Tripod - Benro M227n6 review

[david.tan]

greeting, 1st of all, i would like to appologies on my kindergarten english ... hope u all understand

Tripod, as we all know that it is a VERY important equipment and a must have in photography, say no more but would like to share on how to choose a good tripod for your ownself ?

heres a few tips, hope they help
1. Budget
spend it wisely, budget to everyone are different, some would like to spend more on it but some may not, before getting a tripod, u need to know how much would u like to invest on it ? (for sure the more u invest the better u get)

RM 50 to Rm200 - u will get those sakure type of brand, its good for beginner or Point and Shoot user.

RM 200 to RM 1000 - u get a very good tripod, normally it can fit for 135mm, 120mm format or even large format, but there are limitation like
* the taller u got, the heavier it is
* the lighter u got, the limited heigh it is
two facts that always make people confuse on what they should get, usually in Malaysia most people will go for manfrotto coz as seens it sell it most of place, 190 and 055 series comes to most comment people to choose. good enoff for out door or even studio use

Rm 1000 above - u get the best tripod ever, with multifunction or super light weight (carbon fiber / basalt) comparing to middle range price of tripod. Gitzo, was the brand named as the world best and most expensive tripod in the world, it could cost more than RM3k for a single tripod! Need no say, got budget, go for it !


2. Height and Weight

Second comment thing that need to be concern, height to fit how tall u are and weight to fit for travel and bring around.

Height - we MUST 1st look at the max height of a tripod (without center collum), why do we need to consider this ? normally a tripod set at the maximun height without center collum, is the most steady status that a tripod can perform.

best to choose tripod(max height without center collum) about 15cm to 25cm shorter than you height, example like if u are 175cm tall, the best tripod for your choice is 155cm and above. so while u equiped with a tripod head (usually around 10cm), so total would be around 165cm, which MUST be lower than ur mouth or chin. so while u attract ur camera, its would be just nice to fit at ur eye level.

Weight - it depends on how heavy can u handle, basically for a normal tripod + head, a tripod will weight at approx 2kg. The lighter the tripod usually are shorter, in other way around a heavier tripod the taller it is.

so what is the solution of getting a tripod with lighter weight but tall tripod? THAT would depend on what type of material tripod been used. the lower range usually are aluminium or magnesium(cheaper), while higher range of material suchs as basalt or carbon fiber(expensive).

Ok, i guess thats the most brief of tips on getting a tripod... but there are still many thing to consider like locking system, other feature and so on.... i tell no more here but now i would like to share my newly bought benro tripod

__________________________________________________ _____

Benro, i guess not many people are familar with that brand, or maybe most of people think that they are copy cat of Gitzo that makes loss of confident on it...

without any furture explanation on benro, heres some review i would like to highlights on benro tripod

i got myself model M-227n6 (n6 = gitzo 6x carbon layer techno, sounds cool huh)

the spec is here :

Leg section = 3-sec
max Height = 161cm
normal height = 140cm
Min height = 31cm
folded height = 65cm
Weight = 1.68kg
Max load = 8kg

The first look !

carbon fiber tripod


With this material, the tripod itself has made a lot lighter than normal material, this is the most interesting part that i concern coz its good for travel light.

the base


It comes with a spiril level and the most interesting stuff here is the compass(well, i'm not too concern on it, coz its not much useful but just a "toy" for me... )

90 degree


It can bend from 0 degree to 90 degree to achieve the lowest height of a tripod.

Wing nut


wing nut type of center collum lock, its completely easy to lock or releast by just turning a around or two.

hook !


hang ur bag or make weight to stable up ur tripod, its a good feature while u using a tripod on a unstable ground

leg
normal

spike


The mainly usage is stable the tripod on different type of ground, usually we use normal but spike is more like using on soft ground

Rubble grip pipe twist locking system


easy to use while lock/releast the tripod pipe to adjust the height of the tripod

Cont....

[david.tan]

PS: it took me the fastest time to set up a completely open which about 17sec(current record), while manfrotto took me for less than 10 sec !


