Giottos VGRN 8254-s Carbon Fibre Tripod -- Open Box and Hands-on Review

[fengwei]

Here at clubsnap there are a lot talks and discussions among snappers about cameras and lenses, but there seems to be little regard or attention put into tripods. Some of my buddy friends have been long time DSLR users, but they still haven’t even got a tripod yet. I found it’s kinda odd. As a macro and landscape photographer, I know how important a good tripod is.

I’ve tried and bought quite a few tripods, from cheapy Slik SPRINT Pro to expensive Gitzo carbon fibre ones. From my experience a good tripod is one of the best investments in photo gear. Now I have a Gitzo 1541 which is a very good quality tripod, but I feel it is a bit too big to carry out sometimes. So I shopped around to find another smaller one for travel and easy walkabout.

I didn’t know that the tripod market has boomed so much in the past a few years. There are so many tripod brands and models in many shops, and many of them I’ve never even heard of. Almost bought a Benro carbon fibre tripod, but feel they are not as well made as I want, and its g-lock release system isn’t very smooth. Since I already have a good tripod, I’m not in a rush to get another one.

Well, things changed after I saw and tried the new Giottos VGRN carbon fibre tripods. Last weekend when I walked around Funan, I saw a few shops (SLR Revolution, Alan Photo and etc.) selling Giottos tripods. The last time I saw Giottos tripods was in Cathay Photo, and that’s long time ago. They seldom showed up before, but now they are like everywhere. After playing a few of those, I settled on this new baby:

It’s a Giottos VGRN 8254-s carbon fibre Professional Tripod. It features a reverse structure designed according to the Golden Ration shown in Da Vinci’s famous picture of the Vitruvian Man:

The legs can fold through 180 degrees and surround the tripod centre column and head - this makes the kits more compact and easier to carry around. The whole thing is only around 41cm long. Pretty nice, isn’t it?

Better yet, a nice matching tripod bag came with the purchase at no additional charge:

 

[fengwei]

Comparing to some other similarly priced tripods, the Giottos are very well made, surface finishing is very sleek and nice, handling is very smooth. Looks like a very high quality product. The main tripod castings are made from a forged aluminum alloy for strength and the quick action twist leg locks require only 1/8 turn to lock and unlock.

Most carbon fibre tripods on the market are made of up to 6 layers carbon fibre, Giottos generously put 7 layers of carbon fibre in this baby:

The tripod comes with nice matching ballheads MH 5310 with quick release and plate set MH 630 which seem to be very well made as well.

Sometimes I like to stitch some photos together to make a nice panorama photo. It is essential to have the tripod perfectly level to achieve this. It's good to see not one or two but three spirit levels located on the quick release set:

 

[fengwei]

Another nice feature that I've never had on any previous tripod is the foam padded leg grips. It's nice to see this built into the tripod instead of a retro fit. I had to buy pipe insulation to fit to my much more expensive Gitzo tripod legs, but the Giottos’ are more practical and look a lot better. They really keep your hands from freezing to the legs on those cold winter mornings (not a big deal here in Singapore, but we all like to travel around, don’t we?). And it feels so much better to hold on the padded foam instead of the slippery legs. Even my $700 plus Gitzo doesn’t have that:

Of course the most important thing for a tripod is its load capacity. Well, this little tripod is probably good enough for most users. It has a maximum operating height of 1.54m and weight capacity of up to 4kg, but the tripod with ballhead weigh just barely 1.23kg! It takes my most heavy set up without any problem:

When I look for tripods, other important factors are sturdiness and ease of use. This new tripod takes up to 4kg in weight, which is more than enough for my DSLR or film camera. This lightweight tripod does not sacrifice sturdiness though. It is very solid, and there is also a handy pull out hook on the bottom of the centre column to hang your bag to add extra stability in a windy day or just to keep your bag out of muddy or wet ground:

The VGRN 8254-s is not just a tripod, simply unscrew one of the tripod legs, remove the centre column and head, then join them together. Hhere you go, you got a very nice carbon fibre monopod:

 

[fengwei]

It took me a while to find out that the VGRN 8254-s tripod also features a hidden spike under each leg, which I hope my Gizto had sometimes:

I haven’t had the tripod long, haven’t got chance to put it in field test yet. But I’m sure I’d have a lot fun with this patent-packed new toy:

 

[fengwei]

Never did any tripod review. This is my very first try. Hope you guys enjoy the reading. Meantime do go to some shops and try out these new offers from Giottos. I’m sure you’d love them

 

[stuck]

Nicely written review with many useful shots of the actual product. The design & build looks very similar to the very popular Sirui T-series tripods, which also come with the free tripod bag & padded legs, except the T-series is not carbon fibre & doesn't have the built-in monopod! ;p

 

[symmetrix]

When I look for tripods, other important factors are sturdiness and ease of use. This new tripod takes up to 4kg in weight, which is more than enough for my DSLR or film camera. This lightweight tripod does not sacrifice sturdiness though. It is very solid, and there is also a handy pull out hook on the bottom of the centre column to hang your bag to add extra stability in a windy day or just to keep your bag out of muddy or wet ground:

I found it amusing that you touted that you can hang your bag at the centre column for stability, but used a small plush toy in your illustration. Very cute. Maybe I should try that when I go out sometime. :bsmilie:

The 3 built-in spirit levels are awesome! How much did it cost? Looking forward to your evaluation how it compares to other tripods you have tried.

