I was looking at tripods recently and to me neither the Peak Design or Gitzo Traveler Series 2 really competes with each other. To jump into a new segment of the market with such a unique design, and do it so successfully, is very impressive. For many thats a very high driving factor. Tested: Four travel tripods for every budget - DPReview Its easy to get fixated on the maximum height of a tripod with its column extended 152.4 cm in this case. Its important to understand that this is not a magic tripod that has suddenly overcome all laws of physics. Compare Benro MeFoto GlobeTrotter Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod Kit Black Every bit shortly as Actually Right Stuff launched the Arise-14 travel tripod, I knew I would go questions about how it compares to the Summit Pattern Travel Tripod. The peak design is the newest and most uniquely designed of the 4 (it is super compact although the Gitzo is a bit lighter). Peak Design Travel Tripod Versus Manfrotto Befree: Which Is Better? It has a max height that is similar to the Peak Design but without having to use a center column, it is carbon fiber and very stable. The gimbal in question is the Fotopro E-6H. 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. Its still possible to do a better job than your competitors at minimizing those sacrifices, but they will be there. Peak Design Travel Tripod (Carbon Fiber) Ultra-Portable, Stable and 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. There's just not that much to them to be worth a fortune. Perhaps an extremely long multi-day hike. At $349.95 I think the aluminum version of the Travel Tripod is excellent value. Peak Design Travel Tripod Review | PCMag Available online and in-store in the heart of Limerick City. The Peak Design Travel Tripod uses a quick-release plate that is small with a low profile. Comparing Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Gitzo 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). Peak Design Camera Straps; Canon Battery Grips; Nikon Battery Glips; . Perhaps in the next $12M pre-order V2 by PD! 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. Compared to all other Tripods on the market, however, the Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod performed great. Using the Peak Design Travel Tripod After a couple of delays due to the coronavirus slowing shipping from China, the tripod arrived, beautifully packed in a cylinder, which contained a soft. At $40 they are quite expensive, as as far as spiked tripod feet go, they are fairly mediocre. The tripod is obviously lightweight and portable, but that would be useless if it had issues supporting a camera. As always, we appreciate it when you use the links on this page to make your purchases. I don't have a blog or a Youtube channel to make a review so I figured I'd just do it here. As a companion to a good general purpose or systematic tripod, the peak design tripod is a great addition for when size matters but not a good choice as a sole . Mine is a cheap carbon travel tripod from K&F. However, its nice to have the option if you want to do a lot of low-level landscape photography or macro work. The Peak Design Travel Tripod features five-section aluminum or carbon fiber legs with quick-release latches. We spent 4 years redesigning the tripod from the ground up, creating a travel tripod that packs down to the diameter of a water bottlewithout compromising height, stability, or features. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. So without further ado, let's give . 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. Im glad it helped. I guess you have more tripods, depending on what you are doing and restrictions due to weight & luggage etc? I'm surprised I don't see more people talk about it, or maybe there's something about the company I don't know. Despite its odd looks, this is a very capable head. This setup is light and easy to carry while hiking and is very stable with my D750 and either 24-70 f/2.8 or 70-200 f/4. Although designed for this tripod, you could use the phone holder in any other Arca-Swiss compatible clamp. Peak Design again comes close with its travel tripod and while it is smaller and has a unique. For sure this is on me for not tightening up the ball head more, but it's really not the easiest thing. Try to find a small to medium-sized ball head if you go this route. I have an older PD tool that I prefer: one-piece, and suitable for a key-ring. When you consider purchasing a travel tripod of any type, this lower maximum height is another thing that needs consideration. The foldable phone holder is cleverly hidden inside the centre column, accessible by rotating and removing the centre columns bottom hook. I'm sure this post doesn't break much new ground but most of the negativity I've seen has been towards the legs and price and not a lot of talk about the ball head. The Ultimate Peak Design Travel Tripod Review! MSRP $599.99 $649.95 at Amazon. I'm way more likely to take this with me when I go out shooting. Quick, easy, and frustration-free claims. I tend to concur with your review. since when having choices is an unfortunate thing? Thats when he introduced his first product, Capture V1, on Kickstarter. Built quality is somewhat better than the RRS version and the Feisol tripod comes with an excellent carry case - all I got from RRS was a cardboard box. Despite having bigger legs, the Peak Design Tripod has a circumference of 27cm, against 34cm for the Sirui. These are probably the most versatile choice. My travel tripod is a Sirui N-2204. Click to reveal Regular readers of this site will have heard me talk about the tripod before. To me that means that I will be more inclined to use it. This is not to deny its usefulness. But at that weight, youre sacrificing a lot of stability. Also, with the provided tripod bag being such a tight squeeze, if you dont collapse the column down after using it, re-seating the head into the top of the legs, you wont actually be able to fit the tripod into the bag. Im sure its a good marketing strategy and works well to drive sales but Im inclined to agree. The standard head works with arca swiss plates out of the box. Let's just get it out there. Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Tripods on the market. Hes a lucky guy, John! I dont say this as a negative of this particular tripod, its just a gentle reminder to everyone that you should think carefully about what you are giving up when you decide to opt for a tripod that was built with a focus on its small size and light weight in mind. If you want to use your own ball head on the Peak Design Travel Tripod, the included inverted ball head can be quickly removed and replaced with the Universal Ball Head Adapter. I got the carbon fiber version of that on sale last year and have no complaints at all. It is the first tripod I have actually used during my 50 years of photographing. I was worried the k-10x wouldn't be strong enough for my setup but it adjusts as smooth as butter and locks down rock solid. Shop By Brand. The main benefit to it is that it's light and packs up tiny. The legs are nice. Any thoughts on Peak Design.Carbon Tripod? - Leica Forum TTArtisan 35mm f/0.95 Lens for FUJIFILM X - imastudent.com It will give you sharper images, but youll have to deal with constantly bending down to use the camera. 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 . 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. However, one needs to be very careful in protecting the tripod head from sand and other fine particles. Lets dive in! For $200 you get a tripod that folds shorter and is lighter. When Ulanzi offered a tripod for testing, I was keen to see how it fared. Determine which plate you have. Back to Product List . //]]>. GK1555T-82TQD is a Traveler tripod/head kit comprising the 5-section GT1555T Tripod and the GH1382TQD Center Ball Head. On top of the head is a bubble level to help you get a nice level horizon. The Peak Design Travel Tripod is available in two versions, and then there are further options to adapt the tripod by adding accessories or removing unnecessary parts. What does that include? Its a heck of a jump from $350 to $600, for a tripod that performs the same and looks almost identical to boot. These are the questions you will have to ask yourself, and the answers will be personal. Comparing Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Benro . Comparing Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod vs Gitzo Fwiw, among the ones you've listed, I'd be inclined to eliminate the Gitzo 1555 -- it has similar stiffness to the PD CF, but it's more expensive and doesn't get as compact -- and the Benro, given it's folded length. For Peak Design gear I always recommend buying directly. Disclaimer: The tripod was provided at no cost for this review. I replaced my RRS TVC-34L with the Feisol CT-3472 which tripled my options for usage. Duffel Bags Shop All. By installing a reducer bushing into the 3/8 16 thread on the base of your ball head, you can then attach the included Peak Design tripod plate onto the head and directly mount it to the built-in ball head of the tripod. The difference in the size of the legs is already apparent. Namely, if you want to take a panorama, for example, the tripod head cannot be moved only horizontally. I have a few tripods on the shelf, but when you need something lightweight just in case this ticks the boxes nicely. The backpack strap mount is amazing. Its not insignificant weight. lighter than the 3-section Gitzo setup at 6.4 lbs. Again, it isn't the easiest to lock down. To this day, Peak Design continues to use Kickstarter to raise funds for its product development. When everything is locked down tight the tripod is very stable. Peak Design has taken this one step further and created a bespoke mini multitool that can be stored in your bag or attached to the leg of the tripod in a removable plastic sheath. Im much happier with this setup than I was when using the included ball head. Ive had several claims with PD products and it was always really fast to get a free replacement! You can choose to still use the centre column, or it can be removed. Its the trigger point for the compromises. Included with the tripod is a built-in ball head that doesnt look like most head on the market. Thats a weight saving of 307g for the price increase of $250. Honest Pros and Cons of the Peak Design Tripod - Shotkit In his latest video, Lok Cheung goes over some of the major differences between the Peak Design Travel Tripod and the Manfrotto Befree tripod. Panoramic photographers will appreciate the unique click stops that can be engaged on the panning base to allow for easily repeatable panning positions, and filmmakers will appreciate the included panning arm that lets you create silky smooth pan and tilt movements that are far cleaner than you get with low-end video fluid heads. While they do have a broad product range that includes cheaper tripods, their top-of-the-range Fotopro Eagle tripods and gimbals are easily Gitzo and Really Right Stuff levels of quality, stability and price. Gitzo GT1545/2545T leg height position question: 5: Shout Out To PayBoo' Most bookmarked in this forum. I guess it just goes to show how many people were unexcited by the standard array of options out there. 