How to open up the tripod (with the fastest way)


if u 1st owning this tripod, u may have to learn on how the twist locking syste work, for some people might be hard but for some people may found out easy (depend on u..) but for me, its a bloody SLOW way of open up a tripod compare with my own Manfrotto 055 PROB !

Step 1 : for a fast fully open tripod, i use a single hand to twist both of the lock, just a few turn to lose the pipe

Step 2 : fully pull it out, NOW, this is something interesting, while pulling out the pipe, u can hear a sounds "psstt.. " as can hear the air inside the pipe are tighly seal by the locking system, this is another good advantage of it which the water hardly get into the pipe

Step 3 : lock it back tightly with twist in different way, complete the same step with other legs too, done !

but one thing .... that manfrotto locking system may not as tight as benro did, if u push ur weight on manfrotto, the locked pipe may (go inside) while benro are so much steady if u twist it tightly ( ya, i know manfrotto can use the nut to lock it tighter... but when it comes to releast and lock again, u may find it hard to lock *for those manfrotto user may understand* ) LOL

Interesting bag !
My purchase comes with a bag, i love the bag coz the design is nicely fit to the tripod and there are SPONGE around the bag to protect agains the tripod from knock!

this is cute...

u can open up and write ur own name in that pis of card, and now the tripod belong to u ! (just for fun....)

Inner bag, pocket

its a place for u to put any thing there, but "default" it use to put those as show below..



BUT THE BAG AINT GOOD ENOFF !!

as u can see the bag are in limited tall, i use manfrotto 488RC2 and its just nicely fit into the bag, no more SPACE ! the bad thing is if u using a bigger head or longer, u MAY not fit it anymore into this cute bag.... poor bag


TESTING

well, i'm not a professional tester nor very experience in tripod field, so far i had learn on those benro advertisment which a man hang on the tripod....

1stly, i'm quite afraid of doing so, but with benro motto "100% professional, 100% guarantee" so i just give em a shoot ! wow ! i can hang myself on the tripod, and look, the locking system on those pipe doesnt affected by my weight (how heavy i am ? 6xkg something i guess... )

2nd, i try it with my most heaviest (well, i dun have powerful tools to try out) with my F3+MD + 300mm lens, it works fine while the center collum is down. I try to shake on it, the vibration are not as bad as i tog because in different groud may affect the vibration of a tripod too. mine here tried with marble floor.

3rd, center collum push up, SUPRISINGLY !it works better than my older 055proB, lesser shake and vibrate, one of the reason maybe coz of the center collum is not so tall. i found it great too

4, the leg, omg... i hate the leg ! see above for the tripod leg, it can change from normal type into spike type, i know some of people love it but for me... useless + troublesome! most of time i would standing on hard ground, so normal rubble works better for me, or maybe i use to be it.... the thing is, sometimes it can turn back to spike type coz while u turn a lil bit, the spike thing will appear on the head, and while u using the tripod, it may not be steady coz its not "sticky" to certain ground

PS: Benro C series comes with better leg coz u can change it depend on wat u wanted to use, this is M series

5. twist pipe locking system, with this type of locking system, u have to beware that u tight them most of them, it may not lossen but if u not tight it well, it may loss the pipe contact and drag down ur camera(heavy cam). second is i found it slower to open up the whole leg compare with manfrotto quick action lock system. As for gitzo... i myself personal never try on it before, but i DO believe gitzo can do better than benro (u paying 2x of benro price for gitzo, for sure u get the better quality)


PRO AND CON

PRO :
-Cheap and reasonable price for a tall and light weight tripod
- 6 layer 1mm tick of carbon fiber! (origin from gitzo)
-steady in most of time ( recomm 4kg or below camera)
-nice protective bag
-better water resist for the leg pipe design, lesser water will goes into the tripod
- useful spirit level and "useless" compass

CON :
- Carbon fiber quality may not as good as gitzo, but not sure compare with same range tripod like (SLIK, Feisol, giottos and etc)
- slow to setup the whole tripod (need times to learn)
- Its still new into market, will this tripod last long ?
- the leg part !
- no strap ready for the tripod itself (only C series)
- short center collum ( good or bad ?)


