The Peak Design carbon fiber model is the tripod I use most often with my Fujifilm, MFT and mobile cameras. It mostly works as advertised. Very compact — can be packed inside my 15 L ruck when necessary. The tripod fits fits into external bottle pockets. Very fast to deploy and adjust. Extremely “dead” and stable for its size. I like Peak’s take on a ball head in use (for stills.) If I don’t mind sacrificing a bit of compact and light I can also install my Manfrotto pistol grip ballhead. (It weighs more than the legs.)
Biggest downside: When using the standard head, I use a long Arca plate to adjust the balance point of my X-S10 and the (extended) 70-300. Basically an improvised lens foot. This is only necessary for locking the position of this combination to focus on a precise point — for example, on a nest. You can get the tripod to lock in place without, but you have to “aim high” and predict the drop. It’s not necessary if you’re using the tripod to support panning or tracking.
Fujifilm X-S10 |FUJINON XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM w/ DIY “lens foot”. The lens isn’t extended here. The tripod would hold position even without the “foot”. As you zoom in, the field-of-view will begin to drop unless you move the mounting axis forward.
An alternative is to use the (optional) adaptor to attach a burlier tripod head like that I mention above. I can mount my gimbal head to the PD legs too. That’s overkill for the 70-300 though and if I’m carrying the gimbal (and the Canon 500 FD) I generally just use full-sized Manfrotto legs.
Canon FD 500 4.5L, Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX85, and Neewer gimbal on the carbon fiber Peak Design Travel Tripod legs. This loads the legs to the edge of their capacity — particularly on this uneven ground. If you look carefully you’ll notice a slight bow in the rearmost tripod leg.
Other quibbles: In practice, you’ll want to use an L-bracket for portrait orientation. Having to swap between rubber feet and spikes is annoying. The onboard phone mount isn’t my favorite to use, but it is always available and does work. You may wish for more height at times, but then you will be glad it’s not there when it’s time to pack this away. This is a full featured travel tripod. Compact is a virtue.
Disclosure: I was a member of PD’s “pro” program at the time of purchase and I did receive a significant discount. This made the cost easier to swallow. Having used the product since the very early days of its release I find value in it and, should it be lost or damaged, I would be very likely to replace it, even at full price.
