AM-254

I needed a smaller, lighter tripod for ease of movement, handling and taking on trips. The Manfrotto Befree GT XPRO (aluminium) was looking like the option I was going towards. Before clicking 'buy' I took another browse through the current deals, and this Sirui AM254 was reduced to an almost silly price to clear the last few. I was well aware of Sirui and had always heard positive things, so it was a risk-free no-brainer at the price. I knew it was going to be a quality product. I was very pleasantly surprised when it arrived, nicely boxed and supplied with a nice canvas bag with accessories such as spikes and allen keys, as you'd expect from any decent brand of tripod. First impressions of the tripod is that it is very nicely finished with solid fixings, the twist release mechanism is very smooth and quick while feeling solid in operation... Which is always my concern with cheaper twist lock tripods. The carbon legs are very standard, but again, very nicely finished and don't feel 'budget' in any way. The tripod has no centre column, so it can get incredibly low to the ground (or table top) to make it very versatile. I can't comment how the tripod will perform with big telephoto lenses for sports and wildlife, but just for reference; My kit is your usual mirrorless type system of a Sony Alpha body (often with battery grip), a 20mm G, 35mm G Master, 85mm Sigma and 100-400mm G-Master lenses. Also for reference; I'm using a Benro GX30 ballhead. All the primes are light(ish) and compact so not a test for the stability of the tripod at all. The G-Master 100-400 however is a pretty heavy lens and extends as it zooms, but the tripod is plenty steady in operation and never feels unstable or unbalanced. I've used the tripod indoors for product photography, and a couple of outdoor walks. It's plenty light enough even with the quite substantial Benro GX30 and operation in the field is very smooth and easy. You would expect an absolutely bog standard aluminium tripod at this price, so I just can't find any negatives especially at the price for a premium feeling carbon tripod. It's a very good quality, light and stable multi-purpose tripod with no frills. Ticks all the boxes and I suspect every bit as good as rival carbon tripods at double the price. Don't hesitate to roll the dice on a Sirui product if the price is right. Absolutely recommended and zero regrets so far. I will of course update this review if anything changes! Just finally, due to not having a column, it maybe worth spending the extra 20-odd pounds (which I think is very reasonable) to get the centre column extension if you need more than 120cm height.

Not had the chance to use it yet but it's been given a really good inspection and I LOVE it It's well made sturdy and lightweight Can't wait to get out and put it to use (UPDATE) Have now had the chance to actually use this excellent tripod. Initial impressions have not changed at all. I found carrying this around vastly less tiring, and infinitley less of a hassle, than my older aluminium item. Weight is good, construction is great, and sturdiness is excellent Definitely recommend this tripod from Sirui

Solid carbon fiber tripod. The head is excellent so far. Can comfortably hold up my canon 90d with Sigma 18-35 f1.8 lens and Canon speedlite 430 ex rt iii Will update my review as I go. I have included a picture with the SL 200 center column (sold separately)

Excellent value for money carbon fibre tripod good and sturdy when using 400 mm lens and body with battery grip

I'm quite impressed with this tripod. I wanted something light, but still sturdy, to replace an old Manfrotto aluminium tripod. Wanted it to be easy to carry on the side of my camera bag, but still be able to adequately support my gimbal head, Sony A1 and a Tamrom 150-500 lens. Wanted it tall enough to use comfortably for long periods of time. And I didn't want to pay the money for the Peak Design one. This certainly does the trick. Very light and easy to carry, and it folds down into a neat package, as there's no centre column that gets in the way of the legs closing in. I personally kind of prefer flip locks on tripod legs, but the twist ones work well, and with the right technique you can deploy each leg with one quick twist. Plus they're lighter and less bulky, so the help with the portability aspect. I did buy the top column extender, but I actually haven't had the need to use it. I'm 6 foot tall, and I find that once I have the gimbal head on the tripod, the camera is at a height that's fine to use standing up. But I like that I can add the extra height if I need to. I can strap this to the side of my LowePro bag, and hardly notice that I'm carrying it. The carbon fibre legs make it comfortable to work with in cold conditions, which was not the case for the old alu one, which would get very cold to the touch. CF also dampens vibrations better, as well as being lighter. It came with 3 foot pins, which I haven't had the need to use, but they'd be handy for soft ground. There's a hook that can be attached underneath to hang a bag or weight from to increase stability. All in all, I'm very happy with this tripod.

Far better than I was expecting!! Very sturdy considering how light it weighs, holds Nikon d850 and up to 600mm lens without any problem whatsoever!! Very happy customer.

