro GoPlus

Travel FGP18A is a great

travel tripod if you want a

pivoting centre column

facility, but it’s relatively

heavy at 2kg