Period. Unfortunately, other than smartphones, travel is dominated by small, light, often stabilized, crop sensor cameras. If pano photos are your thing, youll want to pay attention to a following section that discusses options for adding 3rd party heads to this tripod. In practical conditions I rarely have more than 1kg on the tripod so why was I worrying about it? The PD is one of the stiffest tripods for its size. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Thanks for adding your comments, Tim. Duffel Bags. So, do you save 300+ grams of weight on your total carrying load, or, does carrying the carbon version of the tripod allow you the capacity to carry an extra lens in your bag that you might otherwise have left at home? On this tripod, the center column is not the usual circular shape. There is an outer locking ring which loosens the jaws around the ball and gives you the traditional tilt and roll movements of a ball head. When you consider purchasing a travel tripod of any type, this lower maximum height is another thing that needs consideration. The Aluminum version of the tripod costs $349.85 and weighs 1613g in the standard configuration. The Anchor System allows a strap to be quickly disconnected, so you can swap it from the tripod to the tripod bag in a few seconds if need be. I found this useful for some behind-the-scenes shots on my phone in the field. I tend to think of a tripod as a necessary evil. Additional Ways to Use a 3rd Party Ball Head, The Perfect Gimbal Head for the Peak Design Tripod, in-depth guide to the best gimbals on the market, Peak Design Aluminum Travel Tripod Tripod. How we tested. I'm way more likely to take this with me when I go out shooting. It took me over one hour to find the popped out parts, remove the sand and then figure out how to reconstruct the assembly. Compare Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Gitzo GT4553S Systematic Series 4 Carbon Fiber Tripod Standard . Shop By Category. GK1555T-82TQD is a Traveler tripod/head kit comprising the 5-section GT1555T Tripod and the GH1382TQD Center Ball Head. I dont expect anyone to be feeling buyers remorse with these tripods, and I do expect Peak Design to make some fans of their products for life. I would go with the 2545T if using the 70-200. There is only ONE tripod that collapses to truly "tiny", weighs less than 3 lbs (1.3kg), and yet is still decently tall when fully extended. There will be other larger and heavier tripods that offer a more stable platform. It is as pricey as a Gitzo Mountaineer/Traveler, (and not as stiff,) however, its unique design allows it to be far more compact than . Tubular legs take more space but allow for a screwing system that seems more durable. With the stopper screws in place (shown in the photo below) only the supplies Peak Design tripod plate will work. No items to compare. The Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod was liked best by camerajabber.com, which gave it a score of 10, while the Gitzo Mini Traveler got its highest, 8, score from camerajabber.com. Avoiding the weight of a ball head is an important part of the package, as is the low profile of the PD head. Its definitely worth a look if you have a store near you, or a friend that has one. More Details In Stock This Tilta Full Camera Cage for Kinefinity MAVO Edge 6K offers enhanced protection for the Kinefinity MAVO Edge 6K/8K and expands options for mounting various camera accessories. Thanks, Noel. Im sure that little touches like this, and the phone holder, are the sorts of things that put customers at ease with the cost of their relatively expensive purchases. In terms of price and specifications, the Travel Tripod by Peak Design is most similar to the Gitzo Series 2 Traveler (for $649). You have to measure the stability of the tripod to get a sense of the weight rating. Much better and stable than expected, its only significant downside being that it does not go very high. The hex heads are the same sizes as the new tool. Lab Test. Even the most expensive tripods from the likes of Gitzo and Really Right Stuff dont go to this level of detail. The peak design is the newest and most uniquely designed of the 4 (it is super compact although the Gitzo is a bit lighter). Get answers to your questions in our photography forums. Thats when he introduced his first product, Capture V1, on Kickstarter. Libor works as a biology teacher, guide, photographer and photography course lecturer. I learned to live with it and never really missed it. The latching mechanism for the quick release is fine. Carbon tripod similar to Peak Design Travel Tripod but at half the price Started 7 months ago | Discussions thread Forum: Parent: First: Previous: Next: Flat view: tlinn . They say the best camera is the one you have with you. Comparing Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Benro . The Gitzo tripod I have used so far did not have a center column. The 5-section Peak Design comes in at 2.6 lbs., 3.8 lbs. Add at least two items to compare. Thanks for the detailed, honest review. Home Gear Reviews The Ultimate Peak Design Travel Tripod Review! Sure, our own Travel Tripod is pretty sweet and works with all Peak Design accessories, but we also designed the plates that come with our clips and straps to be compatible with 3rd party tripods - whichever one you may own. There is nothing magic about this tripod in that regard. The package includes the tripod, a handy neoprene soft case, a hex wrench, and a bushing removal tool for maintenance. I have chosen a very lightweight head in the form of the Acratech GXP, and this gives me full-sized ball head controls and a 50lb load limit. He fell in love with this part of the world and since then he likes to return there with his camera to popularize its nature with his photographs, talks and articles. 