Buyers’ guide
Leofoto Ranger LS-324C+LH-40 Leofoto Poseidon LP-324C+LH-40 › £349.99/£529.99 › leofoto.eu
BenroTortoiseTTOR34C+GX35 › £310 › benroletsgo.lpages.co/tortoise-collection
Benro has made portability the priority for the Tortoise collection, so if you want a compact, lightweight tripod, this is a great place to start. In the range, there are five photo models and two dedicated to video, and all come with a Benro ball head. Tortoise tripods are carbon fibre and designed free of a centre column, so the profile diameter of a folded tripod is just 8cm, making it easier to carry in the hand – and suitcase-friendly. If more height is required, optional carbon centre columns are available. The TTOR03C is a mini tripod that gives a max height of 31.5cm, and the first of the full-size models is the TTOR14C. This four-section pod comes with the GX25 ball head and extends up to 130cm, costing £259. Top of the Tortoise range is the four-section TTOR35C, and this kit comes with the GX35 head, selling at £319. With this pod, maximum height (without the optional column) is a really useful 1.56m, yet it can give a shooting platform as low as 19cm, thanks to its design. There’s a full test on the Benro Tortoise TTOR34C+GX35 on page 35.
Whatever your subject preference, you’ll need a camera support – be it a monopod, tripod or mini- pod. Leofoto offers excellent solutions in all three sectors, and there’s plenty of choice when it comes to tripod heads, including gimbal heads. Picking our favourite is a challenge, but we’d go for the carbon-fibre Ranger LS-324C with LH-40 ball head. It offers a
compelling combination of good maximum height (1.4m), useful minimum height (16.5cm) and portability, with the pair weighing 1.88kg, and 57cm when folded up. The LS-324C’s low height is thanks to the lack of an integrated centre column, and achieving a low ground position is quick – all you have to do is release the leg- angle locks and set the required position. A detachable carbon centre column comes in the kit, as does a set of spiked feet. The LH-40 ball head is Arca-Swiss compatible and just 8.7cm tall, and locking friction is adjustable to suit your preference. Also worth a serious look is the recently introduced Poseidon series, featuring all the qualities you’d expect from Leofoto, plus the extra benefit of twist-leg locks made from titanium. They’re sealed, which suits working in challenging environments with water or sand. Two Poseidon models are available. The one shown below is the LP-324C, which sells at £529.99 with the LH-40 head.
RiBLAura LED lights › From £24.90 › ukdigital.co.uk
RiBL is a new name in photographic accessories – and its range kicked off with bags and portable LED lights. Two mini RiBL LED lights are on offer: the Aura MVL1 and MVL2, priced at £24.90 and £34.90, respectively. And both include 2000mAh USB-C rechargeable batteries. The MVL1 is the slightly less powerful of the two with a 5W output, and it’s mounted in a swivel frame, so it’s versatile in terms of lighting angle when a suction-cup mount, plus there are three coldshoe mounts around the light’s frame, so extra lights can be attached. Both lights have coldshoe fittings, so can be used on-camera. A key feature of both lights is that their colour temperature can be adjusted within a used with the supplied mini tripod. The MVL2 has a 6W output and comes with 2500-6500K range, allowing the output to be matched to the ambient light, with the dimming control used to achieve balanced results.
Whether you opt for the MVL1 or the MVL2 (or both!), having one of these charged up and in the camera bag, ready for some macro shooting, is a very good idea.
VanguardVEO3T+ 264CB › £329 › vanguardworld.co.uk
The Vanguard VEO 3T+ series was introduced earlier this year, and the range is already growing quickly. The Vanguard VEO 3T+ 264CB is a highly specified carbon-fibre model, and perhaps top of its attractions is the MACC (Multi-Angle Central Column), a feature used by Vanguard on many of its tripods. Simply, it’s an innovative feature that lets you adjust the centre column to give almost any camera position thinkable, so ideal for shooting awkwardly positioned subjects. In the box, there’s the MA1 accessory, which slides on to the reconfigured centre column, so you can affix an additional light or monitor.
The VEO 3T+ 264CB comes with the VEO BH-160S ball head. This unit has a dual-axis facility, meaning you can adjust the camera platform independently of the locked ball head, making it perfect for panoramic shooting.
In practice, the VEO 3T+ 264CB gives plenty of height, even without the centre column. If you do use the MACC, the camera platform reaches 1.6m off the ground, which is more than adequate for most situations – and stability remains impressively good.
20 Photography News | Issue 91
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