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Photographer Dustin Abbott shares a review of the flagship HEIPI W58 Hybrid Photo/Video tripod with fluid ball head and more. | Purchase the HEIPI W58 here: https://tinyurl.com/BuyW58
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Table of Contents:
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0:00 - Intro
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
[Music]
0:05
[Music]
0:10
Hi, I'm Dustin Abbott and I'm here to
0:12
give you a review of the new HP T29
0:14
tripod along with the KB60 fluid head.
0:18
Now, I have used and enjoyed a number of
0:21
HP tripods in the past, including their
0:25
various travel tripods like the W28 and
0:27
the W28S.
0:29
What happens however if they upscale all
0:31
of that and give it a full suite of
0:34
features to make it fully useful for
0:36
both video and photo use? Well, that's
0:38
what we're here to find out. Now, you
0:39
may have noticed that we've incorporated
0:41
some movement into these intro shots.
0:43
And that's is because one of the options
0:45
that we have for the T29 is the ability
0:47
to add wheels to it. And so, you can do
0:50
dolly type shots as long as you have the
0:52
right surface. So, let's take a closer
0:54
look at what you're getting in this
0:55
package. First of all, a bit of a
0:58
clarity on the name of this package. As
1:00
in the intro, I gave you the names of
1:03
the sticks T-29 and the head KB60.
1:07
However, they sell the whole package
1:09
together on their website as the W58.
1:12
Makes sense since, you know, it's W28
1:15
and W28s that I've reviewed before.
1:18
However, I'm not quite sure why we have
1:20
three different names attached to all of
1:22
this. Anyway, what you have here is a
1:25
obviously a larger tripod than what
1:27
we've seen previously. And so, just to
1:29
give you a quick look at the scale of
1:30
the W28 versus the W58 here, there is a
1:35
significant difference able to achieve a
1:37
height at about 11 in higher. The weight
1:40
of this tripod, it's not really so much
1:42
of a travel tripod anymore. And so, it
1:44
is more robust. Though, being carbon
1:46
fiber, it is still lightweight. Weighs
1:48
in at 2.26 26 kilos or 5 lb. That is for
1:52
the sticks and the ball head together.
1:54
If you're looking at just the sticks
1:56
themselves, it is 1.4 kilos for that.
2:00
They you can get down to a package as
2:02
short for just the sticks itself as 45
2:04
cm or 17.7 in when collapsed. However,
2:08
if you have that head on there, the
2:11
total length is 55 cm or 21.65 in when
2:15
fully collapsed. Now, the diameter, if
2:17
you collapse everything down, is 75
2:21
uh millimeters or 2.95
2:24
in. And so, you know, that's one of the
2:26
things they've always done really well
2:27
is to create a pretty compact package.
2:29
And that's true even with this larger
2:31
configuration. The maximum height you
2:33
can achieve is 180 cm or 71 in. To give
2:38
you a bit a scale as we go back to this
2:40
clip for a moment, I am right at about
2:42
6'1. And so you can see that this is
2:44
able to achieve a height very similar to
2:46
my overall height there. And so very
2:49
very useful in terms of the height. And
2:51
that's one of the pros I'll get to in
2:52
just a moment. The minimum height you
2:54
can get to is 21 cm or 8.3 in for the
2:59
main tripod and what they call the sub
3:02
tripod. And more on that in just a
3:03
moment. You can get down as low as 18 cm
3:06
or just 7.1 in in. And so very very
3:10
useful in that regard. Obviously, when
3:12
you're talking about a head like this
3:14
where you have the ability to have that
3:16
kind of fluid or dynamic action
3:17
attached, they have a little bit
3:19
different specifications for the payload
3:22
that you can put on there. Sometimes
3:23
these tripods boast a somewhat
3:25
ridiculously high payload, but in this
3:27
case, because you need to be able to
3:29
calibrate the weight one way or another,
3:32
and so that you can get smooth pans,
3:34
smooth tilts up and down, it means that
3:36
they scale they're looking for is
3:38
between 1 and 4.5 kilos or 2.2 to about
3:42
10 lbs. Now, obviously that covers just
3:46
about every conceivable configuration
3:49
for photo or video. So, you're not going
3:51
to have any kind of limitation issues
3:53
there. But if you want to have the
3:54
ability to have adjustment and to have
3:56
fluid control, your maximum up on the
3:59
top is going to be about 10 lbs or 4.5
4:01
kilos. The maximum leg diameter, I know
4:05
that some of you like to know that
4:06
specification. And so here at the top,
4:08
maximum leg diameter is 21 mm or 1.14
4:12
in. It comes, as is pretty standard with
4:15
most tripods, it comes with a nice case.
