Benro Carbon Traveler Tripod C1192TB0 Review (EN)

BENRO Traveler Flat

C1192TB0

"Carbon traveler tripod with new structure"

Good morning. Camera accessory review seems to be almost the first time. The old tripod I used had a long life, so I decided to buy a carbon traveler tripod. Personally, I was using a combination of a Sony A7RII and FE24-70GM, and the following two factors were considered when purchasing a tripod from the standpoint of an amateur photographer who often takes a night view (long exposure).

1. Traveler tripod stronger than other lightweight traveler tripod

2. Weight less than 1.5kg

In the meantime, the flat tripod with a unique look, the Benro Traveler, came into view. In fact, it was a Chinese brand. At first, I had some prejudices, so I was worried when I chose it. However, I thought that I would not ignore it as a product made in China by using sirui etc. Benro have its own history and participated in Photokina 2016 as well. In addition, the people who actually use the Sony Forum in SLRclube was able to make a choice. Benro have several tripods, but I bought the C1192TB0 model with its light weight and high maximum height and leave a review for about a month.

Specifications

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The specifications of the product are summarized below. Although tripod legs are a little uncomfortable at the 5th step, it has a considerably high maximum height even without a center column. Personally, this is about as far as the center column is concerned, except in special situations.

The lowest height can be lowered by as much as 21cm because center column is basically not used. The length including the ball head is about 50cm. It weighs only 1.37kg and is quite lightweight. In fact, the actual weight is important, please refer to the picture below.

As you can see, we measured the weight using an electronic balance. When the C1192T tripod is equipped with a B0 ball head and the center column is not included, its weight is 1.383kg. This level of portability is satisfactory. It also weighs 1.57 kg when including a center column that extends in two steps. In the case of the B0 ball head, the actual weight of the ball head is 330g (including the plate), which is about 40g more than the official specification of Benro Korea. The weight of the tripod including the center column is 1.24kg when measured. This part seems to need modification on the homepage. The height without the center column is 1.4m or more, which is quite high.

Package

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Benro Flat Tripod In addition to this product, the components are as follows. A tripod body with a ball head, including a tripod bag, and a two-stage center column, spikes and tools that can be used for height extension. The configuration is simple and there is nothing particularly noticeable.

First look

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Let's look at some of the features of the C1192T tripod and the B0 ball head, together with photos and explanations from below.

The legs of the tripod are arranged flat without a central center column. The height is very low, up to 4.5cm. It makes portability maximized. There is a useful leveling point.

In the case of a tripod designed for the purpose of placing four columns in general, when a 4.1 cm diameter leg is arranged in a triangular shape, both height and width will exceed 10 cm. On the other hand, in the case of a flat tripod with three legs arranged in a straight line, the width increases by about 1 cm, but the height remains at 4.1cm. In terms of cross-sectional area, about 112cm^2 for a normal tripod, and about 50cm^2 for a flat tripod.

However, in the case of the Benro C1192TB0 tripod, the ball head is not made flat. The C1192T tripod only measures 4.5cm in height and is very slim, but the B0 ball head has a height of about 6 ~ 7cm, which shows that it can not help the tripod portability. The knobs and dovetail plate are also designed to fit on a tripod, which is likely to provide better portability.

B0 ball head is provided by default. Dovetail plate method, such as a leveling panorama index secondary ball head, and drag control function. In addition, each knob has a scale to indicate how tightly it is tightened, so it can be used conveniently in certain situations. It is solid with magnesium and the build quality of the ball head itself is also good. Matte, anodized ball heads also provide high consistent friction.

But as I pointed out above, the knob placement which is not suitable for a flat tripod is the most unsatisfactory part. In addition, the plate's safety locking mechanism is quite good, but the plate itself has two hex bolts underneath for that mechanism, which means that when you mount a small lens on the camera, the camera tilts to one side if you place the camera on a flat surface. This part will also be improved in the future.

