The Induro Hi-Hat is a new tripod for photographers and videographers alike, capable of supporting a great weight and getting real low to the ground. I have been looking for a tripod such as this that would enable me to get extremely low angle shots without always having to lay on the ground to get them. Induro offered to send me the new LFB75 Hi-Hat to see what I thought about it. Continue on past the break for my first impressions.
Tech Specs
Taken from B&H Photo
Ergonomics
The Induro Hi-hat is constructed of high quality aluminum and leaves very little to be desired in the way of build quality. The legs extend two inches if required by twisting the rubberized locks and pulling the leg downward. This will give you a little extra height or allow you to be completely level on uneven surfaces.
You can even lower the legs to just about touch the ground which allows you to get an extremely low perspective and a very unique angle. Short of laying on the ground, you won’t get a lower view.
In addition to being able to get low to the ground, you can also utilize the leveling base for uneven surfaces. The model I’m using has a 75mm base, but they also make a 100mm base for larger tripod heads. In the image above you can see the Manfrotto 502HD head attached. Notice that it fits perfectly on the 75mm baseplate.
On top of the leveling base is a spirit level which is always handy for confirming that you’re level on your chosen surface. (Notice, I’m not! haha)
You’ll notice that there are three separate screws along the baseplate. These serve as attachment points for accessories such as the Kupo Magic-Arm so you can mount things like LCD monitors or external microphones (see opening image for an example).
Lastly if you take a look at the feet of the tripod, they are a ball & socket rubber foot which is easy to position at multiple angles depending on the angle of the leg and the surface it is on.
Build Quality
As I mentioned previously, the tripod is made of very sturdy aluminum with rubberized components for the feet and the twist locks. With such a small tripod I think it was easy for Induro to produce an extremely stable set of legs. I noticed that after removing my tripod heads from the top plate there were some scuffs already. This is, however, a purely cosmetic thing and I am confident that the legs will hold up just fine under heavy use. I had given some thought about choosing aluminum for the legs vs carbon fiber, but I quickly realized that you do indeed want a little bit of weight for stability, particularly if you plan on using a fluid head and doing camera movements while recording. This dual role means they have to make some design compromises to appeal to both markets. In that respect, I think Induro was successful. Another thing that impressed me was the 5 year warranty they provide, which can be upped to an additional 5 years if you register the product online. This is a vast improvement over most manufacturers typical 1 year warranty. 10 years of support is fantastic in my opinion, and it shows that Induro will stand by the products they produce.
Ease Of Use
Honestly, most tripods are (or should!) be incredibly easy to setup, if they’re not then there is obviously something wrong. I’m happy to report that the Induro LFB75 legs are dead simple to setup thanks to large and easy to manipulate leg locks, a fast leveling base and the overall small size. All of these factors lead to a compact and quick to setup tripod for low angle work. Sounds like they got it right to me.
First Impressions
When I first opened the package I had to laugh to myself at how small the tripod is. It looks like a stubby robot! Despite this, I could tell from the moment I picked it up that it was a well made product. There was nothing loose or floppy, everything was tightened properly and seemingly built very well. I also liked the fact that Induro packages adjustment wrenches with the tripod just in case something does work its way loose eventually. I chose to mount my Manfrotto 502HD on the tripod first to see how it will behave with a larger fluid head (though there are certainly much bigger ones out there). I was pleased to see that the flat base-plate of my 502HD fit perfectly onto the 75mm base of the LFB75 legs, it makes for a relatively compact, highly mobile and stable video platform to work from. With the leveling base I was able to quickly and easily get things nice and level for my test shots and it required no fiddling with the legs, which was quite welcome. Next I put on my ballhead and tried it out for some low angle still images, which it again worked quite well for. So to sum it up, my first impressions are very positive and I will be spending more time with these legs and hopefully getting to use them on some productions. Look for a full report in the future!
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