brilliant review been looking for a detailed break down of this tripod especially the legs thanks for sharing mind is made up i shall buying this tripod and head 👍
Sorry for the super late reply! Haha it is big for travel but I find it worth the trade-off in most instances. I have backpacked with it extensively and lots of road trips but never flown on a plane with it so can't comment on that aspect.
How are the little plastic sleeves (or whatever they are called) for the legs locking mechanisms? I find that these tend to break after a few years of use (even on Gitzos) and depending on how they are designed, they may be prone to move inside the legs (which results in a leg that will pop out when you try to extend it...).
Great, thanks a lot! The design is indeed very similar to Gitzo's. If all the nobs are high quality, then the only diffrence between this one and a Gitzo 2543L, which seems to be the most direct comparison, is that the Benro is a tad heavier (4.52lbs for the Benro, 3.7lbs for the Gitzo). The Gitzo is significantly lighter, but it is also much more expensive.
I should mention that there's a reason they use plastic there. You'll find plastic used on all CF tripods in any friction points. When two things rub together, the harder of the two materials "wins," and destroys the other. If you used any material harder than CF, the CF itself would wear away with time, which would be significantly more expensive repair/replace. The plastic piece is intended to be sacrificial to ensure preservation of the CF.
Hi Matt, thanks for the detailed review , i have one of these and couldn't agree more with your review. However, I have a question. I see that the manual states that we can assemble a monopod by removing on of the legs and attaching it to the center column, but i haven't been able to achieve this. Can you confirm if this is really possible, if so how do we do it?
Hi Matt, do you have any update on the slightly loose central column? I just purchased this tripod and it's same case for me, regardless if I use short or long column. A little disapointing. Is your short column aluminum or carbon fiber? in my case the short one is aluminum (while the long one and entire tripod is carbon of course).
HI Matt. Very nice review of your Benro Tripod! Though I've never tested a Benro, I have recently found a fantastic travel tripod: the Leofoto LN-254CT Carbon Fiber Tripod. It's lightweight, 10x carbon fiber legs, all CNC-machined metal, and includes quite nice metal interchangeable spikes plus a neat little carabiner tool plus allen wrenches.However, what really grabbed my attention, is that the Awesome ball head includes a built-in Panoramic head! So, needless to say, it makes a superb landscape tripod, plus, the pano head, when swiveled into the drop-down notch, now turns into a Gimbal Head! The build quality, IMHO, is up there with Gitzo and RRS, for a fraction of the price. And finally, IMHO it is the best ergonomically designed ball head, because each control knob is a completely different shape/texture, so there's no way of inadvertently making an unintended adjustment out in the field! So logical, and why all manufacturers don't do this is beyond me. Obviously, I highly recommend the Leofoto LN-254CT!
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I love this trypod
A very helpful review. Thanks : )
is this tripod good for wildlife?
Good review. Were you able to purchase a backup sleeve?
Does this a include a ball head?? Or does one have to purchase that separately?
It must be purchased separately. This is the particular one I chose but it can be used with any standard head
brilliant review been looking for a detailed break down of this tripod especially the legs thanks for sharing mind is made up i shall buying this tripod and head 👍
Great vlog bro. I’m very tempted with this tripod. Is it too big for travel? How are you getting on with it now?
Sorry for the super late reply! Haha it is big for travel but I find it worth the trade-off in most instances. I have backpacked with it extensively and lots of road trips but never flown on a plane with it so can't comment on that aspect.
How are the little plastic sleeves (or whatever they are called) for the legs locking mechanisms? I find that these tend to break after a few years of use (even on Gitzos) and depending on how they are designed, they may be prone to move inside the legs (which results in a leg that will pop out when you try to extend it...).
I made a quick video showing the construction and design here: ruclips.net/video/MTnAy-a1ooE/видео.html Hopefully It helps answer your question!
Great, thanks a lot! The design is indeed very similar to Gitzo's. If all the nobs are high quality, then the only diffrence between this one and a Gitzo 2543L, which seems to be the most direct comparison, is that the Benro is a tad heavier (4.52lbs for the Benro, 3.7lbs for the Gitzo). The Gitzo is significantly lighter, but it is also much more expensive.
I should mention that there's a reason they use plastic there. You'll find plastic used on all CF tripods in any friction points. When two things rub together, the harder of the two materials "wins," and destroys the other. If you used any material harder than CF, the CF itself would wear away with time, which would be significantly more expensive repair/replace. The plastic piece is intended to be sacrificial to ensure preservation of the CF.
Hi Matt, thanks for the detailed review , i have one of these and couldn't agree more with your review. However, I have a question. I see that the manual states that we can assemble a monopod by removing on of the legs and attaching it to the center column, but i haven't been able to achieve this. Can you confirm if this is really possible, if so how do we do it?
You should be able to unscrew the leg with the foam grip on it, and attach it to the center column.
I don't believe it is possible on this. Exact model. Others in their lineup do allow that feature
Thanks for the review. Is it possible to use a different ball head? Im thinking Really Right Stuff BH-40 . Thanks!
yep :)
That ball head would work great!
Hi Matt, do you have any update on the slightly loose central column? I just purchased this tripod and it's same case for me, regardless if I use short or long column. A little disapointing. Is your short column aluminum or carbon fiber? in my case the short one is aluminum (while the long one and entire tripod is carbon of course).
My short column is aluminum. Still deal with the issue but just giving it an extra turn to tighten it snugs it right up!
HI Matt. Very nice review of your Benro Tripod! Though I've never tested a Benro, I have recently found a fantastic travel tripod: the Leofoto LN-254CT Carbon Fiber Tripod. It's lightweight, 10x carbon fiber legs, all CNC-machined metal, and includes quite nice metal interchangeable spikes plus a neat little carabiner tool plus allen wrenches.However, what really grabbed my attention, is that the Awesome ball head includes a built-in Panoramic head! So, needless to say, it makes a superb landscape tripod, plus, the pano head, when swiveled into the drop-down notch, now turns into a Gimbal Head! The build quality, IMHO, is up there with Gitzo and RRS, for a fraction of the price. And finally, IMHO it is the best ergonomically designed ball head, because each control knob is a completely different shape/texture, so there's no way of inadvertently making an unintended adjustment out in the field! So logical, and why all manufacturers don't do this is beyond me. Obviously, I highly recommend the Leofoto LN-254CT!
Steve TQP - haven’t you been copy-pasting this on all benro mach3 reviews? Thanks for the spam, I guess?