Compact and light tripod

[coldrain]

I bought my Canon EOS 350D over the 20D because it was light and small, while offering almost all of the features and image quality from the 20D. And it was a bit cheaper of course.
I wanted it to be light and small because I wanted to take my camera along all the time.

I also chose my 70-200 f4 L USM for the same reason, it is half the weight of a Sigma or Canon 70-200 f2.8 lens. I am quite pleased with the weight decision, as I indeed tend to throw the camera in a bag or backpack often to take it along for you never know what.

But sometimes I do miss a tripod. And a good tripod will not be as portable as I would need it to be, you normally do not take a tripod along all the time for "you never know what".
So what I wanted is a light compact compromise, that is small enough to stuff in a bag, yet sturdy and stable enough to be of some use.
A friend of mine came across this manfrotto 724B digi, and it seems to fit the compromise perfectly. It weighs about 1.4 kilo, is about 50cm when folded up. The simple ballhead is not the greatest in positioning the camera, but for the weight and size it does its job quite well.

All in all it seems to be a very nice extension of my light travel kit!:D

[TenD]

I just bought a set of those Benro legs that have been somewhat controversial. They are blatant Gitzo knock offs and the reports on quality have been all over the map. I plan on mating them to an Acratech V2G ball head. We'll see how the quality of the Benro legs are. I already own an Acratech head and have been very satisfied with it.

[drama]

Cold Rain
Congrats on the latest addition to your light travel kit

I am also considering a new set of legs plus head, thinking of picking up a Bogen/ Manfrotto 190 B or pro with a 488RC2

My cheap Wyfing tripod, is too heavy, at the same time the ball head is not steady with the 70 300 Sigma attatched
Plus Its useless at taking shots in the vertical position

Any one have any experience with Manfrotto's mentioned ?

[snap]

I am very happy with my Gitzo GT0540. Weight (without head) 0.70k/1.7lbs; closed height 48cm/18.9 inches. I use this with a Kirk B-3 ball head. I just returned from a week of shooting in several national parks in Utah. I hiked much and used this tripod on almost every shot. I used it with several lenses including 24-105 4L IS and 70-200 4L IS on a 30D.