10: A universal adapter is provided for this purpose. There's just not that much to them to be worth a fortune. Instead of using traditional cylindrical legs, Peak Design sought to shape the leg in such a way that the centre column would be nested closely within the folded legs. In fact, I find it generally more impressive than the overall stability of the legs, and Im confident you could comfortably lock a heaver-than-specified load as almost any angle. Thankfully, the Peak Design Tripod, despite being one of the tiniest tripods I've ever used, it's also surprisingly tall. Thank you for your very detailed review! Theyre fine, I guess, but I wish they were sharper. The four levers are positioned one over the other, so you use four fingers simultaneously to loosen them. As you can see, by removing the centre column and making use of the various optional accessories, you have options here that range from 1613g all the way down to just 601g. I can pretty much guarantee that it is stiffer than the 5-section Sirui A1205 (and while the Sirui collapses 20 mm shorter, it is wider when collapsed than the PD). As you can see in the photos, the end of the spikes are not that sharp at all. I guess it just goes to show how many people were unexcited by the standard array of options out there. I thought the small ball head would be more likely to slip but you know you have to put a ridiculous amount of weight on it for that to happen and even then, only if it's at a wonky angle. From a speed perspective, the Peak Design Travel Tripod blows the competition out of the water. Im not a robot, there will always be some typos . Yeah its a crazy number isnt it! If you understand what you are buying, and when such a tripod makes sense to use, you are going to be very happy indeed with this purchase. Shop All. If not mistaken, I paid just over $200 for the tripod and "Demon" ball head, including an excellent case. [CDATA[ But if you cant stretch that far, the aluminum version is actually a better value. While the price of the aluminium tripod is more palatable, if low weight is especially important, bite the bullet and go for the carbon fibre tripod which is 290g lighter. Compare Benro MeFoto GlobeTrotter Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod Kit Black vs Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Gitzo GT2545T Series 2 Traveler Carbon Fiber . If you buy something through one of these links, we might make a small commission. How does the Peak Design Travel Tripod perform in this regard? I recommend it over the Peak Design. Most of them tend to use one of the smaller versions of Benro carbon fiber tripods when they're having to hike longer distances or they bite the bullet and take their big tripods with them. Another way to think of it is, for a 270 g savings in weight, you pay $270 extra. These are the questions you will have to ask yourself, and the answers will be personal. Thats a weight saving of 307g for the price increase of $250. The tripod clearly takes design cues from the Peak Design Travel Tripod and the RRS Ascend-14 tripod, but it hits a much lower price point than either of these options. The biggest plus to the tripod is that it folds down small. If you did this it would be a very expensive tabletop tripod. In the West, we tend to associate the Chinese photo brands with cheaper, low-end photo gear, but Fotopro should not be thought of in this way. You can also remove just one of these stopper screws to allow you to slide the tripod plate in from the side. Please note that if you include a link in your comment, it will have to be moderated first before it appears on the site. Back to Product List . At $350, the aluminum Travel Tripod is slightly more expensive but also lighter than MeFoto's $220 GlobeTrotter Classic, but it's cheaper than Gitzo's $725 1.97-pounds Series 0 Traveler. In the table below I have provided my measured weights for all individual parts of the Travel Tripods, as well as combined weights of the most common setups using included parts and optional accessories. Best for use with multiple cameras: Vanguard VEO 3T+ 234AB. They have free shipping to many places and their customer service team are always on hand to help if you have any problems. It's an inch shorter folded but you get roughly 5" less in height when the column is fully extended. The Travel Tripod includes a phone adapter that can be used on the ball head to hold your phone. In the case of a tripod, I would be rather cautious with that statement. It's the shortest and thinnest with center column down, the Peak Design falls behind the others, whereas the others are more or less on similar hight There has been a renaissance in this part of the photography world, and lots of reputable companies make great carbon fiber travel tripods today. This is still a travel tripod, and if you are planning on buying one then you must be prioritizing small size and light weight, otherwise, this isnt the right tripod for you. Once removed, new rubber feet are placed onto the tripod. Gitzo has its diehard fans, and the Travel Tripod appears to stack. