[bdery]

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I've had some time to experiment with the BA225 tripod from K&F concept (amazon link: amazon.com : K&F Concept 61?tag=pentaxforums-20&" Carbon Fiber Camera Tripod, BA225 Professional Lightweight Compact Tripod with 360 Degree Ball Head, Quick Release Plate, Detachable Monopod 8KG Load Capacity for SLR DSLR Camera : Camera & Photo and I got a 10% coupon : KFCUS006 ).

This being me, and liking to be thorough, here's a mini review of it:

The tripod ships in a nice case, solid and roomy enough that it's easy to get the tripod in, without being too large:



The tripod itself is a fairly typical travel tripod. The colorway is cool (my children love it!)



The legs flip up for storage and down for use, as is usual



One nice thing, not always seen with such tripods (looking at your Sirui T-025x!) is that the center column can go down, to minimize vibrations



It can extend in two sections although I wouldn't advise to use that, again because of vibrations



The tripod head is again fairly typical, rather small since this is meant for travel, but with a panning base and an easy to adjust friction control



The base plate is larger than what I'm used to for such tripods, which helps somewhat with stability. It has position markings (in addition to the ubiquitous buddle level) so you can do some fine adjustments with the plate:



Something not found on every travel tripod (but not uncommon either) is a detachable leg which, coupled with the center column, can turn the apparatus into a monopod



The legs are nicely made of carbon fiber, and are truly lightweight. The last leg is somewhat small (not unexpected), so for very long exposures it might be better not to use it. For group photos or any situation where the exposure remains reasonably fast, it will do well



There are three positions for the legs on the spider. You have to lift the lock, adjust, then push it down. I would have preferred it to be siring-loaded but that's not a biggy. The spider has an accessory threaded hole to mount an extra accessory, something normally seen on much more expensive tripods.



There is of course a hook at the bottom of the center column



Now, the big question : how does it perform?

Keeping in mind that this is a $130 tripod (minus 10%), admirably well.

I regularly use a Peak Design Carbon Fiber tripod. It costs 5 times as much and even though I love it, I can't in all honestly say that it performs 5 times better.

The K&F Concept tripod is light, relatively compact, easy and straightforward to set up, nicely featured and works. From my time with it so far, it has proven stable, but I try to use my equipment within the range of what I expect it to do. I don't expect an inexpensive travel tripod to perform well for multi-minutes exposures, so I didn't try that. I expect it to hold my camera steady in normal use, and it did.

The legs lock via rotation knobs (twist knobs). These work well. The movement of the legs isn't as perfectly fluid as I'd wish, there is the tiniest bit of friction. That's where the price cutting shows, but it's no big deal. The center column does not rotate when lifting it, there is a padded leg (the one turning into a monopod), the camera plate is wide and grippy, all these things are clear positives. It is of course Arca-Swiss compatible.

One thing I might change is that the top plate is a bit large, preventing the full closing of the legs except if it's perfectly positioned. Also, the legs are quite far away from the center column, resulting in empty space. Not a problem for many, but since using the Peak Design tripod I'm sensitive to that. It should be possible to make the whole tripod more compact.

Again, for a $130 tripod, I have no true complaints. You often get what you pay for, this is true with tripods, but there is also a matter of diminishing returns. The BA225 works well and is reliable. It does not disappoint me.

[ramseybuckeye]

Thanks for reviewing, sounds awfully good for the price, if I were in the market I would surely consider the product.

[stevebrot]

Again, for a $130 tripod, I have no true complaints. You often get what you pay for, this is true with tripods, but there is also a matter of diminishing returns. The BA225 works well and is reliable. It does not disappoint me.

Thanks for the review. One quick question, is the head or the QR replaceable with something that might allow full leg reversal?


Steve

[Kevin B123]

Thanks for the review.
A question comes to mind, what height do you get with the center column down and without extended the very small diameter end leg extension?

[clickclick]

Thanks for the review. My daughter needs a tripod and has a birthday coming up, and this might just fit the bill.

[i_trax]

Right now in Australia we have 12% off

Extra 12% off - EXTRA 12% OFF - eBay great-sage8

[DWS1]

Good review.

[bdery]

One quick question, is the head or the QR replaceable with something that might allow full leg reversal?

Yes you can remove the head. A head with a narrow base plate (maybe a Sirui C10x?) would probably allow the legs to get closer. It's not a problem when using the case, but if you want the thinnest profile, every mm counts.

A question comes to mind, what height do you get with the center column down and without extended the very small diameter end leg extension?

It's spec'ed at 17.7 Inches, but you can also reverse the center column to get basically to zero.

Good review.

Thanks for reviewing,

A pleasure!

[i_trax]

This tripod looks very similar to my Carbon ZOMEi.
Are they all made in the same factory?
Chinese Carbon tripods are getting better and better - very good value for money.

[Viking42]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with this.

What is your sense of the max load this tripod could take in real world use? The most I would likely put on it is a K5ii with a DA 50-135, or maybe a K1 in future (if I ever upgrade). No super long exposures here - just a few seconds occasionally for moving water, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Best,
Svend

Edit: another question....would replacing the head with a sturdier ball head make it steadier? I have a rather solid Sirui that I could use.

[bdery]

What is your sense of the max load this tripod could take in real world use? The most I would likely put on it is a K5ii with a DA 50-135, or maybe a K1 in future (if I ever upgrade). No super long exposures here - just a few seconds occasionally for moving water, etc.

I've used it with a K-1 and a 28-105. That gives you an idea. Again it depends on the situation, the smaller leg sections are small and flimsier as I said above. It really depends on the conditions.

Edit: another question....would replacing the head with a sturdier ball head make it steadier? I have a rather solid Sirui that I could use.

I did not look at the sag, that's certainly one area where a better head can come in handy. The legs are where most of the vibrations come from on a tripod.

[Viking42]

I've used it with a K-1 and a 28-105. That gives you an idea. Again it depends on the situation, the smaller leg sections are small and flimsier as I said above. It really depends on the conditions.



I did not look at the sag, that's certainly one area where a better head can come in handy. The legs are where most of the vibrations come from on a tripod.

That's very helpful feedback - thanks again. I'll compare this one to the small Sirui and Vanguard, and pull the trigger sometime soon. I'm getting tired of schlepping my old Manfrotto 190 on long mountain hikes....although the extra weight is making me fitter

[bdery]

That's very helpful feedback - thanks again. I'll compare this one to the small Sirui and Vanguard, and pull the trigger sometime soon. I'm getting tired of schlepping my old Manfrotto 190 on long mountain hikes....although the extra weight is making me fitter

If you're referring to the Sirui T-025x (or its replacement) and the Vanguard Veo 3 Go 235, then I would say that the comment I made about Peak Design applies here also. There are some details done better on the more expensive tripods (fluidity of the movement of the legs comes to mind) but it's hard to claim that they are 2x better. The Sirui T-025x lacks the monopod option, for instance, and the C10x head does sag a bit (I use my T-025X with a bigger K10x head because of that). The Vanguard does come with some exciting bonuses (phone mount, remote) but it's also more expensive. I would say that both the Sirui and the Vanguard are manufactured better, but not 2x better. The decision is yours.

[Viking42]

I was browsing around online for a Sirui, but no luck finding one. You mentioned it's been replaced - do you happen to know the new model number?

[AgentL]

This might be a decent option for me... I need a small and light tripod for those rare occasions where I actually use one, my existing, older aluminum model is pretty large and I'm very unlikely to remember to pack it.