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Thread: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

  1. #1

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    Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    I noticed that Peak Design features a 4x5 in the video for their new travel tripod:

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...by-peak-design

    It doesn't seem like this tripod is suitable for LF, but I have minimal experience with lightweight travel tripods and I've recently started shopping for one. How are they getting away with mounting an LF camera on a tripod this light? Would a counterweight be enough to compensate?

  2. #2

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    Re: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    It isn’t. Most of that leg design is a copy of a light weight Giotto’s tripod design called the Bazooka. It also was no good for LF or, for that fact, mf.

  3. #3

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    Re: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    I looked at the Peak tripod at the Photo Expo in NYC last year, with the same question in mind, and decided that it was not a good fit. Let me start off saying that I think Peak products are arguably the best designed on the market, and I use one of their backpacks for my “travel kit” of 4x5 equipment that fits under an aircraft seat. But specific to this tripod, the center column is of such small diameter that I wouldn’t trust it with my view camera, and the supplied head did not seem strong enough for view camera use. (These were visual impressions, I didn’t have a view camera to actually try on it.) Once you mount a more traditional view camera head, you start to lose the Peak design benefits of lightness and compactness. My own alternative is an FLM Traveler tripod with FLM’s 38mm ball head, which may not be quite as compact, but fits in my carry on luggage (not the backpack) and works well with my Canham 4x5.

  4. #4
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    I wouldn't consider it realistic for any kind of camera I ever use.

  5. #5

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    Re: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    So is the FLM CP26 still the gold standard for travel tripods? Does anyone know the difference between the CP26 Series I and Series II?

  6. #6
    Pieter's Avatar
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    Re: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    Quote Originally Posted by ruberretu View Post
    So is the FLM CP26 still the gold standard for travel tripods? Does anyone know the difference between the CP26 Series I and Series II?
    The tripod review/testing site "The Center Column" gives high marks to Leofoto tripods, apparently Chinese clones of RRS. https://thecentercolumn.com/tripod-r...s-284c-review/

  7. #7
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    I don't get the notion of novelty. I bought the very first CF tripod model offered : A Gitzo 3-ply Reporter; modified it to a platform top and threw away the useless center column. It fits in a regulation airline carry-on; so I guess that qualifies it to be a "travel tripod". Around 2-3/4 lbs as modified. Stronger than their current equivalent. That Leofoto looks like a Feisol clone. I have a large Feisol CF for sake of 8x10 and long MF telephoto work; but it's a bit too long for airline travel unless set in front of the cabin in its own provided bag, just like they let people do with golf clubs.

  8. #8

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    Re: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    I really hate ballheads for large format first of all. The ballhead is integrated on the PD travel tripod. You can get an optional kit to use your own head which I suspect would be heavier and make the tripod top heavy. About the only large format camera I could see on the PD tripod is a Gowland.

  9. #9

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    Re: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    What Jerold said !

    One of the magical powers we get when using a tripod-mounted view camera is control of alignment and position along the X, Y and Z axes. Ball heads can make this much harder than other solutions.

    We can save weight here and there when using a view camera, but where to lose features in exchange for portability is a personal decision. I personally prefer to exchange other features than careful position and alignment.

  10. #10
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Peak Design Travel Tripod for LF?

    I classify ballheads as "wobbleheads". All of your probably know by now that I don't use any kind of head with view cameras, bolting them directly to the tripod top platform itself, and adjusting the legs as needed - intuitive after a bit of experience. But if I did choose a head, a ballhead option wouldn't ever make it to the list of possibilities. But with respect to saving weight you can have your cake and have it too by foregoing a head - lose its own weight, while at the same time achieving a more stable situation.

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