Product Description

The Benro Aluminium Travel Angel Kit TRA168 is a professional-quality tripod kit that uses lightweight high rigidity aluminum alloy. In addition, magnesium is used for all die-cast parts. Despite its lower weight, magnesium is more rugged than aluminum, and has the same strength per volume. The tripod comes fully-featured, and is precisely machined to offer the quality and strength demanded by professional photographers. Travel Angel A-series tripods feature individual leg angle adjustments, anti-rotation leg design, a reversible center column with spring loaded weight hook, dust and moisture resistant rubber leg lock grips. This tripod features a 180 degree folding mechanism, where the legs totally cover-up the top plate and "spider", and which accommodates the head inside the folded tripod legs. This allows it to fold up to 20 percent smaller than conventional designed tripods. The kit includes a matching single action ballhead with calibrated panning base, locked down by a single lock-down lever, and a dual quick release locking system. The Anti-twist leg sections and a grooved center column make setup and breakdown quick and easy. The removable rubber feet provide a secure grip on smooth surfaces and the optional stainless steel spiked feet are ideal for use outdoors. A retractable spring-loaded hook can be used to add stability with a sand bag or equipment bag. Includes Deluxe Carry Case.

Product Details

• Color: Black/Gray
• Brand: Benro
• Model: TRA168
• Dimensions: 3.23 pounds

Features

• 4 section legs; Includes single action ballhead to match the size of the tripod; with calibrated panning base, locked down by a single lock-down lever, and a dual quick release locking system
• Offers two leg-angle settings to accommodate uneven terrain or awkward shooting situations; Improved dust and moisture resistant rubber leg lock design prevents dust or moisture from entering the interior of the leg twist-locks
• Anti-twist leg sections and a grooved center column make setup and breakdown quick and easy
• Removable rubber feet and optional stainless steel spike feet provide a secure grip both indoors and outdoors
• Retractable spring-loaded hook can be used to add stability with a sand bag or equipment bag

Customer Reviews

Strong, light, stable - an exceptionally well-built and compact portable tripod
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1JKN2P0EM5Y26 I really like this tripod - it's very solid and very well designed. The legs fold up to give it a nicely compact size for carrying in the included case. I've got a few other light tripods (e.g. a Sunpak and a Gorillapod, among others), but they are nowhere near the quality and durability of this one. I've also got a heavier and more expensive Manfrotto 3001PRO, that I hate to carry with me if I'm going to be walking or just out for a spontaneous shoot with my camera. This one is very easy to carry and light, giving me no excuses to leave it home. I expect I'll bring it with me on occasions I would have left the others and ended up hand holding my camera for convenience, when a tripod would have been better.

I shot this little video with a still camera, using my other tripod, just to show how the Benro fits in the case and opens up. Because I was shooting with a still camera, I mounted my camcorder (a Canon VIXIA HF10) on the tripod for illustration. (I tried to make it look like an old film, in homage to the stop-motion animated tripod scene of Dziga Vertov's excellent Man With the Movie Camera).

This is primarily designed for photography, rather than video. If you are interested in using this for video, and want to be able to pan or tilt the camcorder, you should note that the single action ball head mount on the tripod is really better suited to still photos. "Single action" means that a single fastener loosens and tightens both the ball head (allowing you to place the camera in a wide range of positions) as well as the "panning" function of the entire mount. That means that the only way you can "pan" or "tilt" a camcorder is to loosen the ball head, which allows for all sorts of wiggle that you likely wouldn't want in a moving picture. You can, of course, buy a different mount for use with this tripod base - though I haven't seen any Benro mounts with a pan arm on them (at least, they're not for sale on Amazon). This mount can work in a pinch, though - if you loosen the fastener only slightly you can get some "panning" motion without losing control of the wiggle in the ball head. If you loosen it just a tad more you can get a much broader range of motion (using the ball head) and still maintain a lot more stability than you could get holding the camcorder in your hand.

The legs can be placed at three different angles and extended quite a bit. With the center mount extended it can get quite tall - I didn't measure, but I'm 6'9" and it works great for me. You can even remove the centerpiece and turn it upside down, to hang the camera below for low shots. There's also a hook at the bottom of the centerpiece where you can hang something heavy to add stability to the tripod. The quick release plate and mount are very secure and there is a safety trigger on the release knob.

I'm very happy with this - and while it won't replace my camcorder tripods, I'll definitely use it for stills and expect to carry it with me whenever I'm shooting video as well.

Benro TRA168 Tripod
The Benro TRA168 was easy for me to set up and use...and I'd never used a tripod before. It's lightweight and comes with a nice canvas carrying case that includes a zippered pocket inside and a comfortable carrying strap. It came fully assembled, and all I had to do was flip the legs down, adjust them, and it was ready to use. I especially liked the quick release feature, which allows you to attach a plate to your camera that will attach or detach quickly and easily by pushing a lever. The plate has two rubber cushions so that the plate can't scratch your camera. The ball head was a bit fiddly...you have to be careful to hang on to your camera if you decide to adjust it because it doesn't gradually loosen, it just becomes loose all at once. The top of each leg is equipped with a clip that lets you adjust the angle of the leg and then lock it into place which really helps if you are on an uneven surface. It even has a tiny level located on top of the tripod next to the removable plate.

Heavy Duty & Tall
The Bad
The first thing that strikes you about this tripod is the weight. I own one other travel tripod that's half the weight of this one. It surprised me a bit just how heavy it was. 'Nuff said. Second, the legs are really stiff and a bit difficult to swing into place. The leg locking mechanism is also a bit difficult to engage. This is not a travel tripod you'll be setting up quickly as it takes some work.

The Good
Overall, it's quite sturdy and seems like it will stand up to travel abuse. The other nice thing about this tripod is the strength of the ball head. I was able to place my Canon 30D with battery pack and my 100-400 lens on it without it flinching one bit. That's the biggest weight combo I have so I'm happy about that. Last, it's tall. This is the feature that saves this tripod for me. I'm six foot tall and every other travel tripod I've tried I need to bend over. This feature makes the negative aspects of the tripod worth it for me.

I knock three stars off for weight and stiffness in use but give one back for height.