Review — Pix Escapes Blog

A successful tripod hunt in the city lead to a tripod test in Docklands. One could hardly find a more ideal location to become better acquainted with a new toy. Here brand new creatively conceived structures sprout from each salt water sided quay like mushrooms on steroids, providing countless photo-friendly views and even some reflections. Today was more cloudy than sunny with a little wind to drive the clouds across the sky. Just the kind of weather for long exposures. What’s the most important item of photography gear in your bag?

The Melbourne Star, Docklands [330s F5.6 ISO200 ND64 + ND1000)

So, the Benro FIF19CIB0 Carbon Fiber Transfunctional iFoto Series 1 Tripod Kit .. seriously how do they arrive at these names … is a compact travel / backpacking tripod. Kit because one leg is removable and can function as a monopod. Kit because the centre column is reversible so you can get the camera very near the ground if you need to. I needed a tripod that could fit IN, rather than ON, my bag. This one qualifies as it folds all the way back on itself to 35cm. But extends to some 146cm .. call it 1.5m tall. It weighs 1.4kg but is claimed the pre-installed head can support an 8kg load. I am quite sure it would support more though it’s always advisable to play by the rules. The tripod comes in the obligatory box that includes a nicely thought out canvas bag with a usable handle/sling. Unfortunately the sling isn’t removable from the bag which means you can’t quickly interlock it to/around your backpack without using extra fasteners. Still it’s always a nice touch to have a nice strong bag to carry equipment in. Also included in the bag is a hex/allen key for maintaining some of the joints on the body.

Sky rushing over the Bolte Bridge, Docklands [176s F5.6 ISO200 ND64 + ND1000]

Ok, starting with the FEET: It comes clad with nice sturdy rubber feet and, in the box, three sharp stainless steel spikes for icy conditions. Each foot screws in to the base of each leg in a very secure way. They seem unlikely to tear off like those of some inferior tripods.

Modern buildings look so stylish : Docklands [281s F5.6 ISO200 ND64 + ND1000]

The BODY/LEGS: Ok, so, the good news is I really like it. The appearance, build quality, feel, fit, use in the hands, is excellent. No sharp edges, nothing to bite me. Yes I’ve been bitten badly by one tripod… plenty of blood… these things you only discover in the field when a perfect moment must be captured quickly and you’re rushing. Once bitten… so careful ever after with “that other” tripod. It is easy to open, close, fold, whatever. Each five-section leg is equipped with four twist-locks. All, together, can be conveniently loosened with one smooth twist of the wrist. That’s probably the key advantage of the twist-locking system. Of course you can’t see if they’re locked but they’re easy enough to lock… I didn’t find any legs unexpectedly shrinking. At the end of the day after several hours of use there were no fuzzy photographs so the conclusion is: it works. ( For the record I used the Olympus EM1-ii and the 12-100mm lens with a Nisi filter kit on it … so we’re not testing the mass limit of the tripod ).

A neat angle selection mechanism allows each leg to be locked at 23, 55 or 80 degrees. The system isn’t unique to Benro, but on this tripod seems perfectly implemented as the locks feel just right and are easy to set. All set up the tripod stands super firm. I felt very confident to walk away and not return to find it blown off its feet. No complaints with the legs after a few hours use.

The centre column is easily enough removed by unscrewing the sturdy hanger mechanism at its base. The centre column comprises two tubes which enables one to almost double it (the column) length. This is particularly useful when it is attached to the single leg as it enables the monopod to reach 1.5m height. That is probably tall enough for most, although not all, photographers. One trivial complaint is that the twist-lock mechanism controlling the extension of the centre column operates in the opposite direction from all the other twist locks on the tripod. I found that counter-intuitive and slightly confusing. But it’s not really an issue once you get used to it. One would (imo) only use it when using the monopod as raising the centre column in tripod mode is normally not a good idea except if there’s really no other way to get the height.

Wait, that’s not a tripod shot : But I simply had to take this portrait of a beautiful Docklands resident

The HEAD: I used to think I could just get a nice body and worry about the head later. WRONG. You pay so much more if you do that. Now days we have choices. So many choices. There is no reason to buy a tripod without a decent head. Unless you already have a favourite you intend to transplant. This tripod comes equiped with a BENRO IB0 Ball head. It’s a reasonably neat, solid head weighing about 320g, and equipped with three knobs. The largest, maybe disturbingly labelled, a “Ball lock”; the next a “Friction control” and the last, a “Pan lock”. They do as their labels suggest. I like that one can independently control the friction from the locking/unlocking. It worked very well enabling me to find a position where I felt the right amount of friction making it easy enough to quickly level the camera before locking the ball. Importantly, their was no noticeable change in alignment on actually tightening the ball lock. Shifting alignment on tightening can be a real ball breaker (excuse the pun) with some ball heads. Finally it’s worth noting the head attaches to the body with a very solid 9mm bolt. The head is easily enough removed by twisting off the body but it won’t fall off in a hurry as several full twists are required. I see no double locking mechanism to prevent the head from being unscrewed but no need for one either. Ok, moving on.

