Best full size travel tripod ever ?

[Franco Darioli]

Peak Designs is a small San Francisco based  company, started in 2010, with about 100 products to its name already.
So , yes it is a Kickstarter project but a pretty safe one I think.

[Stuart .]

Retail price will be $600. Not a chance. Even at the Kickstarter price of $480 it’s absurd. At half the price maybe. I’m sticking with my Manfrotto BeFree.

[Franco Darioli]

Over 10,000 people have already bought it so I hope that by this time next year there will be several  on the SH market.

I just bought one at 1/10th of that but it isn’t of course as small and as well designed as that.

I particularly like the one touch ball head.

[Ian]

Price wise it’s more expensive than Manfrotto’s but much cheaper than Gitzo’s or RRS’ travel tripods.  It’s not cheap but I’d hesitate to say it isn’t priced fairly.   They’re rapidly approaching $5 million on Kickstarter.

The compact size when stowed is compelling.   I travel with a single carryon so for me, smaller is better.  My Sirui is not much larger but I had to remove the center column to make it work.

Peak Design has a (afaik) perfect record in bringing kickstarter projects to market.

 

[Boyan B]

Compact size = reduced support performance. Don’t understand the obsession with 4 section tripods that collapse small. I have never had a problem fitting a 3 section series 2 Gitzo in a carry on. Yeah, sometimes I need to pull the ballhead off and disassemble the legs to make it, but that is a minor inconvenience. A 4 section series 1 tripod is pretty much pointless. And the only 4 section series 2 tripod I would trust is the RRS TVC/TFC 24L. But that is a $1k tripod and I am yet to talk myself into spending so much money of a tripod.

It depends on what your goals are. If you are after a tripod that gives you “good enough” stability so that the images don’t look obviously blurry than almost any tripod will do. If you want something that will stand up to critical examination (and by that I don’t mean pixel level peeling ) under reasonable adverse conditions then you better stick with a 3 section series 2 tripod or stiffer. And those are expensive.

[Franco Darioli]

I see that I was not the only one to think this tripod has some merits.

“27,168 backers pledged $12,143,435 to help bring this project to life”.

[Franco Darioli]

Boyan,

many here would find it hard to justify a one pound and or a $300 tripod.

The Peak Designs is already 2.8 lbs at $600.

Your suggestion for a similar tripod is (with head) over 4 lbs and would be over $1200 with a decent head.

When do we stop ?

[Roger Caffin]

Jobi GorillaPod … works fine.

Cheers

[Ted E]

I have an older Gitzo full-size tripod that is ~1.5 lbs without the ballhead and is just under 2 lbs with my current ballhead. It’s a series 0 mountaineer carbon units and has some nice features like a hook under it for loading it with more weight for stability. However, they don’t seem to make it anymore, which is a shame since I haven’t been able to find anything similar that weighs less. If I was carrying a bigger camera, the Peak Designs tripod looks much better for a heavier camera/lens, but the one I have seems to do the trick since even if I use my Vixen polarie astrotracker, my camera gear is under 5 lbs., and my heaviest camera/lens combo is ~2lbs.

[Franco Darioli]

I did no see this comment…

“Jobi GorillaPod … works fine.”

yes sure with small LW cameras, try putting a 1 kg plus kit on that.

 

[Rex Sanders]

I’ve used a bunch of GorillaPods, and they’re OK for many tasks, ideal for some, like in the ocean.

Big problem, also seen by many others, is that GorillaPods wear out and get floppy, then unexpectedly dump your camera. Essentially they are disposable. But at prices ranging from $15 to $180, you can buy a lot of GorillaPods for one $600 Peak Designs carbon fiber wonder.

But a Gorillapod can’t put your camera at eye level in the exact spot you want. Horses for courses.

I really like the new PD tripod. But not enough to spend $600 replacing a MeFoto RoadTrip CF tripod that weighs 100 grams more and takes up some more space folded. And I don’t need a heavier-duty tripod — yet.

YMMV.

— Rex

[Franco Darioli]

It should have been VERY obvious that this tripod, the PD, is not aimed at the Gorilla Pod type market , the same as comparing a 4 kg all season tent with one of those 600g  jobs.
But maybe that is just me…

[Bruce Tolley]

The Gitzo series 0 Mountaineer is available at B&H and Adorama
“Gitzo GT0532 Mountaineer Series 0 Carbon Fiber 3 Sections Tripod, 51.97″ Maximum Height, 17.64lbs Load Capacity $618”
Cheers

[Franco Darioli]

Spot the difference

[Roger Caffin]

The lower one does not (seem to) have a ball head – which strikes me as a bit silly.

Cheers

[Franco Darioli]

 

You got it.

A lot of these tripods are sold without a head so that the customer does not pay for the type  he does not want.

These are some of the heads suggested by B&H

the closest to the one included with the PD tripod is the Mnfrotto on the far left.

That ads 1.4 lb (570 g) , 4.5 ” (60mm) and $150 to the Gitzo equivalent.

Details, details….

[Bruce Tolley]

here is a video review of the PD tripod and some competitive offerings from Manfretto and Surui.

IMO since the PD tripod has just started to ship, I am not sure we can call it the best yet. But the company should be commended for the innovation in design to achieve compactness.

Some BPLers might wonder why all this bother about tripods and ball heads that cost 100s of dolars. Well if you buy a good tripod and ball head to start with, they will last you over the life of several generations of camera bodies. And if you have invested $500 in a camera body and $500 in a lens, it is somewhat orthogonal to trust a $100 tripod.

I went through 2 or 3 cheap tripods that were not stable or broke before springing for a top of the line tripod (Gitzo) and ballhead (Acratech GPSS).
Cheers

[Franco Darioli]

I had seen that video already but just looking at the still from it you posted does clearly show the difference in stored size with the competition.

This is keeping in mind that here folk spend hundreds to save ounces and or get more compact gear .

BTW, my OP had a question mark in it.

[Mike R]

…used Gitzo GT0540 and beat up RRS BH25. My usual lightweight rig. Because the GFX50s is going to weigh what it does.

http://www.mikereidphotography.com

[Ted E]

In case anyone wants a deal, you can finally get it for 20% off with the REI sale going on right now. Peak design has only had it on sale once before, and that was only 10% off.

https://www.rei.com/product/180077/peak-design-carbon-travel-tripod

[Mike J]

Just to throw my 2 cents in here. Peak Design Travel Tripod is hands down amazing. I bring it on all my adventures and I don’t worry about it cause of Peak Designs great warranty.

Also in a pinch, it can help you filter water as well lol:

[Author]

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