Aside from the head potentially falling down because it’s not locked in place or potentially easily unlocked, I think the cons related to 5 - 10 minutes of tripod training are overstated. How many hours or dozens of hours are needed to learn the hundreds of settings for a camera body? Or speed or studio lights? I just bought this tripod and it’s a one-minute learning curve. Just like all the rest of my tripods made by several other manufacturers because there is no standardization.
Bought one and it's by FAR the best tripod that I've had- so smooth and ease but the ball-head is super flexible and handles my 200-600mm lens like a baby in carriage!
4:08 Depends on the person, for me things usually come easily, and this just makes sense to me, but I admit I knew how it was done before I got one. It even has the instructions on the head. I've never heard or seen this complaint anywhere. This is actually an non-issue. but what is an issue is the limited ball head angles. So I bought the Peak Design Universal adapter. But haven't decided on a ball head yet. But I need to shoot at angles that require me to move the tripod with this baldhead, even adjust the legs to get the angle and position to capture the subject.But if one only or mostly shoots leveled this isn't an issue.But the setup and collapsing is quite fast. that was never an issue for me. But once you get used to it, it gets even faster.
Ccarification : you can get the camera in the desired angle if you se the square mount and reposition the camera to the side and reposition the ball head. So for photography this will work, but extra work and not as quick but I managed to do it quickly, but this is worse for video ad you can't change to desired angle while recording.
I’m a huge PD fan. Own an embarrassing amount of their stuff. So I’m inclined to stay in their ecosystem. The question I have is aluminum vs CF. Seems aluminum would change the outlook given cost was a major con yet doesn’t add much weight. And….Tav!! Long time no see. 👍
Couple of additional observations: 1/ the head feels cheap and there are no native alternatives. It's not just the lack of friction/dampening as you observed, but also the lack of ability to rotate individual axes to e.g. pan. That's a major miss for anyone who wants to stack shots to create e.g. a panorama. If you own cameras with fixed lens such as e.g. Leica Q3 43 and want to shoot landscape, this tripod is unusable without a 3rd party head. Ball heads not always have ability to lock to pan, but then at this price point, people will have expectations. 2/ no leveling tool included, again a miss if one wants to rotate e.g. only horizontally. 3/ the mechanism to extend the tripod is what we've seen 20-30 years ago. Look at e.g. Manfrottos FAST series and compare this to PD and the PD will feel (very) slow to operate.
Great tripod - but - the tool holder will more than likely fall off (as well as the allen keys as you demonstrated). Mine did but the good news is PD replaced it free of charge and I now keep it in my backpack
@@mrtavetski1859 Sorry I didn't see this. I got the Sirui ST125+A-10R which is the lightest of this weatherproof line. Theyalso make the similar ST124 (four segments) and the K10 or K20 ball heads which are not a low profile, but have a more visible bubble level. The ST224 line is similar just bigger diameter for more weight more stability. Sirui inexpensive tripods are good too, the traveler series X are one twist deals, if you only have a mirrorless ore something or are really wanting lightweight and small.
3:30 This phone holder is the weakest point of the tripod, it lasts just a few uses before it the plastic pivot arm thing fails. If it was all metal construction it you’ve been much better.
It seems like this tripod generated a lot of buzz when it came out. Glowing reviews everywhere. Then the more grounded reviews like this one came out and now it seems like the tripod isn't really all it was hyped to be. (Having said that, when the Ulanzi copy came out the reviews were equally, and to be honest, suspiciously positive as well.) I love Peak Design. I've got a lot of their stuff. But this tripod seems to cross a line. I don't mind paying a little extra for their thoughtfully designed gear. I like that it is a little bit hip. But $650 for this tripod is just nuts. Too many fatal flaws for me. First is that you have to raise the center column to use the head. Second, using the head in vertical mode looks like quite the hassle. Third, I would have no problem with vertical mode since I use an L-bracket.......but shockingly, it appears that you can't use regular Arca-Swiss plates on this head. Maybe I'm wrong, but if it is true THAT is the deal breaker and hints at the possibility that this tripod is more for well heeled hipster than the serious photographer. Hard pass for me at this point.
@@Nomads.Nation Thanks. However, I WAS wrong about Arca-Swiss plates and L-brackets. I looked at the owner's manual and there are two studs on the head that can be removed so they can be used. So, my biggest concern is not a problem at all. The biggest issue at this point is the cost. So for me it is a toss up between the aluminum Peak Design tripod or a carbon fiber Chinese knock-off.
I feel this was a little too critical of the tripod - its an ultralight one, aimed at hiking, outdoors stuff, landscape shooters. Sharing your tripod with people that have never seen one before isnt an issue there, and no matter which high end tripod you have, there's a learning curve to it. After that, you'll know exactly how to use it. The bag being a snug fit it a choice, if you wanted a bag where you can just toss in your tripod, its going to waste space and be less protective of it.
I agree, this is a really fair assesment, i was quite critical, perhaps because I'm not an outdoors photographer. If i were tho, this tripod would be perfect
Certainly not the masses, but there will be that one person who will watch this video, and none of my criticisms will apply to their particular use case.
