GAS Attack

[Basil]

I do a fair amount of camping and hiking, and I like attending events like Balloon Fiesta, so I have been looking at options for a much lighter, more compact travel tripod. I currently have a 4-leg-extension Sirui N2204X Tripod, which I love for its sturdiness. It's fairly light but unfortunately not very compact or easy to carry on long hikes.

I will still use it in situations that don't involve a lot of hiking, but in the meantime, I' wanted something easier to carry yet sturdy.

I had been looking at the the Peak Design Carbon Fiber travel tripod, but it's base price is $650 and by the time you get the optional spiked feet, with shipping and tax you're going to be north of $700.

Then last night I stumbled on a video review of a "kickstarter" project for new travel tripod called HEIPI which has some very interesting features. Some of the reviews (I'll post one) compare it to the Peak Design unit and it compares (I think) very well. The best part is, if you Back the Kick starter project you can get it for $319 (Free Shipping) which is less than half the price of the very similar Peak Design unit. I decided to take the plunge. If its near as good as some of the reviews (or a prototype unit), then I think it could end up being a good buy (or not - time will tell).

 

[DrEntropy]

As a photojournalist, "sticks" aren't the highest priority. My primary 'pod is a BIG heavy Bogen with a fluid head, good for stability and studio use. A monopod is what I consider a 'travel' piece. But if I were hunting something as a travel tripod, that HEIPI would win hands down. Lightweight, and both load capacity and stability make it the right piece. All the other things like leg spikes, second column 'pod, levels, accessory 1/4-20 points are gravy.

Just my opinion though. Will be interested in your take on it. I doubt the 10° increment head will be something better than your clock head for pano shots, but nice to see it's included there.

 

[Basil]

As a photojournalist, "sticks" aren't the highest priority. My primary 'pod is a BIG heavy Bogen with a fluid head, good for stability and studio use. A monopod is what I consider a 'travel' piece. But if I were hunting something as a travel tripod, that HEIPI would win hands down. Lightweight, and both load capacity and stability make it the right piece. All the other things like leg spikes, second column 'pod, levels, accessory 1/4-20 points are gravy.

Just my opinion though. Will be interested in your take on it. I doubt the 10° increment head will be something better than your clock head for pano shots, but nice to see it's included there.

A lot of what I shoot is landscapes (involves a lot of hiking, hence weight and ease of carry are important). Then of course I like taking Milkyway and other night sky images. When I shot my first Milkyway Pano (posted here somewhere), it was a bit frustrating moving the head, which I had pre-leveled, the precise amount for each section of the Pano. I had to use a red-lens flashlight to view the degree marks on the head and it was hard to see and really slowed down the workflow. For Panos, especially at night, having a tactile feel (click) to each 10 degrees should, I would think, make the process a bit easier and can be done without the need to look at the degree marking of the head.
It all may end of being a moot point if they don't reach their goal of $1 Million by the end of the campaign. They currently have only 33 hours left and are still almost $61,000 short. They state in their campaign that cards will not be charged unless they reach their goal. Gonna be close.

 

[DrEntropy]

Truly wish them luck. An obviously superior piece of equipment.

 

[Basil]

The continuing struggle with GAS.