The Martian

I got myself a Martian...tripod, that is. The new tripod is a Velbon Ultra Luxi-F. I think it suits my purposes just fine. The tripod is light (1.38kg), folds down small enough to fit in my regular backpack, can extend to reach at least my eye level, highly flexible and is quite sturdy. Then again, my entire camera rig is only 500g and tripod is rated for 2kg so I presume it will hold up. Of course, it also cost me, and I've probably run out of cash for the month.

But of course, this is probably the only tripod I am willing to lug about. Frankly, I feel like a dumbass dragging a huge tripod around exclusively because I'm on a photo expedition. With a tripod that fits in my pack, I can basically go everywhere with it and deploy whenever I feel it's necessary to make a great shot.

I especially like the pan head, even though it is frowned upon by some photographers. I feel it is nice to be able to selectively swivel the camera while locking the tilt. Of course, since everything's so light, I can just lift the whole thing and sprint to the next location if I spot a good shot nearby. That's something I wouldn't do with a heavier, more cumbersome tripod.

Finally, I wound up forking out twice as much as I would for the Manfrotto 485. But then the deal-breakers for the 485 were that I heard the lever locks broke easily, flimsy-feel, not having the ability to work at low angles and the low height of the overall tripod. Moreover, it was rated for less weight than the Luxi. It was a pity, since I really loved the pistol grip adjustment ball head on the 485. Then again, that was a fixed head and I couldn't change it even if I wanted to. Basically, I was getting what I paid for. So here's hoping that it all works out =p