Note, I have not used this tripod extensively, but just in the store: I don’t understand how it gets so much love, and it’s because of your point. When extended, it is VERY flimsy feeling, with bounce in the legs and it’s easy to even torque the legs a bit from side to side. This may work well indoors, but if you’re using it outside in the wind, I can’t see how you’d get stable images at all. There are other travel tripods that are not quite as compact, but are much sturdier (Leofoto LS-284 for instance, which is cheaper and is rock solid in comparison).
Every review of this tripod I see has the same complaints. It's functionality just doesn't match the price. Does it save space and is light weight? Yeah for sure. Does that warranty adding $400 more than other high end tripods? Psh no. And I say that as someone who has many PD bags. If the price was reasonable, I don't think people's reviews would be so negative.
I think they designed this with only one person in mind, and to that person, this tripod is well worth it. As one commenter put it- lightweight, compact, hiking... Its a very niche product
I really love the PEAK Design brand, but yet don't buy anything from them, I even try to get something to iniciate a partnership, but don't work out unfortunalety, hope that I can buy some of their products soon! Amazing review, thank you.
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Aside from the head potentially falling down because it’s not locked in place or potentially easily unlocked, I think the cons related to 5 - 10 minutes of tripod training are overstated. How many hours or dozens of hours are needed to learn the hundreds of settings for a camera body? Or speed or studio lights? I just bought this tripod and it’s a one-minute learning curve. Just like all the rest of my tripods made by several other manufacturers because there is no standardization.
Thanks for your perspective!
I agree with you.
Bought one and it's by FAR the best tripod that I've had- so smooth and ease but the ball-head is super flexible and handles my 200-600mm lens like a baby in carriage!
Awesome to hear!
Very well done- refreshing style, no BS. Keep it up Aaron!
appreciated!
4:08 Depends on the person, for me things usually come easily, and this just makes sense to me, but I admit I knew how it was done before I got one. It even has the instructions on the head. I've never heard or seen this complaint anywhere. This is actually an non-issue. but what is an issue is the limited ball head angles. So I bought the Peak Design Universal adapter. But haven't decided on a ball head yet.
But I need to shoot at angles that require me to move the tripod with this baldhead, even adjust the legs to get the angle and position to capture the subject.But if one only or mostly shoots leveled this isn't an issue.But the setup and collapsing is quite fast. that was never an issue for me. But once you get used to it, it gets even faster.
Ccarification : you can get the camera in the desired angle if you se the square mount and reposition the camera to the side and reposition the ball head. So for photography this will work, but extra work and not as quick but I managed to do it quickly, but this is worse for video ad you can't change to desired angle while recording.
I'm in the market for a tripod. Do you still recommend this as of today or is there a better one?
Everything Tav said in the review still stands 💪🏻
I’m a huge PD fan. Own an embarrassing amount of their stuff. So I’m inclined to stay in their ecosystem. The question I have is aluminum vs CF. Seems aluminum would change the outlook given cost was a major con yet doesn’t add much weight.
And….Tav!! Long time no see. 👍
Id agree with your assesment on the aluminim, also... Hi! Good to be here😅
Weight of the aluminum one is no issue but the stability is.
Couple of additional observations: 1/ the head feels cheap and there are no native alternatives. It's not just the lack of friction/dampening as you observed, but also the lack of ability to rotate individual axes to e.g. pan. That's a major miss for anyone who wants to stack shots to create e.g. a panorama. If you own cameras with fixed lens such as e.g. Leica Q3 43 and want to shoot landscape, this tripod is unusable without a 3rd party head. Ball heads not always have ability to lock to pan, but then at this price point, people will have expectations. 2/ no leveling tool included, again a miss if one wants to rotate e.g. only horizontally. 3/ the mechanism to extend the tripod is what we've seen 20-30 years ago. Look at e.g. Manfrottos FAST series and compare this to PD and the PD will feel (very) slow to operate.
Welcome back, Tav!
🫶🏽
Brilliant design and quality construction, Worth every penny
great feedback, cheers!
Great tripod - but - the tool holder will more than likely fall off (as well as the allen keys as you demonstrated). Mine did but the good news is PD replaced it free of charge and I now keep it in my backpack
Nice!
Does TSA confiscate the tools on the tripod?
not sure tbh, haven't flown with it. Maybe reach out to their customer support and please let us know what they say
Awesome video dude!
Thanks so much!
awesome review, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Can you shoot vertically? Or only horizontal?
both I believe, might be best to double check with PD
After some cross shopping i ended up with a Sirui, value is much better, less gimmicky, more robust. Just works.
Which one did you end up getting?
@@mrtavetski1859 Sorry I didn't see this. I got the Sirui ST125+A-10R which is the lightest of this weatherproof line. Theyalso make the similar ST124 (four segments) and the K10 or K20 ball heads which are not a low profile, but have a more visible bubble level. The ST224 line is similar just bigger diameter for more weight more stability. Sirui inexpensive tripods are good too, the traveler series X are one twist deals, if you only have a mirrorless ore something or are really wanting lightweight and small.