4:17
There is a nice inner pocket for
4:19
storage, which I appreciate. It's not
4:21
just a small, but it's most of the
4:23
length of that. It has set up on one
4:25
side to where it can all be zipped and
4:26
closed, and you can store things inside
4:28
there.
4:30
Now, for the bad news, the price here is
4:33
$659.
4:35
If you want the wheels that we
4:37
demonstrated in the intro, that is going
4:39
to take $689
4:42
uh for that package. So, you're paying
4:44
about 30 bucks for the wheels
4:45
themselves. Um, however, that does add a
4:48
nice extra configuration to that. As you
4:51
can see here, they are cleverly designed
4:52
for mounting to where they just replace
4:55
where the spikes are in the bottom of
4:57
the the feet there. And they do have a
5:00
wheel that allows you to not only to
5:02
tighten that up through there, but also
5:04
there are specific points where you can
5:06
align that to make sure that there's no
5:07
slippage once they are mounted in place.
5:09
So, nice uh job in those. They do roll
5:12
well. I will say that it's going to
5:15
depend on your surface. As I mentioned
5:17
in the intro, the actual caster here is
5:20
not particularly big. It does move
5:22
nicely. However, even if you hit a, you
5:25
know, a fairly small little, you know,
5:27
stone or pebble in your path, it is
5:29
definitely going to jam up against that
5:31
and could ruin your shot. And so, this
5:33
is something that works best with a nice
5:36
smooth surface. But again, it's an extra
5:38
configuration that not every tripod has
5:40
available with it. So, let's drill down
5:42
on the features themselves. kind of the
5:44
main headline thing here is you have the
5:46
option to easily switch between having
5:49
full ball head uh configuration for use
5:53
in in photos and then you can easily
5:55
switch then back into kind of your video
5:58
mode where you're only able to do the
6:01
tilt up and down so that you're not
6:03
moving around on those side axes keeping
6:05
your video stable and the horizon
6:06
straight. You can go up and down and
6:08
then obviously you're going to be able
6:09
to do the smooth panning side by side.
6:12
Now, earlier I've demonstrated some of
6:14
these things having the actual uh handle
6:17
attached. The handle itself is a really
6:20
easy attach there. It's just basically
6:22
just lining things up, tightening it
6:24
down on the side. You also have the
6:25
ability to extend that out. Uh looks
6:28
like an additional
6:30
6 in I would say. And then so 15 cm and
6:34
that will give you more finite control
6:36
over that. And by the way, I do find
6:38
that the most useful way to actually use
6:41
when you have the wheels is by the
6:42
handle itself. It keeps extra weight
6:44
from the tripod itself where you're
6:46
putting pressure on it uneven and
6:47
instead you can just kind of push along.
6:49
It allows you particularly when you're
6:50
doing pushin shots to do that very very
6:52
smoothly. One of the other features that
6:54
I really really like is that you have
6:56
dual options when it comes to mounting
6:57
your quick release plate. And so
7:00
obviously there is the included quick
7:02
release plate. And so you can set that
7:04
in place the first place when you just
7:06
click it in like that. It has gives you
7:08
the ability to slide it back and forth a
7:10
bit without it coming out. And so that
7:12
you can set up where you want your
7:14
balance point to be and then you can
7:15
just finish the locking down there. But
7:17
you also have the option here on the
7:18
other side to use a traditional knob
7:20
lock mechanism. And so that gives you a
7:23
much broader range of control. And so
7:26
that means you can use this with a lot
7:28
of different um accessories or be it
7:32
Arcus Swiss foot on a telephoto lens or
7:35
for me I'm often using the peak design
7:37
quick release plates. You just have a
7:39
lot of options on what you can put on
7:41
there. So I really really like that
7:42
design. Of course, we always love the HP
7:45
trademark three-pillar design, and it's
7:47
been kind of the highlight for me all
7:49
along, is that ability to easily pull
7:51
out that subtripod and then to use that
7:54
individually if so desired. It's even
7:56
designed at this point, I won't
7:58
demonstrate it here, where you can take
7:59
that off, take the head off here, and
8:01
put the head back on the tripod. And
8:03
then you can spread out the sub tripod
8:05
and and if you mount it down below,
8:06
there's places where you can attach
8:08
going down to the third attach point
8:10
here. And you can actually use that as a
8:13
leg stabilizer to help to keep the legs
8:16
spread out and stabilized there. So,
8:17
just another cool feature as a part of
8:19
that. And as always, it's very easy to
8:21
slide that back in, lock it down into
8:23
place, and away you go. Much more useful
8:25
than having to take the tripod apart to
8:27
get yourself down to a lower point. And
8:30
so, I find that to be extremely useful.