Conclusion : i'm not here to do advertisment on benro, but as seens i seldom saw anyone do review on benro, and its very new into market which many people may not feel confident with it....the reason why i choose benro, because i wanted to give it a try, i do believe china people can make same equaly good product like other. With the cheap price i can get a good and light carbon fiber tripod compare with gitzo, the question is still, will this BENRO tripod last long ? I WILL keep u guys update it anything goes wrong !

NEWLY UPDATE :

- been bring it around to take some nite shoot around my college, so far so good on setting up, stable and hardly get shake photo (i try it on bulb, pressing shutter and hand holding on the camera for about 10 sec , and yes my hand shake a bit), the final result of the pix turns out perfect !

thanks for viewing

[masculine]

Thank you for the review... David...

[TakeHuat]

Thanks for your great effort to make this detail review, you have help me a lot! As I'm considering to buy a rigid tripod after getting my 1st DSLR in near future. And it sounds promising. Probably you can post another one in PM's Articles & Reviews column, so that more people will notice, b4 you do so, is best you ask Brian's advice first.

How much does your M227n6 cost? How about the C series cost? Order online? or local?

Many thanks!

[david.tan]

u r welcom masculine, hope u come to benro soon

hi autobot, i bought this at Rm795 without head, C series cost more coz slightly better than M. sorry to say i not gonna do promo here, u can try to seeks around in PM, someone selling ...

[david.tan]

today was my 4th day with my tripod, been bring it around to take some nite shoot around my coll, so far so good on setting up, stable and hardly get shake photo(i try it on bulb, hands holding on the camera for about 10 sec, and yes my hand shake a bit)

[jack006]

Well done, David!

Althrough you are in Malaysia and I never meet you in person, but really hope that one day can meet you up and have a coffee.

refer to link below for the purchase information.

http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/...ighlight=benro

[david.tan]

u r welcome jack, ya, hope to have a coffee to meet u all guys next time

cheers

[david.tan]

did some update on tripod setting up time comparison with manfrotto quick release leg

[infrared]

@Davidnikon

I've got a few questions for u.

1. How strong is the center column hook - idea seems good but looks flimsy to really be of use?

2. The package tripod/head - will it accept other brands heads? Does Benro follow any standards? I mean thread sizes etc. I have had problems with other mechanical equipment with US therads and UK threads. ie do they follow US threading or UK?

3. Can the legs be extended halfway or must a particular segment be fully extended? Can you lock leg segment halfway for those unusual low level shots?

4. The bag that came gratis, I suppose it can only hold the particular tripod model for which it was purchased with? Where do you keep the ballhead - no bag?

[david.tan]

Hi Infrared

1. i just try on it just now, with my computrekker and some camera + lens inside, which about 5kg heavy, it seems ok for me

2. yup, it accept any size of universal size which is 3/8" male, any ball head like manfrotto, benro, markins, arca swiss, kangrinpoche and etc..
(ermm.. do u mean the ball head comes together ? actuall the pix shows above is my old manfrotto 488RC2 ball head, the tripod i purchase only the leg itself without head)

3. yup! any, flexible

4. yes its free, and ya the bag comes with size that only fit nicely to the particular tripod u bought, the bigger tripod the bigger bag u got, so careful when u wan to keep ur tripod head in the bag, which is not a big size head.

they have total of 6 diff size bag

i keep my ballhead together with tripod in the bag


hope the answer helps

[infrared]

@DavidNikon
Are u attending any TT anytime soon. I like to touch that thingy and compare with my current tripod. Also have more questions before i get one unit.

1) I also checked the benro website - there is no M227-n6 listed - is it a discontinued model?
2) Besides the 6-layer vs 8-layer C & M series, what is the real "difference". I've checked there is no discernible weight difference - maybe strength? So why big difference in price between simlar models between C and M series?
3) Why did you buy M instead of C?
4) I noticed at the .cn website the pictures shows no logical relationships between center column lengths and the fully extended/folded lengths. Seems unusual.
5) Do you know the significance of the 1xx 2xx 3xx etc series numbering?