The leg is a twist lock. Personally, there is no particular preference because there is one touch method or twist lock method and some pros and cons. Compared to the one-touch method, it can be a little uncomfortable, but it has the advantage of being fixed more firmly. It is a five-stage tripod, so it takes a little time to tighten or untighten. To meet the preferences of many people, it would be nice to have a one-touch version.

The spike is a screw type. It would be better if a spike rubber cover was provided to cope with everyday shooting even with a spike attached. In addition, hexagonal wrenches and spanners are also available.

As mentioned earlier, Benro use a carbon leg. 8X Carbon is composed of 8 layers of carbon layer legs. The material and build of the bridge have no flaws. Except for hand warmers and twist locks, it is made of magnesium material and provides very high level of completeness and reliability.

The first leg is separable and can be used as a monopod as above. You can also use the center column  between the first leg and the ball head. I think it will be highly useful for those who need monopods.

At first I was surprised to see that the assembly was very robust when I extend tripod legs. The joints and fixtures are made of precision-machined magnesium, so it is strong, but it moves smoothly with a certain level of force.

Use in the field

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Now that we've looked at the pictures and configuration of the product, let's look at how it works. I am sorry that I came up as a model instead of beautiful models. Anyway, I tried to extend the tripod as wide as possible to measure the height of the tripod.

On the left is a maximum height without a separate center column. I am a little over 170cm, but when I fix the camera on the ball head, it stands up to a height that is easy to stand. I feel it is higher than the spec. If you look at the right-hand side of the picture with the center column up to the height, you can see that it is 2-30 cm more than when there is no center column and it can be expanded to the height enough to shoot without any inconvenience.

The B0 ball head is small in size but supports about 2-3 kg without any concern. The specification is also up to 8kg. The combination of A7R II + FE24-70GM in the picture above is just about 1.5kg or more. In addition, there is a drag control knob on the ball head, depending on the weight of the equipment on top of it, so that even when the main knob is released, it can have a certain degree of friction.

There is baiscally no center column, but at the maximum height, it may be a little disappointing. However, when shooting at low angle, there is no center column, so you can easily lower the height by straightening tripod's legs. I think that if you raise that much, you'll be able to take everything you can take.

It is a three-step variant from the basic position to the low angle shooting. You can spread the legs more widely by adjusting the upper part of the bridge. In a state where the legs are stored, it looks good to spread the legs in two stages for a sense of stability.

Lightweight and portable tripod

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In fact, I used to use a tripod with a middle and low-priced brand, and I felt that it was definitely money that I felt while using the flat carbon tripod. There are many features, but with the flat canopy, the volume savings, the lightness of the carbon and, above all, the high reliability due to its solid build is what I felt when I used it. In addition, there is a strength in price and weight among middle trip type carbon tripods with Naver's lowest price of 320,000 won (about 300USD).

Of course, there are few products with merits. The tripod itself is not a big complaint, but the ball head and the plate will be better if it improves later. Especially, the shape of the ball head should be aligned with the straight canopies to match the flat canopy. Overall, I think I will use it well in situations where I need to fix the camera, such as the night view or long exposure that I enjoy with this tripod.

For those who are planning to buy later, I will conclude the use by summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of the information on the Benro Traveler Flat C1192TB0 tripod.

Pros :)

+ Obviously reduced volume due to flat canopy construction

+ Ball head with actual weight 1.38kg light weight

+ Height of 1.6m including ball head without center column

+ Good durability by adopting 8X carbon

+ Locking structure with dust-resist 

+ Convenient for low angle switching because there is no center column

+ Built-in spike and related tools

+ Sturdy and sturdy ball head

+ Additional function such as drag control knob of ball head

+ Affordable price in that class

Cons :(

- Ball head shape to dilute the advantages of a flat canopy

- The index of the ball head knob is not necessary.

- Attachment of center column for height expansion is rather troublesome

- Counter weight setting is not possible due to the characteristics of the flat tripod.

Samples

There are not many sample shots, but it seems to be not bad for your reference. Pictures taken with a tripod were taken with the Samsung NX500.