Photography News 07

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Accessory review

3 LeggedThing Eric Evolution 2 £299 legs only, £379withAirhed 1

Travelling light Less can be more, especially when you are wandering around busy towns and cities in search of great pictures. Here’s a selection of lightweight gadget bags and tripods ON TEST

SPECS

WEIGHT 1.36kg (legs) LOAD CAPACITY 8kg FOLDED LENGTH 50cm MINIMUMHEIGHT 13cm MAXIMUMHEIGHT 210cm (centre column fully extended)

CONTACT www.3leggedthing.com KEY FEATURES Carbon fibre, four leg sections, reversible three-section centre column, zip-off leg muff, detachable monopod

WHAT’S IN THE BOX Bag, carry strap, tools, spring ballast hook

walking around busy streets and fighting your way on and off public transport. Bulk can be a problem for you as well as those around you. With that in mind, and with the boom in compact system cameras (CSCs), here is a selection of the latest camera bags and tripods that are more suited to photography on the busy streets.

Words by Will Cheung and Ian Fyfe

extended so perfect for those challenging days when there’s a bit of a breeze. Handling is very good too. The twist grip legs are quick to use and lock securely with minimal effort. Speaking of legs, one of them detaches to give an instant monopod.

This very versatile tripod is at the top end in terms of size for toting around the city and, in this selection of pods, also in price. However, it is an excellent product made from 8 Core Stealth carbon fibre and looks great too. Stability is impressive even when fully

Shooting in the urban environment places different demands on your photography and that includes your kit choice too. As an example, out in the open landscape you might be happy to lug a big tripod around, but size can be a problem when you are Benro C1692TBO + BOhead £410with B0 head

Giotto’s YTL 9383 +MH1311-652 £109 legs only, £185withMH1311-652

SPECS

SPECS

CONTACT www.kenro.co.uk KEY FEATURES Carbon fibre, five leg sections, handgrip, one leg can be detached and combined with the centre column for a

WHAT’S IN THE BOX Ballast hook, short centre column, tools WEIGHT 1.88kg (legs) LOAD CAPACITY 8kg FOLDED LENGTH 68cm MINIMUMHEIGHT 20cm MAXIMUMHEIGHT 183cm (with centre column)

CONTACT www.giottos-tripods.co.uk KEY FEATURES Aluminium, three leg sections, innovative Y-section centre column for very thin overall profile, three leg angle positions, leg lever locks, 3D centre column lets you control the camera angle

feet, wooden knob with built- in compass WEIGHT 1.49kg (legs) LOAD CAPACITY 8kg FOLDED LENGTH 40cm MINIMUMHEIGHT 40cm MAXIMUMHEIGHT 156cm

monopod, ballast hook WHAT’S IN THE BOX

Bag with shoulder strap, tools, rubber/stainless steel spiked

and here you get the BO, a precision unit that accepts Arca Swiss plates. Legs are locked in place with rubberised twist grips and these are rust/water-resistant. Feet can be stainless steel or rubber and both are supplied as standard.

The Benro Travel Angel 2 Transformer series is available in aluminium and carbon fibre. The C1692TB0 is made from eight-layer high density carbon fibre, hence its hefty price tag, with magnesium alloy fittings. The Angel 2 kits come with a matching Benro ball head

The complete Silhouette range includes aluminium (as featured here) as well as carbon-fibre models. The company’s ball heads have also been revamped and from now on will accept the Arca Swiss plate.

Slik Sprint Pro II £65 including ball head The Silhouette series (it used to be called Silk Road) has a centre column with a Y-profile that gives the tripod a very narrow profile when it is being carried. It’s a simple idea but is truly effective and does make carrying it around more comfortable.

Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 + 496RC2 head £360 legs only, £420with 496RC2

SPECS

SPECS

WHAT’S IN THE BOX Just the tripod WEIGHT 1.85kg (legs) LOAD CAPACITY 7kg

CONTACT www.manfrotto.co.uk KEY FEATURES Carbon fibre, four leg sections, 90° centre column mechanism that allows switching from horizontal to vertical alignment quickly without any need to disassemble

LOAD CAPACITY 2kg FOLDED LENGTH 47cm MINIMUMHEIGHT 17cm MAXIMUMHEIGHT 161cm (centre column fully extended)

CONTACT www.intro2020.co.uk KEY FEATURES Four leg sections, multi-angle position, foam handgrips, ball head with quick release mechanism

FOLDED LENGTH 52.5cm MINIMUMHEIGHT 8cm MAXIMUMHEIGHT 160cm (centre column fully extended)

WHAT’S IN THE BOX Carry bag with strap WEIGHT 0.95kg

new Quick Power Lock (QPL) levers that let you release one section or several sections in one go. The 90° centre column mechanism is really useful and lets you change column/ camera orientation without any tools.

Manfrotto’s 190 family of tripods was recently revamped and the improvements have certainly been worthwhile. Models are available in aluminium and carbon fibre – the one featured here is carbon fibre. Setting up and taking down is very fast thanks to the

fitted with wide or standard lenses. Obviously it suits CSCs too. What is impressive is that it can be extended to 161cm with decent stability. The gearless centre column allows quick adjustments and the leg locks are fast to use too.

Slik’s tripods are renowned for their quality of construction and stability. The Sprint Pro II is a lightweight model ideally suited for travel use. Given its diminutive stature, it won’t suit pro cameras and fast lenses, but it can be used successfully with APS-C and full-framemodels

Photography News | Issue 7

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