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. Weve looked at the Universal Head Adapter as a way to use a 3rd party head on this tripod, but there is another option. Peak Designhas designed the legs and center column so that when folded, everything fits together like the petals of a snowdrop flower. It is rated for 2 pounds more, but is 5 inches shorter when extended. Libor works as a biology teacher, guide, photographer and photography course lecturer. Re: Carbon tripod similar to Peak Design Travel Tripod but at half the 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. I was referring to travel tripods. Live Chat Available +61 2 9299 0177. . I can almost wrap my fingers around the entire tripod, and such a small packed volume makes it a breeze to pack on the side of a camera bag or often inside a camera bag because its simply that small. I recommend it over the Peak Design. Typically this comes in the form of heavy winds. It comes with a nice bag that is only barely large enough to fit the tripod with some wrangling. When designing the quick release mechanism on our Travel Tripod, a top criteria was to make sure it functioned well with all the plates that Peak Design has made over the years. Great piece, love your honest reviews. For more info check our privacy policy. Dont know yet but so far holds up very well. You are welcome, Rita. The platform diameter is 5.4cm (2.13), but you could use a head that is bigger than this if you needed to. If you go for the carbon version, youll spend extra money, but do you get any extra performance? 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. I was considering this until I came across Heipi. I personally use an Acratech GXP on mine in this way. From a speed perspective, the Peak Design Travel Tripod blows the competition out of the water. If you buy something through one of these links, we might make a small commission. Sample Images: Its light, small enough to fit into the side pocket of my bag. Thats one dollar per gram you save! You can use these weights to give a much more accurate comparison to any other tripods you might be considering. This means you can shoot straight up into the night sky, straight down for macro work, or simply fold it downwards to make your tripod more compact for travel. 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. 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. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"UUtxcX0A28JS6Grxm6.PIDJQ7dJ4JezLjiPedqPBFRs-86400-0"}; They seem to be making some very good tripods for very competitive prices. For years, traditional tripods have suffered from needless bulk and wasted space. Period. There is nothing magic about this tripod in that regard. These tripods weigh more than my camera body. Yes portability is top of my criteria - no tripod is good if I have to think twice before packing with me. Sine the tripod head is compatible with Arca-Swiss style plates, its pretty easy to find a good L-bracket. But once you retract the two thinnest sections, the tripod is immediately rock-solid even with a telephoto. I know some people hate on it for having 5 leg segments but I honestly don't mind. It's an inch shorter folded but you get roughly 5" less in height when the column is fully extended. I bought a Sirui and it fell apart in 2 years. This requires the purchase of a universal head adapter for $30. I have bought a more conventional head and a L bracket. The Peak Design Travel Tripod works with many (but not all) 3rd party Arca-compatible tripod plates. Required fields are marked*. As such, the actual weight of the tripod isn't going to be that clear from the single specified weight on the PD website. After going through a similar exercise recently I settled on the Leofoto LS-284C with a Sirui K-10x ballhead and couldn't be happier. Most unique feature is 3 legged center column that can act as its own tripod. The biggest plus to the tripod is that it folds down small. Im late to the discussion, but Ive been using the aluminium version for a couple of years, and have just bought the carbon fibre version as I needed another tripod for lighting. Peak Design Travel Tripod vs Gitzo Mini Traveler - Slant I totally get why they have gone with this design. 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. His passion is birds. Tubular legs take more space but allow for a screwing system that seems more durable. It is designed to screw onto a camera. Thanks, yea was leaning more on 2545T. its one more thing to have to do when setting up the tripod, and it somewhat negates the speed benefits of the fancy fast opening leg locks. Its these kinds of small details that set Peak Design apart from everyone else. Used with my long lenses (300 f/2.8, 200-600, etc) with no issues. Very happy with it after owning it for several months now. How we tested. Several reviewers agree with you that it is a much better value and is more stable. Features Compatible with most digital cameras With a maximum weight capacity of 20 lbs., this tripod is ideal for mirrorless and compact DSLR cameras. I like Libors suggestion about using a different ball head to replace the Peak Design tripod head in dusty or sandy environments. 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. Again, there is no magic here. Once removed, new rubber feet are placed onto the tripod. Peak Design Travel Tripod review: The nicest tripod you (probably But I'd rather deal with some inconveniences than miss shots because I tried to hand hold because I left my other tripod at home. In the case of a tripod, I would be rather cautious with that statement. More Details In Stock Peak Design Travel Tripod Review - Photography Life I commented on that pre-production version at the time, but today Im gathering even more information together to create the ultimate resource for people to learn about this tripod.