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); document.getElementById("ak_js_2").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); I have looked a couple of times to the Peak Design tripod. Great article on this tripod. My old travel tripod, a Dolica 65", folded down juuuuust small enough to fit in my checked baggage if I jammed it in. Back to Product List . It was long past time for me to get a travel tripod and this one has serve me well for almost two years of use so far. So often I'd look at my old tripod and just be "ugh" and I'd leave it home. But keep in mind that the Peak Design tripod is intended primarily as a travel model. Look at the Feisol CT-3441T travel tripod. The Peak Design Travel Tripod uses a quick-release plate that is small with a low profile. I had people asking me whether they could sell their 2-series or 3-series tripods and just use the PD Travel Tripod? Its the only way that I use the tripod myself. 061 415 246. lighter than the 3-section Gitzo setup at 6.4 lbs. By admin | 26/07/2022. January 31 st, 2023 84. I probably should have bought this, although I'm not a fan of that style of leg locks and it's not as tall as the PD. If you need an extremely light, tabletop tripod for a particular shoot, an unusual feature of this tripod is the ability to remove the extendable leg sections entirely, and replace them with a set of tripod feet. Mine is a cheap carbon travel tripod from K&F. Your IP: I have a few tripods on the shelf, but when you need something lightweight just in case this ticks the boxes nicely. Fitter, younger photographers might not bat an eyelid at an extra 300g, but you certainly will feel that difference on a long day of hiking as you get older. One of the main selling points of this tripod is the minimization of dead space. But it is so light and small that I do not hesitate taking it on the most strenuous hikes. Compare Manfrotto Element Small Aluminum Traveler Tripod Black vs Manfrotto Element MII Aluminum Tripod with Ball Head Black vs Peak Design Aluminum Travel Tripod vs . This helps to keep the collapsed length of the tripod down, but it means that you have to extend the centre column about an inch before you can adjust the angle of the tripod head. Its the trigger point for the compromises. This week Chris and Jordan review four great travel tripods from Manfrotto, Sirui,. The included head gets you started if your budget is limited. A good tripod can be an essential tool for the traveling photographer, but when you're on the go size matters. They seem to be making some very good tripods for very competitive prices. I got the carbon fiber version of that on sale last year and have no complaints at all. Where it stands out are the extremely compact design and the unusual features like the phone holder, integrated ballhead, and the ability to convert it to a tabletop tripod. Another benefit is that the tripods built-in head than acts as a leveling head, enabling you to quickly set up a perfectly flat base for the second head for panoramic photography or filmmaking. The PD tripod alongside the RRS TFC-14 and Gitzo GT1545T. The Peak Design Travel Tripod works with many (but not all) 3rd party Arca-compatible tripod plates. Have read some reviews that are very positive and have one on order. Comparing Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Gitzo . Peak Design was laser focused on making the most compact possible, fully featured tripod. I bought mine right from Amazon with my own money. By submitting a comment this form also collects your name, email and IP address so that we can prevent spam. Sort: Clear All. A mistake that is, unless the primary reason for downsizing is to get something much smaller and lighter at the expense of some stability. That being said, there are a lot of great tripods that are cheap(er than the PD) and really stiff, like the Leofoto LS-224C, the CTC Centennial 2 Aluminum, and the new FLM tripods. Hi Libor, thanks for the review, an interesting read! So without further ado, let's give . Portability or sturdiness? Optional accessories also include stainless steel spikes or the aforementioned ultralight conversion kit (both $30). Cover this product: 3-Year Protection $65.99 Learn more Almost every time you buy a tripod or a ball head youll find one or two hex wrenches in the box. Peak Design's latest offering is one of the more expensive travel tripods I've seen, but it's well-built, compact, and as cleverly designed as you'd expect. Perhaps in the next $12M pre-order V2 by PD! The biggest load I personally put on the tripod was a Nikon Z9 with a Nikon 400mm f/2.8 G plus an Atomos Ninja recorder with mount. