DPReview TV: Travel Tripod Shootout (Manfrotto, Peak Design, Gitzo and Sirui)

A good tripod can be an essential tool for the traveling photographer, but when you're on the go size matters. This week Chris and Jordan review four great travel tripods from Manfrotto, Sirui, Gitzo and Peak Design that get the job done while still leaving room in your bag for your other gear.

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[whenallissaiddonewaisad]

"I wanna work at Chilli's." PURE GOLD!! ×D

[peitaoyan]

[LONG COMMENT WARNING] An entertaining review like always, btw the Gitzo should have about 1.45kg with the ball head and 1.05kg without it. Personally, I have used both the Gitzo 1545T and the Manfrotto Befree GT Carbon, also a few other tripods include in a Sirui Tripod and all for a decent amount of time.

To be honest, I hated the Manfrotto GT Carbon, it has a cheap plastic feel and has four incredibly huge problems:
- twist-lock doesn't fully lock up even after rotating many times, could rotate infinitely when trying to lock;
- the twist-lock uses a hard plastic finish with lots of edges that cut your hands;
- the ball head and center column locks are gripless and heavily rely on those things sticking out;
- the ball-head lock may be fast to use but for landscape photographers, it DOES NOT LOCK TIGHT at all and you can feel it when you press down the shutter of your camera.

I always had my doubts about Gitzo's price but after actually using it and using many other tripods, it is worth every penny I've paid. If you get used to it you could actually only twist your wrist once (yes, only twist once) on each twist-lock both when locking and unlocking and it actually locks up very tight and you know it is locked. If you have your camera sitting on top and you press the shutter down, you will (and I mean it) notice that your camera does not move down even the slightest bit and it does have a distinct feel from all the other tripods that are cheaper. Since I shoot a lot of seascapes, I've found that this Gitzo one usually gets a lot less sand inside the twist lock in comparison to all the lower-priced ones but it isn't the easiest to take apart and clean.

My old Sirui R2204 with G20kx ball head has been perfectly functional even being dipped in seawater and chucked in the sand for years without any servicing nor cleaning and still does a way better job than the befree GT Carbon, only that it is oversized and is indeed heavier. It has short twisting distance like the Gitzo, comfortable and thoughtful designs everywhere and it is worth the price.

[tjnicholas]

One of the primary reasons I'm interested in a light, robust travel tripod is up do landscape panorama shots. As I understand it the integrated head on the Peak Designs trips can't be used in that way as no axis can be locked while the others are adjusted. Seems worth mentioning in any review of this category.

[abefroman]

So the vibrator has very little effect on Sarah...

[Gleebi]

The start of the video purely deserves a like

[markyteo]

Best 5 sec cameo ever, and I'm not talking about Chris' children. Oscar worthy.

[williamreymond]

I own the Peak Design Travel Tripod and have trekked hundreds of kilometers with it over the last couple of years. I do a lot of HDR photography so even with IS a tripod is an absolute must. If you are traveling internationally, flying, going through airports, then taking trains and buses and finally walking for weeks, day after day, carrying everything you need to survive on your back - plus your photo gear - the P-D is the only one. I looked at all of those other tripods, not even seriously considered.

When my OMD EM-5 and P-D tripod isn't nestled in my arm as I'm walking like a hunter carries his rifle, the tripod is tucked into the water bottle pouch of my backpack while the Olympus is clipped to a shoulder strap with OpTech Reporter camera backpack straps. Works brilliantly. You should try it.

The one draw back, and it is a drawback, with the Peak Design Travel Tripod is that because of the unique design of its integrated ball-head, when the camera is pointed steeply up or down you will find that you can become 'gimbal locked' in certain orientations and won't be able to point your camera where you want and keep it level horizontally. The solution is to install a panning base, but it's a 180-200g weight penalty. I pay the penalty because all of the other travel tripods are still non-starters in my opinion.

As for speed of deployment, for the P-D the fastest documented YouTube time is about ten seconds; however, with this one hack that hardly even matters: keep your camera attached to your tripod, extend two, three, or even four sections but with the legs folded together, then just walk around with your camera cradled in the crook of your elbow and the legs held in your hand or hands exactly like a hunter would hold his shotgun - it will *always* be ready. I take as many photos with my phone as with my camera so when I want to take a photo with my phone, or do anything else where I need two hands, I just fold out the legs and set the camera down, then when I'm done pick the camera up, refold the legs and continue on. If you're walking around town taking mostly handhelds, fold the tripod up and stick it back in the water bottle pouch on your photo bag. This all might seem very weird to you, after one day you'll wonder why you haven't always done it like this. You'll also find that you actually use your tripod a whole lot more rather than just carrying around dead weight.

[DocRock]

Man this is the image quality I want. This video is so crisp. Beautiful

[ZOB]

The Peak Design one is so much smaller than the others when folded - it really makes the case as a "travel" tripod. The others aren't too much smaller than a "normal" tripod. It's stable enough for most work other than really long/heavy set ups when you should probably be using a full-sized tripod anyway. It's the obvious choice for a travel option of these four.

[surfman]

Tip: keep the traditional tripods unscrewed when having the legs upwards. This way you can shove em out in 1 sec once you set it up again.

[calumcree]

Couple of comments if I may.
1. Fun and informative video as usual
2. The PDTT can have the screw swapped out to one with a coin slot or D ring for a couple of bucks. I did this to my cheap L bracket and what a life saver it has been
3. If you repeat the test please look at three legged thing and their range of tripods if only for the fact they actually give them names!!
Keep up the great work.

[FloatingOnAZephyr]

The PD has a split centre column now it's launched. It's also aluminium now even in the carbon fibre, which affects stability positively, not negatively. They said they don't have a D-ring plate screw because they don't believe it offers enough torque for the level of security they want given that their plates are the point of connection to the camera. Also at launch, there's an hex key tool attached to one of the legs. Just in case that's useful to anyone reading.

[Currawong]

This really is a fantastic overview. I wish all product comparisons on Youtube were this well thought-out and succinct

[ZOB]

I have the Peak Design and I really, really love it. It being so small when folded means I can just throw it in the water bottle holder on my bag without having to carry something separate. I'm also very short so the lower height at full extension isn't a problem for me.

[ChUnKyMiEnbOi]

I believe Peak Design has a video on a faster method on how to extend the tripod fully.

[TheSmartWoodshop]

We have two of the Sirui, but with a much better ball head from AS. It works very well and of the 10+ carbon tripods we have these are our go-to for actually having a tripod in our backpacks. That being said, we have two Peak carbon tripods on order and are looking forward to them as we "think" we will always carry them in our packs even if we may not necessarily need them. The Sirui is a judgment call and we carry them about 50% of the time and many times we kick ourselves for leaving them behind. As with any camera gear, the best one is the one you have with you. Great video!

[bird]

Chris, you explain things soooo well. This was a great episode.

[fantomfoto]

I love Sirui tripods. Been using one for the last few years.

[KyleClements]

As a backpacker, the Peak seems to hit nearly all the right notes.
That price tag though. Might have to go with aluminum.
Is carbon fibre *really* worth it?

[rwbishop]

Hmmm... I have an earlier version of that same Sirui ball head; however mine locks up solid with very little effort; and is otherwise buttery smooth. For the record, I also have one of their earlier carbon fiber travel tripods (T-2005X) thats also been fantastic (but lacks the removable monopod leg feature). Sirui makes good stuff!