In one project in Asia hundreds Repro photos were finally needed and I did not want EUR 800 to fade for a Carbon Gitzo, the damaged road, is stolen from the luggage or collected by the German customs. So I ordered an exceptionally favorable Befree via Amazon locally in Japan:
The stand is really unheard of compact, very easy for an aluminum tripod, meticulously crafted, and quite chic. The equipment with dual variable leg stop and reversible center column is good. All terminals operate precisely, safely and evenly; an Allen for adjustment is. The small ball head holds a 6D with 24-70mm 2.8 L and compact flash (about 2 kg) and at 90 ° inclination safely. During transport will the upright Neiger space between the legs together in an attached Schnellwechselplatte it projects, swiveled to the side, between your legs out and then only marginally more space. The head is not capable panorama (swiveling separately). A sturdy rubber boot allows free carrying the tripod without frostbitten fingers. The packing and unpacking of the thinly padded carrying case is done quickly and almost without looking.
As the thing is now? I would say: used at only three leg segments and 93 cm height is it in direct comparison felt so flawlessly as Manfrotto large 055XPROB full leg length. In four segments and 121 cm height it is slightly soft but still useful. Indoor or with little wind, the center pillar (usually off-limits) with a little care and possible mirror lock-usable. Only on slippery floors the lower stiffness of the legs and their greater spread angle is clearly noticeable. The minimum height with upright camera is actually 35 cm.
I had a lot of fun with the Befree: done fast few hundred vertical reproductions. Indoor Stillifes sharply with the 135mm L. Landscape clean with 24-70mm L. Sensoji Temple, Tokyo, in the dead of night also sharply (the last three examples at maximum height and wind). A cursory comparison in camera Megastore in Akihabara also revealed that the thing clearly stands solid as countless cheaper compact tripods from Manfrotto and others. As a special benefit in practice I experienced the remarkable handling of the stand:. At only 40 cm length Pack incl head the Befree is a fair bit shorter than most tripods Carbon travel. So you can carry it yourself lounging on a relaxing evening stroll in the pretty bag, and it beats then loose a professional tripod, lying around in the hotel.
My verdict: The Befree can under reasonably favorable conditions with up to moderate cameras in most cases replace a thick reportage tripod and then rewarded with a particularly high mobility and acceptable price. However, if you want to use with focal lengths of 200 mm or cameras over 2 kg at shoulder level, if acrobatic macros are your thing with extreme working positions or panoramas, if you are over 1,90m tall, if you can not miss a single shot even under poor conditions, or if you just work on a regular basis then you probably want a bigger one, or even better with a tripod. If your equipment is insured, you might take a Gitzo 1542T, affordable carbon and travel tripods's z. B. by Benro and Sirui.
In all other cases the Befree is a clean and very pleasant thing. Less clean Manfrotto is at least 5% embellished weight on my kitchen scale weighs the tripod without camera plate 1475g.
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