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I was looking at tripods recently and to me neither the Peak Design or Gitzo Traveler Series 2 really competes with each other. The legs are nice. For fast deployment, the five-section aluminum leg cams can be released at the same time. Again, there is no magic here. All other specifications are the same. If your budget can stretch to it, I think the carbon version is worth the extra money for the weight savings. I have used the tripod until recently with my trusty gimbal head, as you can see below. At $40 they are quite expensive, as as far as spiked tripod feet go, they are fairly mediocre. After returning from the Arctic and sending the pre-production version back to Peak Design, I actually went on to purchase my own copy of the tripod. Plus it offers one more leg angle than either the Gitzo or Peak Design offerings, allowing rather more versatility as to leg placement. Its light, small enough to fit into the side pocket of my bag. I recommend using an L-bracket instead of a conventional plate, because otherwise, there are some restrictions on the range of movements once you flip the head vertically. Thanks, yea was leaning more on 2545T. I have no info on that, but youd have to assume that they will at some point. With this kit and the centre column removed, the carbon tripod weighs just 601g. I got a Sirui A1205. The downside to the low-profile head design is that it doesnt have an independent panning base. This is a travel tripod, and as such, the designers focussed on making it small and lightweight. I measured that it takes about 15 seconds to unfold the tripod completely. It looks like Peak handed out review tripods to Youtubers like crazy so right from the jump I'm inclined to not trust the reviews. For a long time I simply ruled out using a gimbal with a small tripod, but then I came across a new gimbal while I was researching updates for my in-depth guide to the best gimbals on the market. I have both tripods. Comparison of expert ratings Highly Recommended Recommended Mentioned Not Mentioned PCmag Caveat: I mostly use it for landscape, nightscapes and cityscapes with relatively light mirrorless cameras and bodies. November 3 rd, 2022 59. chevron_rightshow all Lab Tests. To determine your tripod's compatibility, read on: 1. However, its nice to have the option if you want to do a lot of low-level landscape photography or macro work. Much like the multitool, Peak Design has also gone to great lengths to make a good tripod bag. Weve looked at the Universal Head Adapter as a way to use a 3rd party head on this tripod, but there is another option. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about this tripod, and Ill do my best to answer! Theres also a small lever that locks the jaws of the head to prevent accidental release of your camera. Portrait-length prime is designed for APS-C-format Canon RF-mount mirrorless cameras and offers a 75mm equivalent focal length. At $449 its not a cheap piece of equipment, but it is easily one of the best tripod heads of any kind that I have ever tested for this site. Two tripods of the same design made from different materials provide an interesting comparison. To me that means that I will be more inclined to use it. The Feisol CT-3441S is three ounces heavier but 25% stiffer and ~$200 cheaper. To this day, Peak Design continues to use Kickstarter to raise funds for its product development. These are probably the most versatile choice. Gitzo GT1545/2545T leg height position question: 5: Shout Out To PayBoo' Most bookmarked in this forum. If you want to save money, you can get the aluminum alloy version for $380. The Peak Design Travel Tripod raised an incredible $12million on Kickstarter when it was launched. You need universal head adapter to use other tripod heads (Libor shows that he used his gimbal with it). Gitzo's Traveler series has even smaller models, the lightest of which has a weight of just 0.9kg, including the head. Then theres the matter of shooting vertical photos. Fotopro is a Chinese tripod company that makes some very high-end equipment. Thats one dollar per gram you save! Its doubtful you will find a head for less than 126g, so going this route does increase the overall weight of your setup. When you've adjusted the angle of the ball head you have to spin a wheel along its horizontal surface to lock it in place. Your own goals need to line up with the tripod designers goals for this to be the right purchase for you. The price of the carbon fiber model tested is currently $650 at B&H, at the time Im publishing this review. If you need a tripod that takes up as little space as possible then Peak Design has an extremely compelling product. Heroclip - The Handy Tripod and Camera Bag Accessory, Quick Review: 3 Legged Thing Vanz Tabletop Tripod Conversion Kit, Best Camera Protection in A Regular Backpack, Travel Tripod Aluminum Standard as-shipped configuration [Includes centre column, head, phone holder], Travel Tripod Carbon Standard as-shipped configuration -[Includes centre column, head, phone holder], Travel Tripod Aluminum [Ball head swapped for Universal Head Adapter], Travel Tripod Carbon [Ball head swapped for Universal Head Adapter], Travel Tripod Aluminum centre