Slik Sprint Pro?

[deuces]

I know some of you have this tripod. How is it? And what lenses will it support?

I'm still pretty new, and I know I should get a big heavy sturdy tripod, but I also know I'll never take such a thing out of the house. I figure I'll get the super transportable one first, as I'm much more likely to use it, then get a beefy one later.

Oh, and I'm cheap. Er, value conscious.

Slik Sprint Pro has risen to the top so far. Will it droop with a DA16-45 or a DA18-250?

[olivergbus]

I just acquired one and use it on a K10 with Battery grip and a heavy 50-135 zoom, works perfectly fine and recommend it highly

[paolojackson]

You should also look at the Manfrotto 725B. I considered that along with the Slik Sprint Pro. Both are lightweight, and relatively inexpensive. While browins the forums for info on tripods, I did hear mostly good thinks about the Slik.

[Nesster]

It works fine... though with a Tamron 90 macro + 2x converter (adaptall) or similar, there is a droop, for which you need to adjust (ie. point the lens up from where you end up pointing). The other thing I wish for is a quick release head, though that would obviously make it a heavier and larger beast.

With the 16-45 there is no droop.

[Nesster]

This is the setup that pushes the SLIK's limits. Note that this is a long and heavy metal lens. Modern ones - the ones you mention - are lightweights in comparison.

--

I should add this: the other week I took the tripod with my K100d out in the woods. I had a 28mm manual lens on the camera, with a ND + polarizer as I was going for long exposures of water falls. With the SLIK I definitely needed the cable release under these circumstances. If you don't have one as yet, I suggest you get a cable release.

[Confused]

Hi deuces

We were visiting Ireland a year or so ago and I happened to notice the Slik Sprint Pro complete with *pan & tilt head, whilst exploring a small photographic shop in Dublin. This tripod seemed reasonably inexpensive and appeared ideal for supporting both my wife's lightweight Canon A630 Powershot, as well as my battered old Fuji S602Z, which is admittedly slightly heavier. The Slik was supplied with a nice shoulder bag and is probably one of the most flexible and well-constructed products I have purchased.

Overall we are very happy with it, BUT despite having said all that, when I attempted to attach my K10D with D BG-2 grip & Tamron 18-250mm to the Slik a few months later, I became distinctly uneasy ! In my experience, that's an AWFUL LOT of weight to place on a fairly lightweight tripod, especially when the legs are fully extended. The sight of Nesster's photo illustrating his drooping DSLR outfit really ought to start your internal "alarm bell" ringing at this point, so I'd simply like to pose you the following conundrum:

Q: Am I SERIOUSLY prepared to risk my precious Pentax DSLR by placing it atop this Sprint Pro, only to see the whole contraption unexpectedly topple over and come crashing disastrously to the floor ?

Decent tripods usually tend to be constructed out of durable materials for a very good reason. This often results in occasional complaints from folks about having to cart around excessive weight with them. At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious, a tripod should be designed to eliminate camera shake, but attaching a heavy mass to a set of flimsy legs is a recipe for photographic disappointment, if not disaster ! If you never intended to fully extend this Sprint Pro's legs or alternatively splayed them out for low-level shots, then fine.

Personally I decided to opt for a wonderful Giottos 9351B MTL tripod instead, which is a happy compromise between my Manfrotto 055 and the Sprint Pro....YMMV. Please note that the 9351B MTL would require a separate head of some description, of which there are an extensive choice available from both Giottos and other manufacturers, varying from reasonable to more expensive.

Incidentally, if the MTL9351B still seems too heavy for your requirements, Giotto also sell some even lighter Carbon Fibre versions, namely the 4 leg-section MTL8350B or the 3 leg-section MTL8351B, but naturally at a somewhat greater cost.
For a personal mini-review of the Giotto, try this link:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/p...hlight=Giottos

Best regards
Richard

*pan & tilt head version

[Nesster]

I should note that I hadn't set the camera level, it was pointed downwards. So that isn't all droop

[Confused]

Hi Nesster

Fair point ! I'm obviously somewhat hesitant to knock the overall ability of my Sprint Pro because I'm generally delighted with it's build-quality. Nevertheless, I grudgingly have to accept the fact that there are naturally going to be occasions when I'd prefer to take either my Giotto or Manfrotto along with me in preference to the Sprint Pro, when conditions demand a sturdier tripod.....simple as that, really ! Horses for courses etc......