From wharf to Harbour Town [155s F5.6 ISO200 ND64 + ND1000 Two Images, Focus Stacked]

The top PLATE: A compact PU30 Arca Swiss type plate sits atop the head. The plate includes a small spirit level. It’s works well enough, although users of larger cameras may find it too small to properly lock on to the base. That’s not a show stopper because it’s Arca Swiss compatible and many will substitute with L brackets anyway. The release lever includes a double locking mechanism. Unscrew it to loosen but the camera can’t fall off as there are locks left/right; one must pull the lever away from tripod (toward yourself) and then rotate it further to enable equipment to be removed. Seems almost idiot proof. And I could too easily be the idiot who would loosen the plate screw instead of the ball head… so including this protection can be a camera / lens saver.

In conclusion: In a one-day-test situation it’s all good. Nothing negative to be said for it other than it would have been even better if the carry bag could have had a removable carry strap. Overall it’s quite reasonable value for money at AUD329 from digidirect.com.au in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, considering that one is able to call it a “Two for the price of one” including the monopod.

I will update this blog from time to time as this tripod weathers with me. And of course the tripod is the most important item in your bag for long exposures.

But wait, there’s more!

Black Swan : They know they have us wrapped around their gorgeousness… they do.

I bought this 'lens for all situations' for go anywhere / everywhere use. Mainly because it's small enough to take with on bicycle rides. But also to pack for trips anywhere. Because, in decent light, it has such an extraordinary range it should be able to capture almost anything.

I thought long and hard about this one. Over many months. Didn't want to get it unless it was good enough. I've been blessed to use some very good lenses. No point in adding to the collection if it wasn't going to perform adequately and, consequently, never get used.

Well i've had it for two days and about 30km on the bicycle and so far I'm more than impressed. This lens is able to surpass my expectations both at 18mm (effectively about 27mm field of view on Nikon D7200 / D500); and at 400mm (600mm fov on D7200 / D500). Ok, it's not quite as sharp, or as contrasty and free of chromatic aberrations when shooting into the light, as my Nikon 200-500mm F5.6. But that thing is a huge brilliant beast of a lens by comparison; and couldn't accompany me on bicycle rides. And it sure beats my iPhone at 28mm (think the iPhone starts at about 28mm) for detail when you pixel-peep... as it should.

So a few practical observations. I'd heard the Vibration Compensation was good for about 2 stops and I'd say that's probably how it feels. It's not the best; but, for what it is, it feels stable enough. Sharpness is certainly adequate; even impressive considering the range they've achieved. I've not pixel-peeped the edges. But, for my bird photography, the centre's are sharp enough. Also the fall off from in-focus to out-of-focus areas is smoother and more pleasing than I had hoped for. Contrast and colour also seem better than I'd anticipated. The lens is prone to purple fringing edges shot against a harsh white sky. The hood is quite shallow and a longer one might help shield the front element more... who knows. But fringing is very easily corrected in post-processing. Yes one loses some colour/contrast/sharpness in the process but, in an ideal world, we wouldn't be shooting subjects against harsh white sky. Birds in flight will do that to you sometimes. Many lenses are prone to this issue in extreme situations. Some are better than others. This one is probably about average in this area. But in all other areas, for what Tamron have achieved in such a huge zoom range, it's very quite remarkable indeed.

And speaking of birds in flight I had no difficulty getting focus lock with this lens on the D7200. I haven't tested it on the D500 yet... but it goes without saying that focus will be effortless on the D500.

Lastly: build quality. Looks / feels pretty solid in the hands. I believe it's even fairly well weather-sealed. Wow how far we've come. Ten years ago I started with an 18-200mm. Now I'm playing with an 18-400mm and loving it. That's what this is about: having fun. Being able to take it everywhere and not worry too much. Ok, here are some shots from the first two days. All with the D7200, all handheld. All locations reached by bicycle with the exception of the Spotted Dove on my back fence.

Australian Black Swan : The ecstasy of bath time! (350mm 1/3200s F6.3 ISO500)

Australian Magpie : Why use two if one will do? (400mm 1/640 f6.3 ISO500)

Soon the leaves will begin to fall (18mm 1/500 F6.3 ISO500)

Autumn colours everywhere (55mm 1/160 F6.3 ISO100)

Cattle Egret (400mm 1/3200s F6.3 ISO320) - Yes I exposed for the bird, not the background. And it was very dark almost raining at the time. The bird was far away and am so impressed with the clarity here!

Spotted Dove on my garden wall photographed through glass window (400mm 1/250 f6.3 ISO500)

Masked Lapwings under an overcast sky (400mm 1/1000 f6.3 ISO320)

Cats and dog at the Knox Vet (18mm 1/400 F8 ISO100) You can see from the sky what the weather was like : Mostly cloudy with more than a hint of rain!