column removed, Travel Tripod Carbon centre column removed, Travel Tripod Aluminum centre column removed + ball head swapped to Universal Head Adapter, Travel Tripod Carbon centre column removed + ball head swapped to Universal Head Adapter, Travel Tripod Aluminum Ultralight Conversion Kit installed No centre column, Travel Tripod Carbon Ultralight Conversion Kit installed No centre column, Travel Tripod Aluminum Ultralight Conversion Kit installed No centre column Ball head swapped for Universal Head Adapter, Travel Tripod Carbon Ultralight Conversion Kit installed No centre column Ball head swapped for Universal Head Adapter, Travel Tripod Case (comes included with tripod), Tripod tool + clip (comes included with tripod), Universal Head Adapter (optional accessory), Phone Holder + Hook (comes included with tripod), Included ball head (standard included tripod part), Centre Column (standard included tripod part), Individual leg weight (removed when Ultralight Conversion Kit Installed, Max height (center column raised): 152.4 cm (60), Max height (center column down): 130.2 cm (51.25), Tabletop Mode (center column raised): 57.2 cm (22.5), Tabletop Mode (center column down): 35.9 cm (13.125), Max height (center column down): 36.3cm (14.29), Max height (center column up): 58.1cm (22.87). For those with larger mirrorless setups that use heavier lenses, and DSLR users, you are probably going to want this tripod as a second tripod. For a fairer comparison, add Gitzo's own 1382TQD head, which they also sell as a kit with the legs, and the whole package is only 160g heavier than the Peak Design. The difference in the size of the legs is already apparent. This requires the purchase of a universal head adapter for $30. All of which phones are highly capable of capturing these days. Gimbal heads are incredibly useful for wildlife photography with longer lenses and panoramic photography. Quick, easy, and frustration-free claims. RED V-RAPTOR 8K VV Lab Test: Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude - plus Video! This can come in handy if, for example, you were shooting with the tripod submerged in muddy water or the sea. This system is a feature of all their camera straps and means that can of them can be paired easily with this tripod. Gura Gear Kiboko City Commuter 18L The Perfect Camera Bag Found? Namely, if you want to take a panorama, for example, the tripod head cannot be moved only horizontally. This is something else you need to factor into the purchase of a travel tripod. Just keep in mind that a fully extended column will harm the stability of a tripod. Several times I've noticed my camera (a Fuji XT-2 with the 18-55 lens) slowly slipping down. There are far better alternatives out there. This makes a taller and heavier setup, but it has the benefit of being faster to swap between using the built-in head and using a 3-rd party ball head that has additional panning features and more ergonomic controls. Is the folded height with the ball head on or off? Its too short! You can use any arca swiss compatible plate with it. These tripods weigh more than my camera body. Its easy to get fixated on the maximum height of a tripod with its column extended 152.4 cm in this case. I love that you can latch and unlatch all of the legs at once really easily. For Peak Design gear I always recommend buying directly. The light weight is a blessing. Offering a sleek and retro design, the 35mm f/0.95 Lens from TTArtisan is an ultra-fast normal-length prime for APS-C-format cameras. Love the multi-tool if only all manufacturers would use the same size we could all carry just one, or maybe two hex keys and this is the way to do it. I like Libors suggestion about using a different ball head to replace the Peak Design tripod head in dusty or sandy environments. Ive found the PD head better than suggested in the article: it holds my Nikon D850 with a battery pack and a long lens perfectly firmly and, slightly loosened, works reasonably well to pan. This clever outside-the-box thinking has truly produced the most compact full-sized travel tripod I have ever seen. I have bought a more conventional head and a L bracket. But I find it way too expensive for what it is. At $349.95 I think the aluminum version of the Travel Tripod is excellent value. I hate having to bend over to compose and focus. The Peak Design tripod is slimmer and more compact, or dense. In his latest video, Lok Cheung goes over some of the major differences between the Peak Design Travel Tripod and the Manfrotto Befree tripod. My travel tripod is a Sirui N-2204. Surprised you didnt mention it in the review. Peak Design Travel Tripod (Carbon Fiber) Check Price 9 Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 263CB 100 Check Price 10 Gitzo GT5563GS Check Price (Image credit: Luk Vatko on Unsplash) The best carbon fiber tripods are some of the best tripods that photographers can buy. Its important to understand that this is not a magic tripod that has suddenly overcome all laws of physics. Yes, there are some that collapse a little shorter in length, but they also have a shorter maximum height. Ive had several claims with PD products and it was always really fast to get a free replacement!