[david.tan]

Hi infrared,

unfortunally no, but the most recent i may join up Ah chow outing to my home town, usually i may not turn up in TT coz i'm located at nilai, too far...

1. oh, benro website provide some wrong info, its under M series, and actually they stated 257 instead of 227, all number of 5 on center should be 2, dono y till now they havent get change the model i'm using is the lastest version with n6

2. if i'm not mistaken it should be all 6 layers, haha.. their website lotsa type error i suppose... the main diff should be the C leg are changable, comes with tripod strap ready and a lil lighter than M series.
(correct me if i'm wrong with the 6 layer and 8 layer, coz i only see n6 behind all the tripod model name)

3. M are cheaper compare with C, about RM200-400(approx, i dun hav actual price for C) diff in same range of tripod, let say M227n6 = 1.7kg, C227n6 = 1.6kg, and i suppose the seller dun carry the C series i want, due to budget prob, i go for M227n6

4. hmm.. i would say, pix are usually use for illus only, like u buying a McD foldover, the pix shows 100% meat while the actual only have 20-30% of meat

at 1st be4 i bought this tripod... i was quite afraid of buying risk like spoil easy, not match to wat i wan and etc... after i bought it, and yes, i'm very happy with it compare with my older 055pro which is so much heavy (even tho is 700g diff, but it makes lotsa diff wen u carry it on ur shoulder most of time)

5. 0xx series is shortest and lightest, 1xx series is a medium tall and medium heavy, while 2xx is tallest and more heavier

the reason i choose 2xx because of the height(140cm + 10cm ball head), usually i dun like to shoot with center collum coz it may shake more compare with center collum off. its just nicely fit to my personal eye level's height

[khoking]

Benro follows Gitzo tripod range almost 100%.

Their naming and numbering are similar to Gitzo as well. So, if you want to know more about Benro, visit Gitzo website

The larger the number, the bigger/heavier/more load stands the tripod is

[david.tan]

gitzo is still the world no.1 tripod i would say, and yes benro copied gitzo in everysingle thing they have, but gitzo price is about 2x of benro for same type of tripod, for sure, gitzo quality are 100% guarantee and no question about it

got $, def go for gitzo

[Brian]

With the ballheads, does anyone know the diff between the KB, KS, and KJ series? Prices are different, but head weight/load ratios seem similar.

[david.tan]

personally i have no idea coz never own be4, and i guess there MIGHT be not much benro user around Msia ...

but hope this link will help u to answer
CLICK ME

[simedarby]

Whoever can comment on two different brand has to use it by themselves, experience it and then only can see the different.

Make in China may be cheaper because of lower labour cost. IF Gitzo is make in China, it may be cheaper as well. it wont be surprise to see benro become a famous brand because of its price. For the 2x or 3x money paid, will the result or output be different? If you compare a RM100 Sakura type of tripod to RM250 Manfrotto, of cause there are different in build material, handling, and most importantly stability and able to support heavier equipment which Sakure-type of tripod not able to do. What different can we see between Benro and Gitzo at the equivalent model, and is it quantifiable/justifiable for the 2x-3x price paid for Gitzo, or simply brand conscious?

[masculine]

Originally Posted by simedarby Whoever can comment on two different brand has to use it by themselves, experience it and then only can see the different. Make in China may be cheaper because of lower labour cost. IF Gitzo is make in China, it may be cheaper as well. it wont be surprise to see benro become a famous brand because of its price. For the 2x or 3x money paid, will the result or output be different? If you compare a RM100 Sakura type of tripod to RM250 Manfrotto, of cause there are different in build material, handling, and most importantly stability and able to support heavier equipment which Sakure-type of tripod not able to do. What different can we see between Benro and Gitzo at the equivalent model, and is it quantifiable/justifiable for the 2x-3x price paid for Gitzo, or simply brand conscious?

I believe a TT is in order... so that the the owner of gitzo and benro will have a chance show the facts about the 2 different brands.... then spread the poison....

[simedarby]

masculine, u on gitzo?