8:32
We also have the improved leg locks that
8:35
are just really nicely ergonomically
8:38
designed and also work very tightly. And
8:40
I will say that longterm, one of the
8:41
things I've loved about Hapes tripods, I
8:44
have never had any slippage or issues
8:46
with uh the tension on those, they just
8:48
consistently work really, really well.
8:50
And that hasn't always been my
8:51
experience with every other tripod. As
8:53
part of the fluid design, we have the
8:55
ability to change up the amount of
8:57
tension that is there for panning side
9:00
to side. And so you have three different
9:02
levels of resistance that will control
9:04
either how quickly or how slowly the
9:07
panning will be based on the resistance
9:09
in the fluid head. Now obviously not all
9:11
the payloads are going to be the same.
9:13
And so at the top you have the ability
9:15
to adjust up or down to depending on how
9:18
much your payload is going to be and so
9:19
that you can find the proper tension for
9:22
if particularly if you're wanting to pan
9:23
up and down you can set that in the head
9:26
just with a pretty typical Allen key.
9:28
Obviously those are included. In fact, I
9:30
even noted that they have got one that
9:32
is embedded here on the tripod itself.
9:35
Just a little one that is that slides in
9:38
there and is magnetically held in place
9:40
and so you always have one near at hand.
9:42
They have two different types of carbon
9:43
fiber that are woven into the legs. They
9:46
are very strong, very stable. This is an
9:48
impressively stable filling tripod. So,
9:50
let's talk about some things that I like
9:52
and some things that I don't like. First
9:54
of all, in terms of things that I like
9:55
with Hapes Design, I always love their
9:58
basically two tripods in one and the
10:01
ability to use that sub tripod quick and
10:03
easily. I've used them often with their
10:05
tripods over the years and they are
10:07
genuinely very very useful particularly
10:09
I find when I'm shooting, you know,
10:10
macro shots, for example, and I just
10:12
want to pop something off and just get
10:14
down maybe on a tabletop or a countertop
10:17
and get down to that angle. Or if you
10:19
really want to shoot low, very, very
10:21
useful for that. I also have loved their
10:24
designs in general. And so when I opened
10:26
it up, it felt very familiar. Just kind
10:28
of a scaled up, bigger, more stable
10:30
version of their travel tripods. It's
10:32
basically just what I would have wanted
10:34
personally. And so I really, really like
10:36
their overall quality of design and how
10:39
sturdy it actually feels. I also
10:40
appreciate the fact that I can get an
10:43
extra 28 cm or 11 in higher than the
10:46
W28s. I've already found that to be very
10:48
useful for you. you've seen it shots in
10:51
a number of my videos already to where
10:53
I've t gotten a higher kind of view down
10:56
to where I'm demonstrating a camera or a
10:59
lens on this table surface here. And
11:01
that is courtesy of being able to get up
11:03
to a higher level and give you more of a
11:05
bird's eye view back down. So, I have
11:07
found that to be genuinely useful as
11:08
well. I also really love their hybrid
11:12
locking design here. I like locking
11:14
designs generally. I will say I have had
11:16
a few camera accidents over the years
11:18
where a camera has come off of a tripod.
11:21
Generally, if I'm just kind of moving it
11:22
around, moving the location to a
11:24
different setting or whatever, and I
11:27
thought everything was cranked down and
11:29
it wasn't. But always, every single time
11:31
that has happened where it is
11:32
traditional knob lock situation to where
11:35
for whatever reason, I thought it was
11:36
tight and it wasn't quite tight enough.
11:38
when these when you have these actual
11:40
locks like this, I've never had a camera
11:44
come off in that situation. And so, I
11:46
actually trust this kind of system far
11:48
more than I do a tripod with a knob
11:50
lock, which means these are the tripods
11:52
I end up using cuz I've had some damage
11:54
before when something has fallen onto a
11:56
hard surface because it wasn't locked
11:58
down properly. So, I really like that. I
12:01
also find the uh option of using the
12:04
wheels to be an interesting alternative
12:07
uh for you know push-in shots or as you
12:10
saw in the intro to shoot those kind of
12:13
shots on the move. It obviously is going
12:15
to require a an operator for the camera
12:18
if you want to be on camera, but it just
12:21
gives you one extra layer of of
12:22
flexibility there. And these are really
12:24
really welldesigned. And at at 30
12:27
additional bucks, they don't feel like
12:28
they're overpriced necessarily. Feel
12:31
like fairly decent value for what you
12:33
were giving. I also can at this point
12:36
attest for the reliability of the HP
12:38
tripods. I've been using um tripods from
12:41
them almost every day for years at this
12:44
point. And I've never had any kind of
12:46
failure. As I mentioned earlier, the log
12:48
the leg locks have always been
12:50
consistently good for me. They've just
12:51
held up really well. And so I I like
12:54
their reliability. They they're not
12:56
cheap, but it feels like you're getting
12:58
very very good value for money in terms
13:00
of the reliability and longevity of the
13:02
design. Now, it's never all perfectly
13:06
roses. And so, let's talk about a few of
13:08
the things that I don't like. The first
13:10
thing that I don't like is that it's
13:11
it's expensive. And that is the bottom
13:14
line here. For some people, this is just
13:16
going to be out of their price range.
