Today on the Slanted Lens, we’re going to review the new tripod by Vanguard. It’s a 265CB VEO tripod. It’s a travel tripod and it’s a really great product. So let’s take a look at some of the features.
The height is 15.38 inches when it’s folded up. That makes this a really easy tripod to travel with in a suitcase and also to put in your backpack when you’re walking around downtown.
This tripod is the perfect companion. It’s just over 3 pounds. So weight wise it’s really lightweight. It’s made of carbon fiber. They also make an aluminum version which is a little heavier. But the carbon fiber version is fabulous.
It telescopes out in four sections. That’s the way they’ve made this compact enough that they can get it in a small package of just under 16 inches and then up to a height of almost 59 inches. Which is a great height that is almost eye level for me. The tripod will handle about 17.5 pounds. Which is really enough for a Mark III with a 70-200 mm lens or a Mark III with a Tamron 15-30. Julene loves it because it is so lightweight and I love it because it is so compact. I also love that the center post flips up and then when you’re done there is a button and it slides right back.
The tripod also has a great low angle feature. You put your camera on upside down and you can shoot right on the ground. Or you can bring it up a little bit off the ground. But it gives you some great low angle options.
Is it expensive? Carbon fiber is definitely priced accordingly. You’re going to pay for carbon fiber. You could go with aluminum which a little heavier but not quite as pricey. But for me, carbon fiber wins out every time.
The tripod comes in a great little pouch that fits right in your suitcase. There is also a companion piece. It’s a VEO backpack. The tripod just slides into the pouch on the side and you have a strap that goes around it to hold it in place then you’re good to go. We’ll talk about the backpack more at a later time. There’s also a messenger bag that is part of the same series where the tripod slides into the bottom and the camera rests in the top. It’s a great series by Vanguard. The VEO series. You’ve got the tripod, tripod backpack, and tripod messenger bag.
The downside for me, perhaps, is that it’s carbon fiber and a little expensive. But for me, compare that to buying a tripod everywhere you go. It’s a much better deal.
This tripod does a lot of things. It’s a great travel tripod, it’s light enough, it’s tall enough, and it’s really made to be in your suitcase so you can take it with you. I think all around they’ve hit the mark on everything they need to with this travel companion. It fits that niche in the market that has not really been there. So check it out. Keep those cameras rollin’ and keep on clickin’
Video Transcription
Today, on The Slanted Lens, we’re going to review the new tripod by Vanguard. It’s a 265CB VEO tripod; it’s a travel tripod; it’s really a great product. So, let’s take a look at some of the features.
So, the height is 15 and 3/8 inches when it’s folded up. That makes this a really easy tripod to travel with in your suitcase, and also be able to put in your backpack when you’re walking around downtown, like you’re down in New York, or out in L.A. and you want some easy tripod to have with you.
I cannot tell you—and I’m absolutely serious-the number of tripods I have bought in my life when I’m on vacation. I forget to bring a tripod; I buy a cheap tripod at a store. This is the perfect companion.
It’s three plus pounds. Not three and a half pounds, but just over three pounds, so weight-wise it’s really lightweight, it’s covered in fiber. They also make an aluminum version of this, which is a little heavier, but the carbon fiber version is fabulous.
It telescopes out in four sections. That’s the way they made this compact enough to be able to get that into a small package; get it under 16 inches, so 15 plus inches, to almost 59 inches, which gives you a great height. It’s eye-level for me.
It’ll handle 17 and a half, even a little more, pounds which is really plenty to be able to handle a Mark 3 with a 7,200 millimeter lens, or a Mark 3 with like the Tamron 15 to 30. It’ll handle that platform, that camera. It handles it very well. It’s a solid platform.
Julene loves it because the weight is so light, and she’s not trying to haul around a heavy tripod, so she really loves it. I love it because it’s so compact I can get it in a suitcase, or into a backpack. Probably even more so into a backpack, because there are a lot of tripods I can get into my suitcase, but then if I go to haul them around town in a backpack, it’s just too much.
This gives me a package that’s very small. I love the fact that it does this: you put this here, and the center post flips up to give you the height for the center post. Then, when you’re done, a little button here and that slides back underneath and makes it compact once again.
It also has a great low angle feature. If you set this thing up like this, you can pull the column up, flip your camera upside down, and you can shoot right on the deck. You, literally, can get your camera lens right on the deck, or you can bring it up to get it a little bit off, but it gives you a great low angle option which is really nice, actually. It gets your camera right in between the legs there and that’s really a nice feature.
Is it expensive? Carbon fiber is definitely priced accordingly. You’re going to pay for carbon fiber, but you always do. You can go with the aluminum, which is a little heavier, but it’s not quite as pricey. But for me, carbon fiber wins out every time. I’ll spend the money to have the carbon fiber. So, fabulous tripod.
It comes in this great little pouch; throw it in your suitcase. There’s also a companion piece. It’s a VEO backpack. Tripod just slides into the pouch on the side, it’s got a strap that goes around it to hold it into place, and you’re good to go. We’ll talk a little bit more about the backpack in the future.
They also have a messenger bag that goes with the same tripod. It’s in the same VEO series. It slides into the bottom of the messenger bag, and then your camera equipment goes in the top. That’s a pretty nice setup.
This looks more like backpack, but that’s what it is. It’s a backpack. So there you have it. Great series by Vanguard. The VEO series, you got the tripod; tripiod you can do the backpack; tripod with the messenger bag, or just the tripod.
So the downside for me, perhaps, is that it’s carbon fiber and a little expensive, but for me, compare that to buying a tripod everywhere you go, it’s a much better deal. Because I’d fly in on the airplane, didn’t want to take the extra weight with the big tripod, so I’d buy a tripod there, and when I left I’d leave it with somebody. Well, with this I can afford the three pounds. I’d take it and fly back so I don’t have to buy a tripod everywhere I go. I just take this one. So I think the price justifies the usage and the application.
It does a lot of things. It’s a great travel tripod, it’s light enough, it’s tall enough, and it’s really made to be in your suitcase to take it with you. So I think all the way around they’ve hit everything they need to to make this travel companion kind of fit that niche in the market that has not been there for very many companies, and that’s a tripod that you can really take with you when you’re on the go and you’re flying with it. And that’s really what this is all about. So check it out VEO by Vanguard.