Best regards
Richard

[pw-pix]

I think the Slik Sprint Pro is a excellent example of a small, ultra portable tripod.
A couple of others to consider are the Velbon Ultra Maxi and Ultra Luxi.

[BrendanPK]

I love mine, had it for 3 or 4 years now. It has held up to my Sigma 135-400 (using the lens tripod mount) now granted I am not letting it go really for more than a sec, and cant hold it at 400mm at all positions. Now it will hold a body and your 2 mentioned lenses fine, just test before you start stepping far away from it. I have the ball head, it holds fine.
I do not use the center colum, took it off years ago.
If you have to use a heavy set up use mirror lock-up for anything slower than 100/sec
IMO there is nothing better in the compact tripod market that is reasonable in price, good height and has var-angle legs.
using it with a K10/20 w/ grip makes it less stable than say a *ist-D (smaller lighter) But still managable for the tripod, just dont use a 200mm F2.8 lens on it and walk away. If your going for light weight you probaly have the grip off the body anyway so it should be no prob for anything you would be hiking with.

[Pentaxtic]

Here are some specs courtesy of London Drugs.

Slik Sprint Pro Tripod;Tripods;Full Size;Cameras;London Drugs

2kg max supported weight

[deuces]

Thanks everyone! It looks like it's a go on the Sprint Pro. I know it's a huge compromise, and I believe my expectations of it are quite reasonable.

Richard, thanks for your input, much appreciated. I'm not prepared to carry 3lb+ around, nor spend more than $150ish for the portable tripod. In all honestly, I'm trying to improve my handholding and improvisational camera support techniques to avoid the tripods as much as humanly possible!

Pentaxtic, the specs load capacity seem to be somewhat misleading, no? At some point I was adding up the ounces on my camera setup and comparing to listed specs. Then I saw one of the light tripods in person (flimsy!). Now I use them only to judge which tripods are comparable to each other.

[Nesster]

I will say something on behalf of the more expensive brands - spread out over 10 years or so, the price difference isn't that huge and you do get that tactile quality for the whole time. OTH the money comes from today.

I did a bit of looking about the ball head, which to me seems the weakest link... I found a couple of additions that based on the reviews at B&H would do an additional trick.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Ballhead.html

Where the reviewer says:
I bought the Slik Sprint Pro lightweight tripod (just under two pounds) for backpacking. With my Canon G7, an adapter and teleconverter, the stock ballhead was a little saggy. I decided to replace the stock ballhead with the Slik SBH-280 professional model. What a perfect match! I couldn't be happier with the combination! The total weight is only about 2 1/3 pounds and the SBH-280 has plenty of grip and stability for camera and extra lense. With degree markings on the rotating base, it makes my panoramas more accurate. This setup is ideal for backpacking, and should do well for DSLR's as well, although with a heavy telephoto, you might also need a centering support plate. Another bonus: the new ballhead added an inch or two to the maximum tripod height. It was a snap to change the ballheads: just screw off the old one and on with the new, no adapters necessary. The SBH-280 is a universal fit with any 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch threaded tripod column, so it should work well with any quality light or ultralight tripod. See you in the high country.

Of course, now you're talking an added $100!

Good luck with the Sprint Pro, it really isn't all that bad a tripod

[Entropy]

That's the good thing about the Sprint - you can get significantly upgraded weight handling by replacing the head.

I remember reading a reccommendation once for a replacement head that didn't penalize you much in size/weight but had vastly improved weight handling, I can't remember what it is though. The RRS BH-25 was one of them, but there was also a significantly cheaper reccommendation I saw (one of the Giottos hollow ball models maybe???)