In these days of fast lenses, high ISOs, and fancy image stabilization mechanisms, it may feel like tripods are, at best, something better left for video. This cannot be further from the truth, as they’re still a pretty handy tool in many cases; from stitching panoramas to exploring the art of self-portraiture or painting with light. Designed and tailored with travel photography enthusiasts in mind, the folks at K&F Concept just released an affordable, compact and lightweight tripod ready to get taken everywhere you want.
What’s New with The Tripod?
- Affordable: less than forty bucks.
- Compact: 8cm x 50cm, folded
- Lightweight: 1.2kg
It’s been designed to reduce its footprint to a minimum, with its storage going down to 8cm in diameter and 50cm in height. Crafted with a premium aluminum alloy, it’s highly durable and less heavy than your standard water bottle; at 1.2kg, it’s nothing less than ideal as a travel companion. Obviously, that’s different from carbon fiber — which is what lots of other tripods are made of to keep things even lighter. Arguably though, aluminum is much better for recycling and the environment.
Its unfolded height ranges from 48cm to 190cm —21” to 75”— with a knob ensuring smooth transitions between different heights. It also has the standard stability optimizers; antislip hoofpads (yes, that’s what we’re calling them) and a hook to hang weights from, providing secure footing on uneven surfaces. Obviously, this is a compositional tool more than anything else. Otherwise, it’s designed for lighter cameras. You could, however, use it for long exposures if you can’t handhold a camera for all that long.
As for the tripod head, it’s got a 3D panoramic system supporting up to 4kg, with 360 degrees of rotation and a tilt range from 100 degrees to -70. It includes two Manfrotto quick-release plates, a flat clamp, and a Bluetooth remote for quick setup.
It’s worth it for photographers who are just starting out — like students who want to take this really seriously or those who use 35mm film cameras. But if you’re a higher end shooter who needs to make money from their photos, I wouldn’t use this tripod.
You can pick up this tripod over at Amazon.