Ich wollte endlich weg von meinem schweren Steinzeit-Manfrotto-Stativ und was leichteres mit dem man sich nicht so abschleppt. Der vierte Versuch war es dann endlich: Ausgepackt, angeguckt, aufgestellet ... ja, dich mag ich! :o) Geringes Gewicht und doch stabil ohne wackeln oder zittern. Schnell und einfach die Beine ausgefahren und zusammengeschoben. Bereits ohne zusätzliche Mittelsäule ausreichend hoch (ich hab mir dennoch die zusätzliche Mittelsäule für knapp € 30,- geholt, jetzt reicht es bis zur Nasenspitze). Gute Ausstattung: Spikes als Alternative zu den Gummifüßen, ein abnehmbarer Haken um den Fotorucksack zwecks noch mehr Stabilität drunter zu hängen, eine praktische Tragetasche. Kleines Manko: Die Ausrichtung der Kamera mittels Kugelkopf ist schnell und einfach, aber wenig präzise. Da vermisse ich meinen 3-Wege-Neiger von Manfrotto. Weiß man aber wenn man einen Kugelkopf ordert. Entweder man lebt mit der Schwäche oder man kauft einen extrem schweren und teuren Kopf - da hätte ich dann aber den 3-Wege-Neiger behalten können. Nachtrag: Nach mehreren Monaten Nutzung doch ein - nicht unerheblicher - Wermutstropfen. Als Schwachpunkt hat sich immer mehr der Kugelkopf herauskristallisiert. Vorab: Es wird für die Kombi eine Tragkraft von 15 kg angegeben. Meine DSLR z.B. mit dem 105er Makro oder dem 70-300er Telezoom kommt auf ca. 1,5 kg und beide Optiken machen das Set nicht übermäßig kopflastig. Wie es z.B. mit einem lichtstarken 70/80-200er der Fall wäre. Der Kugelkopf hat eine recht kleine, wenig griffige Feststellschraube. Schnell musste ich feststellen dass es erforderlich ist diese Schraube ganz fest anzuziehen um eine Bewegung nach unten zu vermindern. Und mit sinkenden Außentemperaturen wuchs das Problem: Selbst mit äußerster Kraft angezogen hielt der Kopf kaum noch die o.g. Kamera-/Objektivkombination. Die Griffigkeit des Knopfes ließ weiter nach; mit Handschuhen überhaupt keine Chance mehr. Sehr ärgerlich. Zweiter Nachtrag: Nach Umtausch des Stativs (Danke Amazon!) sieht die Welt wieder anders aus. Gleich beim auspacken des Stativs kam mir irgendwas anders vor. Und ich meine, das jetzt gelieferte Stativ hätte einen größeren, deutlich griffigeren Feststellknopf. Sieh an! Außerdem fiel auf, dass das festziehen des Knopfes beim alten Kopf zunächst recht leicht und ab einem bestimmten Punkt dann schwerer ging. Beim neuen Kopf ist der Kraftaufwand gleichmäßig über den gesamten Weg. Und vor allem: Ein mal angezogen und der Kopf sitzt fest! Kein abkippen der Kamera mehr. Auch ist die Ausrichtung nun bei passender Einstellung der Friktion nun deutlich besser möglich. Sogar mit Handschuhen einwandfrei bedienbar. Na, geht doch! Schwanke jetzt zwischen 4 und 5 Sternen. Ohne die Erfahrung mit der "Gurke" hätte ich glatt ***** vergeben. Wenn aber so ein Montagsmodell die Qualitätskontrolle passiert, eher vier bis viereinhalb. Schwierig.

Nice,little shorter than expected

Strong and stable tripod

Très bon trépied Léger bonne fabrication pratique

Appena arrivato, appare come un prodotto cinese, di livello molto buono, i dettagli lo raccontano: robuste manopole di discrete dimensioni accompagnano l'apertura molto comoda e svitando , si può togliere ogni settore delle gambe per la pulizia, le ultime sezioni (quelle più fini) hanno una taratura metrica per regolazioni precise, al fondo di esse è possibile cambiare gli appoggi in gomma , sostituendoli con quelli a punta in acciaio , compresi in dotazione, insieme a brugole,piedi a punta in acciaio ,garanzia e la borsa da trasporto con tracolla aggiuntiva. È presente un attacco laterale femmina 3/8 a fianco alla base di appoggio, per supportare accessori e c'è la possibilità, svitando un grano , di invertire la filettatura del porta testa da 1/4 a 3/8 , non manca un gancio in lega leggera da avvitare sotto la base per aggiungere peso alla stabilità del cavalletto. Lo sblocco dei fermi, per modificare l'angolo di apertura delle gambe, è di buona concezione ed è molto comoda, così come la facile apertura e chiusura delle stesse grazie alle ghiere gommate che sono davvero efficaci. Che dire sembra a parer mio un ottimo cavalletto, calcolando che lo userò principalmente per Macro fotografia e avifauna e manterrò altezze medio-basse ,posso immaginare che avrò pochi problemi. A massima altezza è alto circa 120cm ,calcolate che montando testa e camera le cose si alzano di almeno una ventina di cm. perciò a meno che non siate alti 2 mt. e immagino che state fotografando da fermi, il mio consiglio è di trovare una posizione comoda e stare con cavalletto il più basso possibile , foto permettendo, (io ho comprato una sedia portatile davvero piccola e comoda , richiudibile), così da avere il massimo della comodità e il massimo della stabilità. Logico che se dovete fare foto ad altezze sostenute, con camere pesanti non è questo il cavalletto che fa per voi, per me , l'uso migliore per il Sirui 254 è proprio usarlo medio basso anche con carichi medio pesanti, mantenendo una discreta stabilità anche in condizioni avverse(vento leggero moderato, obbiettivi pesanti e sbilanciati), senza pesare come un cavalletto da carichi pesanti. Consigliato anche per la sua rinomata qualità/prezzo. Lo testerò meglio sul campo e al massimo aggiornerò la recensione. 🤜🤛