3:30 This phone holder is the weakest point of the tripod, it lasts just a few uses before it the plastic pivot arm thing fails. If it was all metal construction it you’ve been much better.
Solid review. I like that the con is, "people are stupid, dont let stupid people use your stuff." 😂
Tav’s sense of humor is second to none 😂
Have one its perfect
appreciate the feedback!
tav! good to see you around, too haha, keep it up :D
Eyooo! I might pop in on an upcoming video for a few seconds 😉
For a person like me this tripod is just asking me to make an error resulting in me damaging my camera. They should make a v2 and update the design.
hopefully v2 will be coming soon
Thanks for your review. Do you know anything about V2 - will it be taller? @@Nomads.Nation
No longer the most compact and the ball head is definitely a big weakness. Check out the Ulanzi f38 tripod.
Thanks for the rec Andrew!
That’s a video head tripod.
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It seems like this tripod generated a lot of buzz when it came out. Glowing reviews everywhere. Then the more grounded reviews like this one came out and now it seems like the tripod isn't really all it was hyped to be. (Having said that, when the Ulanzi copy came out the reviews were equally, and to be honest, suspiciously positive as well.)
I love Peak Design. I've got a lot of their stuff. But this tripod seems to cross a line. I don't mind paying a little extra for their thoughtfully designed gear. I like that it is a little bit hip. But $650 for this tripod is just nuts. Too many fatal flaws for me.
First is that you have to raise the center column to use the head.
Second, using the head in vertical mode looks like quite the hassle.
Third, I would have no problem with vertical mode since I use an L-bracket.......but shockingly, it appears that you can't use regular Arca-Swiss plates on this head. Maybe I'm wrong, but if it is true THAT is the deal breaker and hints at the possibility that this tripod is more for well heeled hipster than the serious photographer.
Hard pass for me at this point.
thanks for the epic comment!
@@Nomads.Nation Thanks. However, I WAS wrong about Arca-Swiss plates and L-brackets. I looked at the owner's manual and there are two studs on the head that can be removed so they can be used. So, my biggest concern is not a problem at all.
The biggest issue at this point is the cost.
So for me it is a toss up between the aluminum Peak Design tripod or a carbon fiber Chinese knock-off.
manufacturing cost might be less than 100$ to make one..it is insane how these companies are ripping off people with these over priced tools
Typically retail items are priced 4-6x times their cost, so that would make sense
You had me at $650. Now clicking away and going back to reality.
yea it aint cheap lol
I feel this was a little too critical of the tripod - its an ultralight one, aimed at hiking, outdoors stuff, landscape shooters. Sharing your tripod with people that have never seen one before isnt an issue there, and no matter which high end tripod you have, there's a learning curve to it. After that, you'll know exactly how to use it. The bag being a snug fit it a choice, if you wanted a bag where you can just toss in your tripod, its going to waste space and be less protective of it.
I agree, this is a really fair assesment, i was quite critical, perhaps because I'm not an outdoors photographer. If i were tho, this tripod would be perfect
There's no way people are going to use your link after that glowing review you gave for the tripod
Certainly not the masses, but there will be that one person who will watch this video, and none of my criticisms will apply to their particular use case.
Any issues with stability? The legs look so small to me when it's fully extended.
Note, I have not used this tripod extensively, but just in the store: I don’t understand how it gets so much love, and it’s because of your point. When extended, it is VERY flimsy feeling, with bounce in the legs and it’s easy to even torque the legs a bit from side to side. This may work well indoors, but if you’re using it outside in the wind, I can’t see how you’d get stable images at all. There are other travel tripods that are not quite as compact, but are much sturdier (Leofoto LS-284 for instance, which is cheaper and is rock solid in comparison).
Every review of this tripod I see has the same complaints. It's functionality just doesn't match the price. Does it save space and is light weight? Yeah for sure. Does that warranty adding $400 more than other high end tripods? Psh no. And I say that as someone who has many PD bags.
If the price was reasonable, I don't think people's reviews would be so negative.
I think they designed this with only one person in mind, and to that person, this tripod is well worth it. As one commenter put it- lightweight, compact, hiking... Its a very niche product
You said 20kg then showed 20lb, then converted to kg.
oops
the floor noise on your video is KILLING ME
our production has come a long way since this, check out the newest videos 💪
I really love the PEAK Design brand, but yet don't buy anything from them, I even try to get something to iniciate a partnership, but don't work out unfortunalety, hope that I can buy some of their products soon! Amazing review, thank you.
I gotta say i also love the brand, but I'm not invested int eco system . If i were tho ... Uuuu my stuff would be so pretty
We've got a similar tripod, it does all that movement but only cost $30.
Aye, different tripods, different prices
GARBAGE
😳
When I saw that "brutally honest", to be brutally honest with you, I thought it is just a clickbait, so im just blocking the channel...
but did you even watch the video to be sure? lol
@@Nomads.Nation of course not. LOL...
@@BPetiBP great talk lol
How is 5-10 minutes to learn how to use PD tripod as a "steep learning curve."
time is precious 💪🏻