Every time I buy something from Peak Design, I always think "I don't know- this is pretty expensive for what it is." I will buy it and plan on returning it if I doesn't justify itself, but in every case except once I have kept the item. They are extremely well made and thoughtfully designed products, usually with features or functionality I didn't even know I needed until I got it. Their customer service is also great to work with.
I ordered the aluminum tripod at the kickstarter and it’s been a dream ever since! I use it heavily and have banged it up quite a bit. My smart phone camera mount did break (cracked at the weak plastic joint) but of course PD replaced it no problem. I also recently have the issue where the locking knob for the stem won’t push in. It’s stuck in the out position. Not. A big deal at all since it still packs away perfectly but other than that’s and some scratches on the black coating, I’ve been really happy with its performance. Just solid and reliable.
What i notice after a few years is now many youtubers are using the PD tripod in their other videos tells me after a few years they use them themselves for years and they work.. Good to see you feel its important to point it out after a few years of use. I have 100% the same feeling.
for pano get the "Neewer Camera Panoramic Swivel Foot with Style Plate" with build in arca drill one or two holes in it (not all the way but deep enough) for the 2 locking pins if you want. Plate is handy anyway and works well :) Also consider adding a new foot to that 200600 with build in arca :)
I have the alumnium one, just thought if I am car traveling I don't care that much of the weight, or else I am bringing a CF mono-pod with a tripod leg on the bottom if weight is an issue.
One negative with the PD head (in addition to no pan function) is that it's designed for the super thin PD plates. So, while it works really well with the PD plates it can be difficult to get other plates to work making it the least Arca Swiss compatible head I've used and the PD plates also don't work perfectly with other Arca Swiss heads. It's the only Arca Swiss-head I've used with this problem. Of course, if you only use PD stuff then it all works perfectly together.
That is true. Anything with a protruding screw head doesn't work. It works well with a lot of Arca tripod feet, grip extenders that are Arca, etc..., but not every Arca QR plate works.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Nice. It does look pretty great in your review. That said, do you plan on reviewing the Benro Theta system at some point? I would be interested in that even after receiving mine to hear your thoughts on comparing it to the PD and the Ulanzi offerings.
I did the same. From memory the Theta Max in carbon fibre is close enough to the same price as the PD in aluminium which makes me now wonder if the Theta might be too good to true And or PD are making a far higher margin than Theta And I was a little puzzled that the Theta was crowdfunded. Benro isn’t a start-up, they’re an established reasonable size business. So why crowd fund, did they need the big cash in advance to offsets problems in other parts of their business?
I put my money down on the Theta Max only about a month ago. Before I sent the money off, I noticed at that point in time that it’s not expected to ship until October.. if that were to fall back another couple of months, we won’t, nobody will have them until Christmas
@@richardgrant418 hey Richard. Good thoughts. I will say that according to the kickstarter page, the shipping estimate is still in June for the tripods and batteries.
Thing is for me i have had 3-4 tripods and just wanted one that lasts. Thats for me how i justify the price. Invest once instead of 3-4 times. Taking to next Alaska trip its just so light as you know. I love mine and dont see a replacement reason any time soon, unless i lose it. I took the 2 points out so arca goes straight in for the 200-500, as i replace the 200-500 lens ring with arca version.
My Z lens being lighter are much easier in this too, being the 200-500 example the heaviest. PD tripods the best one i had as i can use it light or with the Wimberly head also.
I have the ULANZI MT-56. It's aluminum, maybe an inch longer when broken down (no big deal for me) but everything else is same form factor as the Peak Design. Paid $79 for it and very happy to compromise very little for hundreds of dollars of savings. Wanted a Peak Design for years but just never willing to spend that kind of money on a tripod. With many companies having copied Peak Design's design (no pun intended), I see very little reason to spend almost 5x more for the same product.
@@marvinhuiching Hello again, so there are two versions of this tripod - one with a video fluid head (which I have), and one with a ball head. It looks like the mounting plates might be different for the two. For the fluid head, the PD clip plate is smaller than the fluid head's plate, so the tightening mechanism isnt able to secure it. The ball head version might be a different case. Now that you mentioned it though, I am interested in making this work too. Found that Ulanzi makes a quick release plate that works with PD system. Will order it and get back to you when I test it out.
With the similar size but higher featured Benro Theta carbon fiber at present only 400 - not much more than the PD in aluminium … One catch: if you pre-order and pay for your Benro now - you are unlikely to get it before October and quite possibly not until Christmas But, once Benro’s normal production gets underway, unless there’s a couple of flaws in the product, I’d think that the other makers of CF tripods might be cutting the prices on their CF models to compete. God bless capitalism, and East Asian business savvy.
