Tripods - What do you think of this one - Benro Travel Angel II

[znelbok]

Hi Guys

Lots of good info here on tripods but I still have to ask.

I am looking at the Benro Travel Angel II C2682TB1 Tripod

http://www.benro.com/Products.aspx?cid=208&pid=264&nid=265#

What is your opinion on this tripod.

I have selected it because of a number of things

Its carbon Fibre
Lightish at 1.77kg
Comes with a ball head (kit tripod as opposed to tripod seperate to head).
legs can be removed and used as a monopod easily
Inverts for low angle shooting.

Couple of things I am not sure about.

The max height is only 1645mm. I am 1800 tall so I am not sure if that is an issue or not.
4 leg sections. My prefernce is for three for added strength and rigidity, but I assume that it wont be noticable here and I may be over thinking this.

Camera is a D600 with 28-70/2.8 so its got a bit of weight but I think its under the 12kg rated max load.

I looked at the other Tripods but they dont have the removable legs for the monopod option which I like (could have used one the other day).

Have i overlooked anything here?

Thanks

Mick

[Rattus79]

mate that links to a slide rail ....

[Boo53]

Mick

I can't quite tell where the measurements on the Benro site are taken (with or without the ball head). So I went and had a look at my A2681T tripod. Mine is a Travel Angel series 1 and my model number doesn't seem to be on the web site anymore, but I have had it for nearly 3 years

Admittedly its an aluminium model but I'm sure the dimensions are similar between alum & carbon.

Anyway, when I opened mine & extended the tripod fully the base plate holder on top on the ball head is level with my chin and the view finder on my camera slightly below eye level. As I'm 190cm (bare feet) that might give a guideline to the heights.

[znelbok]

mate that links to a slide rail ....

Yeah, that site works funny. That is the link that was displayed but it obviously is not a tripod

I cant find a link to the actual page required

http://www.benro.com/Products.aspx?cid=208&pid=209&nid=210 is for all the page ( I hope ) for all the tripods in the Angel II range.

- - - Updated - - -


Mick

I can't quite tell where the measurements on the Benro site are taken (with or without the ball head). So I went and had a look at my A2681T tripod. Mine is a Travel Angel series 1 and my model number doesn't seem to be on the web site anymore, but I have had it for nearly 3 years

Admittedly its an aluminium model but I'm sure the dimensions are similar between alum & carbon.

Anyway, when I opened mine & extended the tripod fully the base plate holder on top on the ball head is level with my chin and the view finder on my camera slightly below eye level. As I'm 190cm (bare feet) that might give a guideline to the heights.

Thanks for checking.

How good is the tripod - would you recommend the TA2?

The head can be changed down the track so even if it is not the best I can change it when I work out what is suitable

[Bennymiata]

I have one of the Benro travel angels in C/F, and find it is an excellent tripod, and I've been through a number of them.
While I don't use the head that came with it, I find the tripod can easily handle my 5D3 with 100-400 lens on it and is very stable.

[znelbok]

Mick

I can't quite tell where the measurements on the Benro site are taken (with or without the ball head). So I went and had a look at my A2681T tripod. Mine is a Travel Angel series 1 and my model number doesn't seem to be on the web site anymore, but I have had it for nearly 3 years

Admittedly its an aluminium model but I'm sure the dimensions are similar between alum & carbon.

Anyway, when I opened mine & extended the tripod fully the base plate holder on top on the ball head is level with my chin and the view finder on my camera slightly below eye level. As I'm 190cm (bare feet) that might give a guideline to the heights.

Thanks for checking.

How good is the tripod - would you recommend the TA2?

The head can be changed down the track so even if it is not the best I can change it when I work out what is suitable

[Boo53]

I'm happy with my model and bought a similar one for our eldest son a few months back and he's happy with his as well (and he's 5cm taller than I am).

The ball head is usable, and certainly capable of holding a heavy load but I'll replace it with a better one in the future when I get a chance to visit a good store to check out options, but I've been using it for 3 years so I guess its not really an issue.

I used it for the recent eclipse with my A65 body, a 2xTC and a sigma 120-400 and it was solid.