Photography News Issue 37

Photography News | Issue 37 | absolutephoto.com

56 First tests

28mmOn-It carbon- fibre tripod and ball head £149.95

Specs

Price £149.95

In the box On-It 28mm carbon-fibre tripod, On-It ball head, quick-release plate, spiked and rubber feet, carry case, shoulder strap, spare threads and Allen keys Leg sections Four (28mm, 24mm, 20mm, 18mm) Material Carbon-fibre with aluminiummouldings Max height (withhead) 170cm, centre column extended 137cm, centre column retracted Minworkingheight 55cm (26cmwith short column) Max load 7.5kg Closed length 48cm Weight 1.7kg Contact srb-photographic.co.uk

How do you choose the perfect tripod? It’s a pretty confusing forest of legs out there, so it’s not easy. The first question is probably whether you want it to be easily transportable in terms of pack- down length and weight. Then there’s themaximumandminimumshooting heights available. You’ll want it to be durable, too. And what about special features like an adaptable centre column for low-angle shooting, and a removable monopod leg? Finally, of course, it needs to be affordable. On paper the 28mm On-It carbon-fibre tripod ticks all those boxes, and at an attractive price, so I put it through its paces to see if it lived up to the spec. The first thing you’ll notice on this model is that it’s light and it packs up small in the included carry bag. The tripod uses an increasingly common folding design where the legs can be inverted over the head, saving a few inches without removing the head. The lightness comes from the carbon-fibre construction of the four- section legs, and at 1.7kg at no point did it feel like it was weighing me down while hiking between locations. Going back to the folding design, the levers that control the leg angles are quite low profile and, like the rest of the metal fixings, smoothly machined aluminium; they work fine, with a reassuring stiffness, but don’t provide much purchase when wearing gloves. The twist locks which control leg extension are a different story, with a

grooved rubber finish that provides an excellent grip and they lock and unlock easily, with just a quarter turn. The same design is used on the collar controlling the centre column, and this and the legs extend with the smoothness you expect from carbon- fibre tubes. The locks are broad but can be slackened as one if you have medium to large hands, allowing you to extend the legs quickly if required; I clocked setting them up at a little over ten seconds. The legs can also be fully unscrewed quite easily for cleaning, but watch out for the plastic cuffs inside as they’re prone to fall off and need reseating. Maximum height is 137cm, which is plenty for most applications and you can extend the centre column to reach 170cm. The latter can be removed and inverted for low-angle shooting if required, but there’s a short centre column included in the package, too, attaching via a 1/4in thread. Removing the regular column and adding the short version isn’t that quick, but it’s straightforward, and lowers the shooting height to around 26cm, though swapping from the included head could reduce this further. I found myself sticking to the short column when landscaping as it lowers weight (a little), and I don’t tend to extend the centre column when shooting anyway, due to the drop in stability extending it causes on any tripod.

The strength of the tripod was excellent, with very little flex to the legs due to their thickness

The strength of the tripod is excellent, with very little flex to the legs, and this is mainly due to their thickness; 28mm at the top, narrowing to a very respectable 18mm on the fourth section, which is a lot broader than most. One of the legs can be removed and used as a monopod, which works fine, although a couple of times I found myself starting to unscrew it accidentally when releasing the leg sections. This user error was solved by giving it a good tighten. The On-It tripod also comes with removable feet; non-slip rubber ones are fitted as standard, but there are spikes for soft ground and sand, too; another nice addition. The included On-It ball head is good, too. It uses the increasingly popular Arca-Swiss design, with a grooved balance plate and clamp. The included plate is the small version (65x15mm), but there’s also a medium (160x15mm) and large (210x15mm). Within the head’s main ball control, it has a small tension dial so you can set the level of resistance; this is turned with the tip of a finger, and though it works perfectly well, it’s another feature that’s difficult to manage in gloves. The pan control is also a little too small and smooth to make it easily controllable.

The On-It 28mm carbon-fibre tripod is available with black locks and head, or red and black if you’re feeling nostalgic for the look of Cameo’s codpiece. There’s also a 25mm version with an additional black/blue colour combo. KS Left The included short centre column is a nice addition to the package and very easy to swap over. Other pluses include a choice of feet, so you can add spikes if desired, and an Arca-Swiss type quick-release plate.

Verdict

An excellent tripod with included head at a very attractive price; it’s strong, handles well, achieves a respectable height, and comes with extras like a decently padded bag, choice of feet and a short centre column – you don’t often find such generosity. Pros Price, features, build, handling and accessories Cons Some small controls on the head can be fiddly