Tripod preference ?'s

[littlebuf]

whats the price point your trying to hit?

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

whats the price point your trying to hit?

Will be competitive with other high end tripods; $2-250ish

 

[R Miller]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Right now the specs are:

Folded length: 16"
Extended length: 60"
Weight: 1.8lbs
Three position legs
Twist lock
25mm Carbon Fiber legs
All machined aluminum (no plastic)

It has some other cool features that I'll share with you guys when I get them.

Interesting, looks promising for those still shopping. I'll be curious to see what the final specs are, good luck!

 

[Mike7]

Sounds promising, but agree with some others about fliplocks over twist locks. Eventually twist locks cause more problems when dust gets in the mechanism it seems, and the convenience of being able to reach down from the sitting glassing position with one arm to loosen a tripod leg and push the tripod into position can not be over stated.

 

[luke moffat]

Sounds promising, but agree with some others about fliplocks over twist locks. Eventually twist locks cause more problems when dust gets in the mechanism it seems, and the convenience of being able to reach down from the sitting glassing position with one arm to loosen a tripod leg and push the tripod into position can not be over stated.

Funny you mention that. I've had dust debris gum up a nice flip lock tripod before, but my $120 twist lock is still going strong 3 years and nearly 200 days afield with it with no issues what so ever. We each have our own preferences and experiences, sometimes they differ sometimes not. That said I'm glad to see S&S is going twist lock

 

[Mike7]

Luke what is your tripod/head system?? It sounds pretty good all around (wt, reliability, etc.).

Right now I have the Slik Sprint Mini, which seems to be pretty solid for such a low price tripod...except the ball head on it is not so great, and that's even with just a 50mm spotter. I'm not sure if I need a whole new tripod system when I upgrade to a larger spotter or if I could get by with a much better head placed on my Slik Sprint mini. I saw Aron mention earlier in the thread that there is a way to do this.

 

[Yellowknife]

Right now I have the Slik Sprint Mini, which seems to be pretty solid for such a low price tripod...except the ball head on it is not so great, and that's even with just a 50mm spotter. I'm not sure if I need a whole new tripod system when I upgrade to a larger spotter or if I could get by with a much better head placed on my Slik Sprint mini. I saw Aron mention earlier in the thread that there is a way to do this.

Mike,

Grab that tiny ball head on you Mini and give it a good twist. You will find it threads off to reveal a 1/4" stud.

All tripod heads that I have seen use either a 1/4" or 3/8" threaded stud on the legs to secure the head, and with the 1/4" stud on your Slik you can fit any common camera head on it that you want. I use a Manfrotto 494RC, but there are many other quality units. If the head you buy is set up for a 3/8" thread (like my Manfrotto), then you need an 1/4 - 3/8" adapter bushing, sold by any decent camera shop for a couple dollars.

http://www.amazon.com/Gino-Camera-Convert-Adapter-Monopod/dp/B008MLZF7W/ref=pd_sim_p_8

Hope that helps. I do suggest going to a good camera shop that caters to the DSLR crowd as a way to try out a bunch of heads.

Yk

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

Funny you mention that. I've had dust debris gum up a nice flip lock tripod before, but my $120 twist lock is still going strong 3 years and nearly 200 days afield with it with no issues what so ever. We each have our own preferences and experiences, sometimes they differ sometimes not. That said I'm glad to see S&S is going twist lock

That has been my experience as well, also flip locks can get quite noisy.

 

[HellsCanyon]

I've used crappy twist locks and they absolutely suck... but I've used well built twist locks and they are just fine. If you can use a quality twist lock and save some weight over the flip locks I think it'll work great. Would love to try one out when they come out S&S!

Mike

 

[Mike7]

Thanks Yellowknife, great explanation. I will try that while awaiting S&S's creation. Will also check out that Manfrotto 494RC head.

 

[Biggs300]

If I could get a carbon fiber tripod with the features of my Vanguard MAK 203OS (Aluminum Alloy) that can support at least 7 lbs with a folded length of under 24", I'd be all over it. The features I like on my Vanguard are: Extended Height - 63.75", 3-section, flip-lock legs, Gear-driven height adjustment and its weight is 2.80 lbs. I have no problem with high-impact plastic parts to keep weight to a minimum. The folded height of my Vanguard is 25.75" which is just a bit long, although it does fit in my backpack.

 

[Racethesunset]

Why does it need to be carbon fiber?

Heres an idea: if you are after low weight and occasional 60"+ height, add the manfrotto center post extension to any mid-sized tripod when you need it, leave it at home when you don't. A bit less stable because leg length will be less.