Carbon fiber tripods - £90 vs £300 - Is it worth paying more?
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- Buying a carbon fiber tripod is a minefield! There seems to be 1000’s to choose from, spanning a massive price range. Well fear not my photography friends, we’ll cut through the confusion and bring you a review of two carbon fibre tripods considered to be the best in their price ranges. We’re going to review the budget K&F Concept TC2534 carbon fiber tripod priced at around £100 and the Manfrotto Befree GT carbon fiber tripod kit priced at around £300.
On top of this, we’re going to put the two head-to-head to see if it’s really worth paying the extra money for a pro carbon fiber tripod. If you’re looking for a carbon fiber tripod and don’t know what one to get, this review is for you!
Full details and current prices of these tripods here www.theschoolofphotography.co...
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#tripods
In the past I have purchased expensive Manfrotto tripods, I still use one in my home studio at times, but I bought a Geekoto tripod for my outdoor photography. It is nearly identical to the K&F you showed. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same, just a different set of stickers. I use mine with a full frame DSLR and a 150-600 mm lens. I either use a gimble head or a long enough Arca rail that I can mostly balance the setup so the bullhead can hold it steady. I like the flexibility of the Geekoto. Being able to be a monopod is a nice bonus.
My Geekoto gets used quite a bit, at least for an hobbiest. I get out with it 2 or 3 times a week for over 1.5 years now. It hasn't shown any wear and still works fine. I make sure to clean it after any trips to the beach and take care to only put the lower sections in ocean water. Based on this, I don't see a reason to spend more on a tripod.
Thanks Jeff
I have the same K&F tripod in the video , not let me down had it two years now , great value for money
Thanks for sharing Mark 👍
Literally just when I needed it
Another fantastic comparison video from Marc, looking forward to the Astrophotography course.
Thanks Stephen, so are we 👍
Brilliant, no nonsense to the point review that answers any questions I may have had about looking for a carbon fiber tripod to use on long tracks and one that will last for a few years.
You are welcome, glad it helped 👍
I Have a Giottos MTL 8360B with a Manfrotto 486 Head and a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with a Manfrotto 391RC2 head. I purchased these through MPB and LCE for not too much more than the K&N each and definitely less than £300 in total. Buying second hand from reputable companies has enabled me to purchase gear that I could not afford new. Worth a look!
I use the Peak Design Carbon travel tripod, It is a thing of beauty and so well designed
Both tripods are ok.
I use a Benro and a Gitzo,both very expensive.Only because I use large DSLR bodies.
As for centre columns, for me no way.
Don't use centre columns.
Cheers
I had the K&F initially, it was okay to start with but as Marc mentioned after a relatively short period the leg clamps stopped working, i contacted them as it was only about 6 months old and they were no help whatsoever.
I binned it and now have one made by The 3 legged thing.
Thanks for sharing Brian
Great video Marc I bought k&f tripod had it a month I did a one hour hike only to find that monopod had fallen off!!
Went out and bought a benro the best £300 I've spent it's all about the camera loving your photoshop course
Thanks Peter, glad to have you on board 👍
Ive got the k &f and its ok for the most part but u can tell the quality isnt top top gear but its defo worth its money
Thanks Mick 👍
I have also the K & F, which I leave in the back of the car in case I am somewhere and need it. As a tripod for occasional use I have no complaints. However if I am going somewhere (workshop etc) where I need a tripod I will take my carbon manfrotto 190 Go with a BHQ2 head with an Arca Swiss headplate conversion. The ball head is not the lightest but even full frame mirrorless cameras with a 70-200 lens need good support. It was good to see a product review based on real life usage in the field.
Thanks Michael 👍
I have 3 tripods including an old Slik that is built like a tank. I bought a Neewer (very much identical to the K&F) for travel. Glad I did not pay too much as I haven't travelled since I bought it 🙂
I recently bought a Manfotto 055 for £85 on bay, second hand but amazing condition and worth buying for sure. I film a lot of nature clips and with a heavy frame, the tripod allows minimal camera shake. It weighs a fair bit but if you do not mid lugging equipment around, this is great all rounder as it opens up to 3 metres and closes right down to 45 cms. I have a carbon fibre for £40 from amazon too which is a great every day one, mostly for indoor use. Thank you fro a good breakdown here. Very helpful.
You're welcome, thanks for the comments here 👍
I've just bought a 3 legged thing Bucky to replace a K&F TF-2534.
