A few days ago I tweeted about a new carbon fiber tripod I was waiting for and as it has arrived I though I would share my opinions about it and whether or not I am still happy with my decision to go for a non mainstream brand.

When we go shopping for new gear most of us steer towards or are steered towards the well known mainstream brands as these are the ones we hear about and therefore the ones that the shops stock due to there being a demand for them.

The problem is that as brands grow and become establishes, their pricing normally rises accordingly and we often end up paying high prices because of a brand name, not because it’s the best or is that much better than other lesser known brands.

I have recently been faced with the same dilemma as the time has come for me to upgrade to a carbon fibre tripod. In my case I have had and do have tripods from the big names in the game being Manfrotto and Gitzo, actually the same company.

While the construction of these tripods has for the most part been pretty good, I have never really found the portable models stable enough to use with my multi row panoramic head. Add to this that the top of the range models cost and arm and a leg and well, let’s say it’s a decision that you will put of making until you absolutely have to.

I have been exploring other options for a while now, one of them being Induro tripods but as far as I know they are not yet represented locally and then it all changed when I walked into Orms a few weeks ago and happened to browse through the tripods.

One just jumped out at me from the bunch and it was the last one I would have expected mainly becuse of its branding, Slik, you know those cheap, plasticy tripods that all the budget camera shops have on their counter.

Well there was certainly nothing cheap, flimsy or plastic about this tripod in fact it was as well constructed and stable as anything I have seen from the brand leaders albeit at a substantially lower price. This got me thinking, if Slik had aluminium tripods of this quality what else did they have available.

A visit to Slik’s website revealed that they have a large range of professional tripods including some Carbon Fiber models at almost half what the mainstream brands sell for. After a bit of research on the web, I decided to take the plunge and buy one, through Orms, which arrived today.

The Model I ordered was the PRO 713CF II

My Opinions so far

It arrived in a plain white box, nothing fancy but the box felt incredibly light. Once open, it was quickly evident that the tripod inside was anything but plain.

Firstly it is extremely well made and finished with the carbon tubes appearing to be high quality i.e. no visible defects. The tubes unlike some other tripods are a matt finish. The tripod is light weighing in at just 1.39 kg.

The main body is anodized aluminium and is also very well finished and is surprisingly sturdy, more so than some more expensive tripods have been. The legs extend and are loosened and secured by a Gitzo type locking system that seems to be quite solid and works well.

The biggest surprise was the stability of the tripod. Even with the legs fully extended and the centre column raised, the tripod is rock solid which I have never found a portable tripod to be in the past.

So in a nut shell, yes, I am ecstatic with my new tripod and it only cost me R3000 which is what most aluminium tripods go for. I will post an update once I have used it for a while but so far all look good.

Specifications

Legs: 3 sections with the top leg having a 24mm diameter and softgrip foam and 3 possible positions.

Max Height: 1310mm without centre column extended and 1670mm with column extended.

Min Height: 230mm

Centre column: Reversable

Down Side

The only problems I can see with the tripod is that it comes with a smaller 3/8-20 thread instead of the more common 1/4-20 thread so you will need an thread adaptor to use most tripod heads on the market and it does not have a carry sling.