ON TRIAL BENRO
It's always tempting to think that image stabilisation systems mean that you don't ever have to carry a tripod again, but the reality is that there are plenty of situations where one is essential. Very long exposures is an obvious one, but also it's often just the benefit of having the camera locked in position while you do other stuff. Often, a small tripod will still do the job, so how small can it be before there are compromises?
Just about every tripod brand offers compact models designed for trekking or travel, but in the quest to make them as small as possible, sometimes they're not the most convenient to use. The fold-over configuration – where the legs fold back along the centre column – is a commonly-used way of giving a much shorter package for carrying and storage. The down-side here is that the centre column is then always above the legs which can compromise both stability and load limits.
Benro's approach with its new line-up of compact Cyanbird tripods is to have a conventional folding arrangement for the legs and instead employ other ways ofreducing the size and weight of what you have to carry around. Firstly, there are five leg sections so each can be shorter and, while this isn't new at all, the last couple of extensions aren't so thin that they're too flimsy to use. Second, the profile is oval rather than circular with a slight indent on the inside so the legs fold more snuggly along the centre column. The oval shape ensures rigidity isn't compromised and, all folded up, the total diameter is a little under six centimetres
