Most travel tripods are either photography focused (ball head – Peak Design couldn’t even pan) or video focused (fluid head – Ulanzi F38).  But hybrid is the name of the game today, with many who do both video and photos on the fly.  Freewell has arrived on the scene with a genuinely compact and ultra lightweight combo carbon fiber tripod that you can nab for just $250 USD right now. It it worth buying? Find out in my video review below.

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Thanks to Freewell for sending me a review sample of the Real Travel Tripod for evaluation. As always, this is a completely independent review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Features

• Both ball and fluid head
• Weighs less than one kilo (two pounds)
• Head supports up to 5kg/11lb (can support my heaviest combination in either horizonal or vertical modes)
• ¼” expansion threaded holes x 3
• Monopod conversion
• Phone clip
• Carbon fiber legs
• Swift deployment through unique leg lock system
• Removable center column or shorten for low shots
  • Can go as low as 16cm or as tall as 150cm

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Tests

• Fluid test – can I set up smooth up/down shots? Okay, but not as smooth as full size equipment.
• Smoothness of panning test ? Again, okay, but takes some practice.
• Stability comparison:
  • Freewell = 31″ between legs
  • Heipi W28 = 32″ between legs
  • Neewer Litetrip 35 = 32.5″ between legs
  • Peak Design Travel Tripod = 37″ between legs
• Traveled with it. Lightweight enough to not add any serious consideration to weight.
• Use it for videoing teaching sessions. Works fine for static video shots with a fairly heft payload.

Things I Like

• Next level compact and lightweight – 900g (under 2 pounds)
  • Heipi W28 = 1.35kg
  • Peak Design Carbon = 1.29kg
  • Neewer LT35 = 1.13lb
• Short enough to store IN my camera bag | 42.8cm (16.85″)
  • Heipi W28 = 45cm (17.7″)
  • Peak Design Carbon = 39.1cm (15.4″)
  • Neewer LT35 49cm (19.3″)
• Fits nicely in the side of my backpack without sticking up over top of backpack and changing balance.
• Unique leg locks allows you to expand or retract the legs very quickly
• Having both fluid and ball head features allows true hybrid use
• Arm for fluid head can stay on during storage in zippered pouch
• Integrated phone clamp in QR plate
• Integrated monopod + quick conversion

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Things I Don’t Like

• Having both fluid and ball means there are a lot of different knobs for adjusting tension. Can interfere with others and can feel complex. Sometimes find something loose.
• The quick release for the leg sections can make it more challenging to set specific lengths to legs.
• Tension knob for QR plate can be difficult to access under camera – slower than the quick lock systems on competing tripods.
• Feels a little flimsier than my regular travel tripods (Heipi and Peak Design).

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Conclusion

If you want to travel light and do both photos and video, the Freewell Real Travel Tripod brings both next level lightness (first travel tripod under 1kg that I’ve tested) along with some unique versatility. It does a lot of things, but its weaknesses are connected to its strengths, namely that it might be TOO lightweight and has so many adjustments that things can get complex. But Freewell has gotten far more right than wrong here, and I think a lot of modern content makers will love having one extremely lightweight tripod that can pretty much do everything…and for a reasonable price of just $250 USD.

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Purchase the Freewell Real Travel Tripod @ Freewell | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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