Lightweight tripod for travel

Yet another thread about tripods, but I have not found what I'm looking for...

I don't have a tripod, so I want to buy one for travels. Easy to put in an airplane bag or on a backpack for hiking.
I don't think I need the best one, nor the most stable tripod. I will not use my tripod everyday. But I need a light one where I can put my 60D with a 24-105L as heaviest lens (and smaller ones).
The goal is to use it for: some landscape shots, timelapse and night shots.

I found the Cullman 230T ( http://www.cullmann.de/en/detail/id/...230t-cb61.html ) which tooks like everything I'm looking for. However, I did not found any review about it (it's new).

What do you think of such a tripod ?

Thanks !

Hi, you don't seem to have any specific requirements other than it should be small/light and able to carry around 2 kg. Then the linked one could be OK, but I haven't tried it myself. I thought I should add one option for you: I do have a good tripod (Manfrotto XPROB055/498RC2) that I bring when I "know" I'm going to shoot with the camera on tripod. This one's far too heavy to carry regularly "just in case", but then I have a really light Gorillapod in the camera bag. It's small and doesnt weigh much, but it can still carry my 7D with a medium weight lens (up to 1 kg). It can be a bit tricky to find a good setup for it (chair, tree, post, whatever...), but mostly it works fine. It's easy to bring and it's way better than not having any tripod at all.

I have used a number of the small cheap tripods on my travels and they have all been useless. The main problem is the total lack of stability once you extend the legs. Still have a couple of them in my junk box it you are nearby, not worth the freight.

So I ended up with the GorillaPod Focus (5kgs capacity) has done everything I wanted.

I'd look at the Three Legged Thing Jack.

In fact I am :D

I found it pretty overwhelming with the number of choices, recommendations, and no good place for me to check and compare side to side. I ended up with the Three Legged Thing Brian (which is the carbon version of the Jack). I like it so far, good mix of features and price. If you get the package, the same ball head is on the Jack and Brian. Both are similar feature-wise. This is my first 'real' tripod, so I can't compare to what else is on the market. I was also considering the Manfrotto 190 series.

It is rated at 16.7 lb (7.6 kg). I have a 60D and have no issues with my 17-55 f/2.8 or 70-200 f/4L. If you are interested, I can snap a picture of what the 60D looks like on the tripod and how the plate fits.

There is a press release on the Manfrotto 290 carbon fiber.
I can not find them for sale yet:
I'm standing in line so if you find it let me know, I will purchase and review it for you.


Manfrotto Introduces New 290 Carbon Fiber Tripod Series

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

From Manfrotto:

Manfrotto announces the 290 Carbon Fibre Series

See July 10 news on this site

Thanks for the answers.

The Three Legged Thing tripods look great, but I think it is out of my tripod budget right now. And I can't buy them in Switzerland. :(
Same for the Manfrotto, I don't think I want to buy such high priced tripods for now.

So I'll try the Gorillapod which seems good and not too expensive. I'll see if it is enough for me, or not.

If you only want to go for a cheap option, try the Manfrotto Compact range.

I have the ball-head version, it cost £30 and all I can really say is that it works. It's not very stable, and the head is a pain, but for £30 it will be much better than hand-holding.

You could try winning yourself a 3LT. They have a weekly giveaway that requires you to Like them and re-tweet I believe. See http://a.pgtb.me/djL5