Travel Tripods

[donaldsc]

I am doing an aurora cruise and I will need a tripod.  Any suggestions for one that is light and easy to pack.  I would like to keep my costs down as I would not use one much for most of my photography.  Also and ideas for a light ball head.

 

DON

[TheOldBear]

Some independent northern lights 'chase' tours will have tripods available by request - this was not the case with Cunard's bus based shore excursions

[donaldsc]

One of mine does and I have booked it.  Three of them do not.  Also we might be able to see them from the ship and even when the ship is moving but especially when we are in port it will be useful.  

 

DON

[Oviedo32765]

Check with KEH.com. They have used travel tripods with ball heads from as low as $94.00. I recomend this company for used photography equipment and have bought quite a bit from them.

 

Every used item you get goes through a 10-point grading process to assure quality and comes with an extended warranty as well as a return period.

[Floater67]

I am a huge fan of the Peak Design travel tripod. It comes in both aluminum and carbon fiber. While not the cheapest, it has a built-in ball head, is very light and the most compact I’ve seen. Mine has traveled to 3 continents, and has really proven itself. https://www.peakdesign.com/pages/travel-tripod?g_acctid=994-161-7175&g_campaign=3-QRY-Conversion-Brand-Core-USA&g_adtype=search&g_adid=598413975255&g_network=g&g_campaignid=803816589&g_adgroupid=44309610671&g_keywordid=kwd-488237606832&g_keyword=peak design&nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ag%3A803816589%3A44309610671%3A598413975255&nb_adtype=&nb_kwd=peak design&nb_ti=kwd-488237606832&nb_mi=&nb_pc=&nb_pi=&nb_ppi=&nb_placement=&nb_li_ms=&nb_lp_ms=&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=e&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIy5Onrt-qgwMVvS3UAR0HvwSmEAAYASAFEgIqGvD_BwE

[khist]

On 12/24/2023 at 11:45 PM, donaldsc said:

I am doing an aurora cruise and I will need a tripod.  Any suggestions for one that is light and easy to pack.  I would like to keep my costs down as I would not use one much for most of my photography.  Also and ideas for a light ball head.

 

DON

You can check out Peak Design Travel Tripod, it's made of carbon fibre which is lightweight. Check this article, they have mentioned about other tripods also https://theworldpursuit.com/best-lightweight-travel-tripods/ 

Edited December 26, 2023 by khist

[pierces]

Amazon has a plethora of cheap to not cheap tripods like this one. If you don't intend to carry one on every trip, there are dozens under $100 that will suffice for your trip without breaking the bank or your back.

 

I have a Velbon Ultra Maxi Compact that I bought for the same reason. Sadly, it is no longer available but it fell into the cheap, but effective category like the one above and is still used occasionally.

 

Dave

[jnicktem]

I also have the Peak Design Carbon Fiber travel tripod and I love it. It fits in my bag nice so it is always with me whether I need it or not.

[Hezu]

My current favourite travel tripod is Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod. I do own also the Peak Design Travel Tripod and it has some good qualities, but Heipi is much sturdier despite that it is only marginally heavier and longer than PD tripod. I do like a lot that the Heipi's central column is actually a mini tripod that one can use eg. for low angle work. And it is also useful that it is easy to change the supplied ballhead to some other tripod head if you prefer something else. In my opinion that Heipi ballhead works reasonably well, although it is not the best I have used: the quick release locking mechanism is bit clumsy and locking lever and knob are perhaps tad small and thus operating those in cold conditions with warm gloves is not that easy. Heipi does include ice spikes for tripod legs by default, for PD you have to buy these separately (and I think those PD spikes are not even that sharp).