The rubber parts on the twists you use to secure the sections were beginnin to become loose. I still manage to squeeze enough but i fear someday i'd find i can't anymore.
To be fair this defect may have happenned when i used oil to lubricate the legs.
The Bucky is heavier but packs smaller (41cm) which is a good point to fit in a carry-on.
Cheers Jean thanks for sharing 👍
Could you possibly do a video on camera backpacks? Cheap vs expensive for example
On the list, thanks 👍
I used to have a Manfrotto 190Pro and I loved it. Only thing I didn’t like was the chew on I had to go through to switch to the horizontal column. I sold it a few years back but I’m getting back into photography again. I’ve just ordered the Befree GT XPRO and really looking forward to using the updated features. I think you can rely on Manfrotto.
My tripod has arrived. It’s even better than I expected it to be. 👍🏼
I like the lightweight nature of carbon fibre BUT they are definitely "fragile" which is a shame. Ive had 2 go crack on me with just lightweight tumbles which has put me off given their price tag. K&F do a good job on their pricing policy as £300 is out of the question for a hobby.
I got a leefoto carbon it’s not much better to my old k&f was £350 the kf cost about £100 on Amazon agree with your review
It would be nice to find a review about carbon fiber versus aluminum with all other things equal... is there really much of a difference other than weight and price?
I have a few tripods of different weights; I tried cheap ones from curry's etc, they were broken within months. Then I bought Manfrotto 055 aluminium, very good but heavy. Then I bought a slik pro cf-834 carbon fibre tripod, very nice. Best buying a good tripod, it is cheaper at the end of the day, than buying poor quality. Although I keep one of my copy Gitzo tripods in the car boot for rough work on the beach or near water.
Thanks Derek 👍
How do you feel about the strange quick release on the Manfrotto? Is it safe? It always seems a bit dodgy to me.
Seems fine to me Trudy.
Hello. I am your new subscriber. I am from Indonesia. I wanna ask you about a tripod that has a flatlay feature. What do you think about flatlays? Should flatlays be considered when choosing a tripod?
Yes, the Manfrotto 190 will do the job 👍
Tripods are the best place to "cut corners" and buy cheap. It won't be as nice but will have the least (if any) effect on your picture quality, compared to say lens, sensors, filters etc. You can invest your savings into a better lens...
Of course we all want lighter photo bags but in the end, what yields the best pic: a 2 kg carbom tripod or a 3 kg aluminium tripod? Which one is more stable? What does basic physics have to say about that? 😉
Thank you for this review. I bought one of their travel tripods as part of their current autumn sale. I only paid 39.99 (instead of the 139.99 it apparently costs off-sale), but I'm already slightly regretting the purchase, even though it's not even arrived yet. What's a bit worrying is the sale "timer" on their store page. It should have ended 2 days ago, was reset to ~5 hours yesterday afternoon and is back to ~9 hours at the time of writing this. Seems like a fake sale, which is not only against the law in Europe, but also really worrying. I thought I made a decent deal, but now I'm having my doubts. Time will tell...
after breaking two cheap / sub CAD120-150 tripods, i am saving up to get a good one. it is always worth to get the quality, coz these cheap ones, are flimsy and i have completely lost confidence in them.
100 percent Manfroto is the way to go and you can get this particular one on Amazon with their installment program which is BRILLIANT. I have a Canon EOS 6D and it handles it and my lenses beautifully. I have the K&F one and it's only for my much lighter Rebel T7.
I have compared the identical models from different manufacturers CF vs Aluminum, and they average between 6 and 9 ounces lighter for the CF - I don't see the advantage. Especially for the price difference.
Looking for a tripod, thx for the informative Vid 😃 you must live within a mile of Ronnie O'sullivan from your accent 😃
Yeap, not far 😊
Buy quality, cry once…..Buy cheap, cry twice.
so why not just put a different ball head on the K&h. would still be less than half of the manfrotto
Go for it!
They don't even save much weight. The Befree aluminium is only 1.5kg, the carbon is the same weight. There's no reason to get one. They both hold 12kg so that's more than 3x the weight of a dslr with a 70-200 lens.
Tripod that’s 300 pounds!!!! WAY too heavy for me, I’ll pass 😂😂😂
🤣🤣
All good carbon tripods are well over priced rather take a ali pod. what is a little more weight and we are talking abot a lb or more thats all no big deal rather that, than paying stupid money just for carbon.
Why not just put a Manfrotto head on the cheaper tripod?
I wouldn't do it but go for it if you want to.