13:18
And you're going to be able to find
13:20
alternatives on Amazon or somewhere that
13:23
maybe aren't as nicely made or as well
13:26
designed, but they do roughly the same
13:28
thing for a whole lot less money. And if
13:30
you don't have the money to spend, I
13:32
completely understand that. And so
13:33
that's one of the challenges here is
13:35
that it isn't cheap. Obviously, scaling
13:38
it up means that it's not going to work
13:40
nearly as well as a travel tripod. And
13:42
so, if you were looking for one tripod
13:43
to do both things, this falls less into
13:46
that category. instead of the little
13:47
compact bag. I think you can tell from
13:49
this, instead of that little compact
13:51
bag, it's a much larger bag. And that's
13:53
because it is a larger tripod and it
13:55
just doesn't go down as compact. One
13:57
feature that I actually really miss from
13:59
the W28 and W28S that isn't on the W58
14:02
is that they had a really cool
14:04
integrated phone holder that you could
14:06
actually just pull back up from within
14:08
the actual uh tripod head here.
14:11
Obviously, we don't have that because
14:13
where that would be, we have that
14:14
tension knob to control the fluid
14:16
tension in the head itself. And so,
14:18
unfortunately, we lose that flexibility.
14:21
Obviously, this is serious overkill as a
14:25
phone tripod. And so, maybe they think
14:26
it's just not necessary. But for me, if
14:29
I'm using this as kind of a day-to-day
14:31
tripod, I do sometimes grab some B-roll
14:33
with my phone on the fly. And so, I'm
14:35
going to miss having that flexibility. a
14:38
minor niggle perhaps, but something I
14:40
did notice as a part of my review. So,
14:43
what's my conclusion? Well, this is a
14:45
really cool tripod that I think suits
14:46
the modern hybrid video/photo shooter
14:50
very, very well. Obviously, basically,
14:53
all modern cameras are almost as good
14:56
shooting video as they are at shooting
14:58
uh stills. And so, that means that
15:00
there's a lot of people like myself that
15:01
use them in multiple ways. It could
15:03
easily be your one tripod if you do both
15:06
video and photography and it does both
15:08
things very very effectively. So it is
15:11
expensive but maybe if you're trying to
15:13
justify it in your mind the fact that it
15:15
is essentially two tripods in one you
15:18
know three if you encount include the
15:20
sub or tabletop tripod that's included
15:21
in the package it maybe gets a little
15:24
easier to stomach that fairly expensive
15:26
price point. At the end of the day I
15:28
really really like what they've done.
15:29
I've always liked the quality of design
15:31
with HPE designs. I knew basically
15:34
nothing about them before I started
15:35
reviewing their products. They weren't a
15:37
recognized brand, but they have jumped
15:39
to the the head of the line for me
15:41
personally because of the quality of
15:43
design. Obviously, they have a whole
15:45
ecosystem of accessories that you can
15:47
throw on these things. You know, whether
15:50
it's their I think they call it the
15:51
saber-tooth can't just not only mount
15:54
that to a tripod, but it can squeeze
15:56
down on just about anything. And so,
15:58
it's nice and portable. And then you can
15:59
add on these little heads and, you know,
16:02
panoramic heads. There's lots of little
16:04
gadgets that are all designed to work
16:06
within the overall ecosystem. So, I
16:08
appreciate all of that. Lots of
16:10
flexibility there. So, it's definitely
16:12
worth exploring if you're looking for a
16:15
quality, if somewhat expensive, tripod.
16:17
I'm Dustin Abbott. If you want more
16:18
information, look in the description
16:20
down below. I will link to Hapy's
16:22
website so you can check out what they
16:23
have to say there. There are some buying
16:25
links there. As always, thanks for
16:27
watching. Have a great day and let the
16:29
light in.
16:32
[Music]