I don’t think it’s at all unique to Peak Design. but the premium for Carbon Fiber, v the amount of material … must be generating huge margins per unit for the tripod makers I understand the two versions are affectively identical - other than the material they’re made out of The price difference at B&H is $270 The Carbon Fiber version weighs 2.8 lb. Take off, say half a pound for parts which aren’t carbon fibre and there’s around 2.3 lb of carbon fiber. The $270 premium divided by 2.3 implies that whatever aluminium costs, CF costs ~ $117 per lb more. Or close to an extra … $250,000 per ton! I don’t think even kryptonite cost that much 😂
It is not all about the material cost. Manufacturing cost and general demand of carbon fiber is also driving the price up. I think the price difference is justified but not every buyer of the tripot can justify the price difference.
@@rolandmost Yes, there could be other factors. But what in manufacturing could possibly make something of ** identical shape ** to be priced at nearly double? other than material prices or profit margins As the Al and the CF tripods are identical their assembly would be identical is making legs of carbon fiber likely to be any more complex than making aluminum legs of the exact same shape(??) Material prices can go up with demand. Or sometimes fall, when new factories come into the market. I could go on
@@rolandmost ps bottom line basics. Benro is doing pre-sales of a tripod made of carbon fiber. almost ** the exact same size and weight as PD’s carbon fiber ** so CF material cost would be very similar - for close to the price of what PD charge for one made of aluminum That’s manufacturing Unless Benro is LOSING at least $250 on every carbon fiber tripod, what else could it be other than the bigger player making higher margins. In any industry where there’s a free market, that never lasts That’s capitalism
AFAIK, demand is filling the market with competitors and appears to be making CF tripods more affordable. But not all CF tripods of similar appearance perform equivalently, obviously. @@rolandmost
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Every time I buy something from Peak Design, I always think "I don't know- this is pretty expensive for what it is." I will buy it and plan on returning it if I doesn't justify itself, but in every case except once I have kept the item. They are extremely well made and thoughtfully designed products, usually with features or functionality I didn't even know I needed until I got it. Their customer service is also great to work with.
That is such an valid observation. They are expensive...but are very well designed and made.
I feel that everything they should be reduced in price with 30-50 % (depending on the item). Then their items would be more fairly priced.
I ordered the aluminum tripod at the kickstarter and it’s been a dream ever since! I use it heavily and have banged it up quite a bit. My smart phone camera mount did break (cracked at the weak plastic joint) but of course PD replaced it no problem. I also recently have the issue where the locking knob for the stem won’t push in. It’s stuck in the out position. Not. A big deal at all since it still packs away perfectly but other than that’s and some scratches on the black coating, I’ve been really happy with its performance. Just solid and reliable.
Thanks for the great feedback.
What i notice after a few years is now many youtubers are using the PD tripod in their other videos tells me after a few years they use them themselves for years and they work.. Good to see you feel its important to point it out after a few years of use. I have 100% the same feeling.
It's true - I just find it so useful for so many things.
for pano get the "Neewer Camera Panoramic Swivel Foot with Style Plate" with build in arca drill one or two holes in it (not all the way but deep enough) for the 2 locking pins if you want. Plate is handy anyway and works well :) Also consider adding a new foot to that 200600 with build in arca :)
Interesting suggestions.
I have the alumnium one, just thought if I am car traveling I don't care that much of the weight, or else I am bringing a CF mono-pod with a tripod leg on the bottom if weight is an issue.
Exactly.
Another great review. Many thanks 🙏😊
You're welcome.
One negative with the PD head (in addition to no pan function) is that it's designed for the super thin PD plates. So, while it works really well with the PD plates it can be difficult to get other plates to work making it the least Arca Swiss compatible head I've used and the PD plates also don't work perfectly with other Arca Swiss heads. It's the only Arca Swiss-head I've used with this problem. Of course, if you only use PD stuff then it all works perfectly together.
That is true. Anything with a protruding screw head doesn't work. It works well with a lot of Arca tripod feet, grip extenders that are Arca, etc..., but not every Arca QR plate works.
Will the small rig arc work ?
Thanks for this review. I recently preordered the Benro Theta Max and if I end up not liking it, I may be selling that and going with the Peak Design.
I still like the the overall design of the PD the best of the half dozen or so travel tripods I've reviewed.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Nice. It does look pretty great in your review. That said, do you plan on reviewing the Benro Theta system at some point? I would be interested in that even after receiving mine to hear your thoughts on comparing it to the PD and the Ulanzi offerings.
I did the same. From memory the Theta Max in carbon fibre is close enough to the same price as the PD in aluminium
which makes me now wonder if the Theta might be too good to true
And or PD are making a far higher margin than Theta
And I was a little puzzled that the Theta was crowdfunded. Benro isn’t a start-up, they’re an established reasonable size business. So why
crowd fund, did they need the big cash in advance to offsets problems in other parts of their business?
I put my money down on the Theta Max only about a month ago.
