What's a good compact, lightweight & portable tripod?

[nerwin]

I'd love to try and do something different with my photography this year utilizing ND filters and doing some long exposures during the day. While I like my Vanguard tripod, its not really compact or lightweight to bring with me all the time so I'm kind of interested in a tripod that is more compact and lighter weight that can make it more bearable to bring.

Anyone have any recommendations? I don't really have a particular budget in mind but keep it reasonable if you can.

Thanks!

 

[dxqcanada]

Depends on what max working height you want.
If you do not mind being close to the ground ... I got the Mefoto Daytrip, and I don't even notice I am carrying it (strapped to my sling bag) ... and it is sturdy enough with wide angle zoom + long exposure ... though might be too short to get over vegetation.

 

[Derrel]

No specifics, just hit up the Adorama or B&H Photo site and look for lightweight 'pods. There are many,many light, compact 'pods available these days. One issue to thin k about is that light, compact tripods and long exposures might lead to some blurring of shots in any type of wind or breeze...but if the exposure is sufficiently long enough, a few seconds' worthg of camera movement might not actually register enough as a percentage of the total exposure to cause appreicable imnage softening.

I looked at the entire Mefoto line about 2 years back at ProPhoto Supply (my local pro store, in Portland, Oregon) and was impressed by the design ethos and the good looks and colors of their tripods, and even thier smaller, more-compact, multi-section leg models appeared decently made, and prioced well, so I would consider Mefoto as a potential brand worth purchasing.

I also liked this 'pod when I went there recently and looked at a lighter, smaller 'pod for me. Manfrotto BeFree Travel Tripod

 

[Dave Colangelo]

I have the MeFOTO Backpacker and I really like it. No problems holding my D3300 with a 300mm AI-s Lens or even my Hasselblad with up to the 150mm lens (which is pretty sizeable). Its light, fits in my day pack, and well built. Construction is all metal and the included ball head is really nice. I shoot on the beach a lot and find that sand gets in the joints sometimes, they are easy to unscrew, wash out, grease and put back together when I need to.

Dave

 

[DarkShadow]

I found the biggest issue looking for good or decent light weight,Compact portable tripods is the height.Many in a similar price range will be pretty close to build quality but height not always equal. I like having a tripod that goes above my head at least a little so I don't have to extend it fully for eye level shots, not this is always the best prespective but being forced to hunch all the time stinks if your looking through the viewfinder to line up your shots.