Tripods (Again)

[SwissJon]

Ok, perennial question.. Actually two..

Which tripod would you recommen? for travel? I'm only after legs, not a head as well, I'm not fussed about max height, I am fussed about camera shake, weight, packing length and whether it can take a heavy 70-200 lens.. Any ideas would be good.. Ideally I'm after something less than 40cm long and capable of taking at least 5Kg of camera gear.

Second.. Has anyone got a "3 legged thing" tripod? Are they any good??

[pharris201]

Hi Jon
I'm not sure what 3 legged is.

I did go out and buy a basic manfrotto lightweight tripod for hiking.Ultra lightweight usually means $$ with carbon fiber and all of the bells and whistles. This one is basic and used primarly for landscapes and things that stay still long enough to get set up. There is no arm and no pan/tilt but I have another one for that. It also fits in a carryon bag diagonally. When I am hiking I carry it like a rifle with the camera attached. Something I learned from tour guides at nature centers. They all carry their binoculars on the end of a tripod and set up is almost instant.
Model is 7302YB
It will hold the 70-200 as long as you have the collar for balance and weight distribution. The ultra wide Tamron is easy. I did have to get one of those yellow levels that fit in the flash shoe but that should be easy accessory to have.

Hope this helps. BTW we chatted before but I'm not sure my compliment about your work got through. Very awesome images!

[bigrobo89]

Hi,

I was asking a similar question the other day and it lead me to buy a 3 Legged Thing tripod! I went for the 3LT X2 Eddie. Haven't recieved it yet as they've had a huge spike in sales recently, I'm expecting it around the end of the month. Until then I can't give you a review but I too bought it to handle a 70-200mm F2.8 IS with a view to travel so it should easily suit your needs (load capacity of 12kg).

For those who don't know what a "3 Legged Thing" is, have a look around their website, they've taken a fresh approach to tripod design and marketing. 3 Legged Thing - They Came From Stagsden (I'm not a sales person for them I was just impressed by their gear!)

Paul

[OsmosisStudios]

Ask Sime about the 3-legged thing. He'll talk your ears off.

[Krusty79]

I've collected a bunch of links on this topic:

Everything you ever wanted to know about photography! On DPS!

[inkista]

There's a series of Benro tripods that fold flat for packing.

BENRO | Products | Travel Flat Tripods | Travel Flat Tripods - CF Twist Lock Legs | C0190T ? Cat. C0190T