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Compact Tripod

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Preeceville, Saskatchewan Canada
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Kathleen and I have been tripping with a reliable, sturdy, but bulky Manfrotto tripod (pictured above). I am considering replacing it with a more compact, easier to stow tripod. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions.
 
We use a tripod very similar to the one in the link for our point-and-shoot camera. It has a velcro strap that allows you to attach it to a branch or small tree. Lightweight, small, stable, and easy to set up. We're happy with it.
 
How heavy is your lens and camera combo? I have a couple of MeFoto tripods. One is suitable for a small bridge camera and the other for my Canon 6D with a telephoto lens.

https://www.mefoto.com/products/roadtrip-classic..
it will hold `17 lbs


https://www.mefoto.com/products/backpacker-classic

Will hold 8 lbs..

Both can be center weighted for windy days.. You have none of those on the tundra correct?;)

Why did I wind up with two? I forgot one on a FL trip.. Sure it was in the truck.. It spent a vacation in the back of the car at home and I had to buy another.. I got the lighter one as my pocketbook wasn't happy spending too much.. The lighter one was on sale at a Best Buy for $79

I too used to have a Manfrotto.. fine tripod but way too heavy. They do make lighter ones. As in canoes lighter tripods cost you.
 
Travel tripods collapse down to a small size and can be light with carbon construction... if you'll be shooting a lot of telephoto pix with heavier lenses, then a large and sturdy tripod will help with comfort and steadiness. To be comfortable with a lot of tripod use, camera height depends on your height, 60 inches might provide enough comfort with a lot of time spent looking through the viewfinder. Load capacity is given in descriptions, so match with camera and lens weight. OTOH, if you're shooting with a lighter compact camera, you don't need weight and bulk in a tripod.

Travel tripods are made to collapse down to be compact, but more joints might mean less stability (the lever-type joints have seemed less stable). The time needed to unfold and extend a collapsible tripod stowed away in a pack could be an issue if it becomes too much of a pain to set up each time.

Depends on how technically perfect your pix need to be... I don't take a tripod most of the time, often cranking up the ISO and hoping for the best with image stabillization. Night and twilight photos need a tripod so I'm still using an old Slik aluminum, heavy, bulky and tall enough at about 55 inches to be comfortable near eye level and still quick to set up.. Perching the camera on something like a pail or bag of sand might work with delayed timer settings making the exposure (this is where a boxy camera body design helps)

Here's one on sale at B&G till Dec 29, seems like a deal, I haven't used it but reviews are good. The metal hook can be used to suspend weight if more stability's wanted.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...photo_phtrssl_small_travel_tripod_silver.html
 
Check out B&H Photo-Video's tripod section. You'll find a lot of quality tripod options. B&H is very reputable and great to deal with.
I don't know what the exhange rate and shipping across the border implications are, however.

Tony
 
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Thanks, people for all your suggestions. Very helpful, and a lot to think about. I actually still like my tripod. The angle for each of its three legs can be adjusted independently at three different settings. The length of each leg can be adjusted independently with two telescoping portions. Total height can be taller than I can see through the lens finder. The centre post can be reversed so that I can attach the camera facing downward to photograph close-ups of plants. As you can see above, it also serves as a rack for my rifle and fishing rod, and a place to hang my binoculars when in camp. Although it weighs between 7 and 8 pounds, I have never minded carrying it across portage trails. It's a great tripod.

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The problem is that I recently replaced my Mad River Explorer with a Wenonah Prospector, which does not pack, no matter what I do, like our Explorer did. This creates a bulge in the middle of the spray deck, caused primarily by the tripod. This irritates the heck out of me, as I pretty much demand a smooth, non-lumpy spray deck. It seems that I am so irritated, that I am willing to replace what I consider to be a perfectly good tripod with a smaller, perhaps not as versatile tripod. This also bothers me, as I want to believe, and I often say, that at 71 years old, I am beyond the acquisition stage of my life. What to do? Big sigh.
 
Dear Pitt,
you better sit down with your head between your knees for awhile till this lightheadedness passes. "I am beyond the acquisition stage of my life..."
I was hoping I'd reached "that stage" last year. And then I was reading about a nifty little stove...


I know what you mean about staying streamlined between and below the gunnels. although our trips are far less adventurous than yours. Maybe a "breakdown" tripod with removable legs etc? Just an idea. Cotter Pins replacing nuts and bolts...? Tripod strapped under a seat?
 
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I tuck my tripod under the seat. You can make velcro slings
Packed its just over 15 in long. Max height 61 inches
Weighs 3 lbs as i did not go for carbon
 
I like tripods, which seem to be going the way of the dodo for modern photography. I have what's probably the same tripod you have (Bogen 3020--about 7-8 pounds with head) which I've had since 1982 or so. Of course I have others, lots of others. Depending on your needs and budget, I'd recommend looking at a carbon fiber tripod. For the same diameter (which relates to stiffness), carbon fiber is much stiffer than aluminum, which means you can use a smaller carbon tripod. Although I have an expensive Gitzo CF tripod for my big lenses, other brands, such as Benro, Siriu, etc. have decent stuff (I use a Benro ball head). My daily use tripod, which replaced my Bogen, is a three section Velbon CF which isn't made any more (and which I take canoeing when photos are important--works fine for up to 400mm lenses, with care). I just found the replacement, link below. This might help in evaluating where to go in relation to your current Bogen. It is more compact, stiffer, and much nicer (warmer, quieter) to use than the Bogen, and is 3 pounds lighter. You might try used, too--I bought my Gitzo CF off B&H used section, and saved probably $300. I recently saw a smaller used Gitzo at a shop for $200, about $300 below new.
 
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Thanks Mason. I clicked on the link that you provided. The tripod appears very similar to what I already have, except for the reduced weight, which is not an issue for me. But it certainly looks like one helluva tripod!
 
Thanks, Yellowcanoe. I was wondering if tucking the tripod under your seat restricts the amount of room for your feet when kneeling through rapids?

doesn't mine but I wear the equivalent of a mens 9 and not a boot. I am of the ilk that overturns on purpose and have never been caught by my foot even with clunky boots as when you go over the foot twists sideways..

Others tuck things like collapsible fishing rods parallel to the gunwales with slings on the side of the seat drops.
 
I like the idea of tucking the tripod under the seat, but mine is too big. Just the tripod itself, without the head, is 27 inches long, in its fully collapsed position. I tried putting it parallel to the gunwales, but there was not enough room to squeeze it in. It seems that my only hope is to purchase a much smaller tripod, or get over my fixation with a flat spray deck.
 
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