Question on Benro Tripods

J

Jeff Fillmore

Member
I am looking for a new Carbon Fiber Tripod and pretty much settled on the Benro C-258. ; It comes with either Twist or Flip-Lock legs- I was wondering if anyone had any good or bad experiences with either type of latching mechanism. ; This is for field work so I will be opening/closing it on the go. ; My first inclination was for Flip-Locks just because I can visibly see they are safely latched. ; Any thoughts?

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The tripod on the right looks familiar. ; Oh yeah, I know why. ; Because there is one in my closet at home!

I like the flip locks; Benro's are a little stiff, but that's better than flimsy. ; Their twist lock is probably okay as well.

The flip locks seem easier to do while moving. ; I've heard others report that the twist locks in general can start to lose their grip and require more force to lock in.

But that's not to say that the flip locks are perfect either. ; Had a tripod once that needed a new flip lock, so they do wear out. ; Not the Benro yet though.
 
The Benro comes with field spikes as well that you can change the feet too. ; Don't know if security will let that in though.
 
My first tripod has flip-locks and I just picked up one with twist. ; I have not gotten a chance to use the twist but I already don't think I will like it especially in the park. ; Just in playing around I thought I had all the legs locked and put the weight of the camera on it. ; Oops it started to slips and luckily I caught it. ; Plus I was on a carpet. ; Could not imagine if I did this in the parks and the concrete. ; I think from a safety standpoint the flip locks would be the way to go. ; Plus in speed alone I can fully extend in a matter of seconds with the flips. ;
 
I have a Benro monopod with twist locks, and I don't like them. I have a tendency to over tighten them when I extend it, and frequently have a heck of a time opening them back up to collapse it.

Erich
 
Yeah still learning how to use the twist locks on my velbon. Im still going through the stage of getting everything set up and then the tripod starts to sink! Grrr!
 
Thanks for all the feedback all- I ordered the Flip-Lock version.

BTW- the little B&H search engine at the top of the page works really good...I wish it could find me a D7000 in stock.
 
"Jeff Fillmore" said:
.I wish it could find me a D7000 in stock.
Click to expand...

Thom Hogan said the kits just shipped late last week from Nikon USA, and body only is 1 month out...unless they change their MO.
 
"Roger" said:
Thom Hogan said the kits just shipped late last week from Nikon USA, and body only is 1 month out...unless they change their MO.
Click to expand...

Yeah I read that also. ; I'm on a couple waiting lists but never pre-ordered- so I figure I'll be lucky to see one by the end of the year.
 
Nice Jeff! ; Bento is a brand I'm looking at for a travel tripod!

Also, I like your photo display in the background, how is that setup?
 
i also ordered this tripod, benro c-258, based on jeff's positive thoughts, and my wanting to change over to a flip lock for travel purposes, nice as my velbon has been, i've experienced one too many sinking of the legs to keep trust in the old girl, i had to reset too many times this last trip to disney. ; it will be given to my neice for her use with her point and shoot, still going to stick by the acratech heads though, best i've ever used bar none
i think the issue with the velbon has become one of too much weight on the legs coupled with a lot of use over the last 2 years, banging around in my truck cab probably hasn't helped those twist locks either
 
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