Before I sent the money off, I noticed at that point in time that it’s not expected to ship until October..
if that were to fall back another couple of months, we won’t, nobody will have them until Christmas
@@richardgrant418 hey Richard. Good thoughts. I will say that according to the kickstarter page, the shipping estimate is still in June for the tripods and batteries.
Thing is for me i have had 3-4 tripods and just wanted one that lasts. Thats for me how i justify the price. Invest once instead of 3-4 times. Taking to next Alaska trip its just so light as you know. I love mine and dont see a replacement reason any time soon, unless i lose it. I took the 2 points out so arca goes straight in for the 200-500, as i replace the 200-500 lens ring with arca version.
My Z lens being lighter are much easier in this too, being the 200-500 example the heaviest. PD tripods the best one i had as i can use it light or with the Wimberly head also.
Great video as always Dustin.
I get just now Ulanzi ( carbon )
Thank you very much.
@@SperS-222 can guarantee anyone getting this tripod will use the wimberly less and less.
And if you want you can swap to a "Ulanzi U-90 mini fluid head" if you want a cheap high quality and small video head
I have the ULANZI MT-56. It's aluminum, maybe an inch longer when broken down (no big deal for me) but everything else is same form factor as the Peak Design. Paid $79 for it and very happy to compromise very little for hundreds of dollars of savings. Wanted a Peak Design for years but just never willing to spend that kind of money on a tripod. With many companies having copied Peak Design's design (no pun intended), I see very little reason to spend almost 5x more for the same product.
Do you have PD's camera clip? I want to get a ULANZI tripod but not sure if the PD capture plate works with ULANZI's head🤔
I do have the PD capture clip but never tested this. Will do it later tonight and get back to you.
@@marvinhuiching Hello again, so there are two versions of this tripod - one with a video fluid head (which I have), and one with a ball head. It looks like the mounting plates might be different for the two. For the fluid head, the PD clip plate is smaller than the fluid head's plate, so the tightening mechanism isnt able to secure it. The ball head version might be a different case. Now that you mentioned it though, I am interested in making this work too. Found that Ulanzi makes a quick release plate that works with PD system. Will order it and get back to you when I test it out.
I did like the Ulanzi that I reviewed, just not quite as well as the PD.
@@firpofutbol Cool! Thank you so much!
I wish the extra feet was included for the price they charge
have you carried it in the carry-on when flying?
Yes I have (or rather, the carbon version)
With the similar size but higher featured Benro Theta carbon fiber at present only 400 - not much more than the PD in aluminium …
One catch: if you pre-order and pay for your Benro now - you are unlikely to get it before October and quite possibly not until Christmas
But, once Benro’s normal production gets underway, unless there’s a couple of flaws in the product, I’d think that the other makers of CF tripods might be cutting the prices on their CF models to compete.
God bless capitalism, and East Asian business savvy.
I haven't reviewed that one, obviously, but we'll see how it plays out.
I don’t think it’s at all unique to Peak Design. but the premium for Carbon Fiber, v the amount of material … must be generating huge margins per unit for the tripod makers
I understand the two versions are affectively identical - other than the material they’re made out of
The price difference at B&H is $270
The Carbon Fiber version weighs 2.8 lb. Take off, say half a pound for parts which aren’t carbon fibre and there’s around 2.3 lb of carbon fiber. The $270 premium divided by 2.3 implies that whatever aluminium costs, CF costs ~ $117 per lb more.
Or close to an extra … $250,000 per ton! I don’t think even kryptonite cost that much 😂
LOL - you definitely pay for carbon fiber.
It is not all about the material cost. Manufacturing cost and general demand of carbon fiber is also driving the price up. I think the price difference is justified but not every buyer of the tripot can justify the price difference.
@@rolandmost Yes, there could be other factors.
But what in manufacturing could possibly make something of ** identical shape ** to be priced at nearly double? other than material prices or profit margins
As the Al and the CF tripods are identical their assembly would be identical
is making legs of carbon fiber likely to be any more complex than making aluminum legs of the exact same shape(??)
Material prices can go up with demand. Or sometimes fall, when new factories come into the market.
I could go on
@@rolandmost ps
bottom line basics. Benro is doing pre-sales of a tripod made of carbon fiber.
almost ** the exact same size and weight as PD’s carbon fiber ** so CF material cost would be very similar - for close to the price of what PD charge for one made of aluminum
That’s manufacturing
Unless Benro is LOSING at least $250 on every carbon fiber tripod, what else could it be other than the bigger player making higher margins.
In any industry where there’s a free market, that never lasts
That’s capitalism
AFAIK, demand is filling the market with competitors and appears to be making CF tripods more affordable. But not all CF tripods of similar appearance perform equivalently, obviously. @@rolandmost
It's flimsy. Just sold mine.
I think you're the first commentor to call this flimsy. Is this relative to full size tripods, or other travel tripods?