Lightweight & sturdy tripod fro traveling to recommend?

[David]

hi everyone,

I wonder how many of you are in the habit of carrying tripods when you travel? I know some don't cos of the weight. I've done some travels and on some days it can be tiring, worse if I carry it the whole day and don't find use for it.

My present tripod+head weighs 1.9kg and the tripod's closed length (without head) is about 50cm . The weight is peanuts back here, but when overseas for a vacation, it can be a burden.

Do you all have any good recommendation for a lightweight but sturdy tripod suited for traveling? My heaviest DSLR gear on the tripod should be about 1.5kg or not more than 2kg. I also prefer one that can close down to 40cm or less. Easier for me to put into my backpack instead of carrying it separately.

Sadly, after some search, I hardly find a tripod that fits my description. Seems like tripods for DSLR have to be rather heavy and long?

My budget for the tripod is $500 or less, with or without the head....

Thanks for sharing!

 

[ortega]

gitzo has the tripod that you seek

there is a knock off brand that sells it for the price that you want

 

[photobum]

Gitzo has it locally.

If you have the opportunity to travel to the US, look for a relatively unknown tripod brand called Prent & Whitehall. They are a small machine company that make some very lightweight, yet sturdy aluminum traveling tripods in small quantity. I have one that weights less than 1.5 kg but able to support bigger DSLR like the D3 or the 1Ds MkIII.

 

[megaweb]

Depend on your setup and budget

for DSLR setup, use CF tripod + good ballhead
- Tripod : Gitzo . Ballhead : Markins

for P&S setup, use mini tripod
- Tripod : Slik Sprint Pro

 

[theRBK]

Look at this range:

http://www.benro.cn/Product/1/pa6.html

less than 1.5kg, folds down to less then 40cm... ask Jack006 if he has any stock...

 

[n0eln0el]

http://www.thkphoto.com/products/slik/slik-ss3.html

how about this? slik sprint mini
anybody knows if it is sold locally?