 

[watchthewaves]

I was looking for a tripod with bubble levels for those panorama stitch shots. Looking at this tripod, the bubble levels are on the platform above the ball.

I would've thought that another bubble level is needed BELOW the panning mechanism - to ensure that the tripodbody itself is level.

If not, think of this situation. The tripod body is not level, so the whole head is actually slanted (and so is the panning mechanism). You level the platform with the bubble levels. However, when you start panning the head, you will not get a completely horizontal pan - because panning mechanism is not horizontal.

How do you deal with this? Is the only solution to get a tripod with bubble level on the body of the tripod?

 

[daredevil123]

Nicely written review with many useful shots of the actual product. The design & build looks very similar to the very popular Sirui T-series tripods, which also come with the free tripod bag & padded legs, except the T-series is not carbon fibre & doesn't have the built-in monopod! ;p

The sirui T series comes in carbon fibre also. And the series with the monopod feature is known as the N series which also comes in carbon fibre flavor.

 

[daredevil123]

I was looking for a tripod with bubble levels for those panorama stitch shots. Looking at this tripod, the bubble levels are on the platform above the ball.

I would've thought that another bubble level is needed BELOW the panning mechanism - to ensure that the tripodbody itself is level.

If not, think of this situation. The tripod body is not level, so the whole head is actually slanted (and so is the panning mechanism). You level the platform with the bubble levels. However, when you start panning the head, you will not get a completely horizontal pan - because panning mechanism is not horizontal.

How do you deal with this? Is the only solution to get a tripod with bubble level on the body of the tripod?

Few ways to handle this:

1. Get a pano clamp with a dovetail and clamp it on the clamp. So you only need to make sure the clamp is level.

2. Get the same pano clamp Without the dovetail and replace your tripod clamp with the pano clamp.

3. Get a base plate with a bubble level. It is placed below the base of the ball head.

1 and 2 are actually better solutions for pano because you do not have to level the tripod, then the level the clamp. All you need to do is to adjust the tilt of the clamp to make sure it is level. A lot quicker. Benro offers 2 models of pano clamps the PC-0 and PC-1, both you can get from distributor of benro called benphoto at peninsular shopping complex.

Pano clamp (benro PC-0)

 

[Daoyin]

Informative write-up. More competition, the merry (for the consumer).

 

[fengwei]

I found it amusing that you touted that you can hang your bag at the centre column for stability, but used a small plush toy in your illustration. Very cute. Maybe I should try that when I go out sometime. :bsmilie:

The 3 built-in spirit levels are awesome! How much did it cost? Looking forward to your evaluation how it compares to other tripods you have tried.

It cost less than $400, definitely value for money

 

[jason1980]

looks good. definitely one to consider when looking for my tripod.

 

[spike386]

Saw this tripod earlier at Alan Photo but decided to pass on it. Was disappointed that the extendable centre column is not in carbon fibre but in aluminium. If it was in CF, I guess the total tripod weight could have shed 100-150grammes perhaps?

It also made the monopod heavy on its own as the centre column needs to be attached to the top of the carbon fibre leg.

Perhaps Version 1.2 will be sporting the carbon fibre centre column?

 

[pktan]

Any update on the review after using it? thanks

 

[duskman]

The sirui T series comes in carbon fibre also. And the series with the monopod feature is known as the N series which also comes in carbon fibre flavor.

Seems like there's a ton of tripods which copied the Gitzo traveller series, just to name afew, fotopro, sirui, benro, giottos, feisol. All of them have a model which looks almost identical with features such as legs being able to fold over themselves and a monopod feature. So in a showdown like this, which do you guys think have the best attempt at thier own take of such tripods?

 

[Panaromic]

Seems like there's a ton of tripods which copied the Gitzo traveller series, just to name afew, fotopro, sirui, benro, giottos, feisol. All of them have a model which looks almost identical with features such as legs being able to fold over themselves and a monopod feature. So in a showdown like this, which do you guys think have the best attempt at thier own take of such tripods?

I think Sirui has the best value for money. In short Sirui is cheap.
Heard Shriro began distributing Fotopro this year. Anyone can confirm??

 

[Kit]

I was looking for a tripod with bubble levels for those panorama stitch shots. Looking at this tripod, the bubble levels are on the platform above the ball.

I would've thought that another bubble level is needed BELOW the panning mechanism - to ensure that the tripodbody itself is level.

If not, think of this situation. The tripod body is not level, so the whole head is actually slanted (and so is the panning mechanism). You level the platform with the bubble levels. However, when you start panning the head, you will not get a completely horizontal pan - because panning mechanism is not horizontal.

How do you deal with this? Is the only solution to get a tripod with bubble level on the body of the tripod?

Yes, levelling should be done below the panning mechanism but not necessarily have to level the tripod.