Sirui T2205X TX Series Tripod Legs 5 Section 49in Height Carbon - Sirui T-2205X

I ‘m just getting back into photography now that the kids are off to college and I can focus on more than just family snapshots. New DSLR, etc. Over the years I’ve owned Verbon and Slik tripods, and used others borrowed from friends. They all worked fine but some were heavy, clunky to use, and others were flimsy, etc. I wanted to get a carbon fiber tripod for my re-entry into the hobby, and I wanted something that would be reasonably sturdy but also light enough to haul around.After a load of research I opted for this Surui T2205X. I just received the tripod last week, and I mounted a Surui K-20X Ball Head on it. So far, I’m impressed. Both items were spotless, clean, and operate very smoothly.My initial observations:- The legs operate very smoothly and seem to lock pretty well, but you need to make sure each lock ring is fully snugged. Be diligent and you’ll be fine.- The whole thing feels pretty solid, with my D750 and a 24-120mm lens. I haven’t yet tried longer lenses, but the head feels rock solid, so I'm not expecting any problems.- The weight of the tripod with the head is roughly 3.3 lbs. without the Arca mounting plate that came with the head. According to the Surui site, the two pieces combined should weigh around 3.5 lbs. This seems like a reasonable weight for my purposes.- The storage/carrying bag that came with the tripod is really pretty well made, fully padded with a beefy zipper. The bag alone weighs around 0.7 lbs., including the carry strap. The strap can either clip onto the bag, or to be looped over the ends of the tripod so you can sling it over your shoulder.- The tripod with the head does fit into the bag, with the legs folded into the up position and the center column fully extended- I’m 5’8”, and with the Tripod at full height, and the center column almost fully extended, the top of the ball head platform (where you would set the Arca plate mounted to your camera) is right at 59”. When I put my D750 on it, the viewfinder is right at eye level, and very comfortable to use.- I like the retractable spikes in the legs. I had that feature on my old Slik tripod and really like not having to a) swap out rubber feet for spikes, and b) not having to pay extra for the spikes! The trick was always to firmly snug the rubber feet in their extended position to keep the spike from sticking out unintentionally. I’ve read where folks with this type of foot complain about crud getting into the hole in the foot into which the spikes retract, but I haven’t had a problem keeping that cleaned out with my Slik, so we’ll see if this Surui is any different.- The center column has a groove in it to keep it from rotating when its raided/lowered, and the unit came with a short center column that’s around 4-5 inches long. To swap the columns, unscrew the cap on the bottom of the column (which also contains the hook for adding ballast to the tripod setup) and pull the column out of the mounting collar.Overall, this isn’t a cheap setup. Between the tripod and the ball head, this is a nearly $400 rig (both bought on Amazon), but it does seem pretty solid and I think with reasonable care & attention (lock those legs!) this should work pretty well.

They say you buy 5 tripods in life: 4 cheap ones and then finally one good one that you keep and should have bought in the first place. Well, I think I bought more like ten; but finally I have this one from Sirui. This is the best tripod I have ever owned, by far. I LOVE it and wish I had it years earlier.The carbon fiber is all they say: lightweight, durable, and less prone to freeze your fingers. I love that I upgraded to carbon fiber.The twist locks are fast. I love that I can open all four at once and then extend the leg. I can do this a lot smoother and faster than with my other tripods, which have the clamp style.The folding style is amazing. The folding design lets you make this more compact. I worried that would somehow compromise the tripod stability. No way. The stability is superb. It manages the weight of my Canon 6D mii and my Sigma Contemporary 150-600 without any wobble or motion whatsoever. I never doubt the structure of the tripod. But when it comes time to put it away, I have the option of leaving it with the center stick up, therefore longer, or going the extra step to fold the legs again and putting the tripod in its most compact form, which is great for attaching to my backpack. The compact size is great but even better is the fact that you get that feature without having to suffer with a flimsy tripod.I am happy I focused on the legs without worrying about trying to get a ball head included. I now have a couple different heads that are interchangeable. It is nice to be able to purchase the heads separately so I can get the quality legs now and later upgrade to a more expensive head if I wish.Honestly, I have no criticism whatsoever about this tripod. It's a critical part of my gear and I would never lend it out!

"Rubber" collars on leg locks have cracked/shrunken after 2-3 years of very moderate use. Used about 3-4 times/year. Always stored in the Sirui storage bag. Can't get parts or warranty service because vendor isn't on list of "authorized dealers."Check their list of authorized dealers BEFORE you buy it. Or buy a tripod from another brand, IF they sell replacement parts (e.g., the better Manfrotto tripods.)

I bit the bullet and bought this T-2205X tripod along with the K-20X ballhead instead of the GT2542T tripod and I'm glad I did. The legs and head together were about half the price of the GT2542T legs only and it performed like a champ. The tripod and head look and feel like finely made precise instruments, nothing cheap looking/feeling here. They are compact, lightweight and beautiful.For your info, I used this setup with a Nikon D800e and several Nikon lenses including a 24mm, 17-35mm, 50mm, 85mm and an 80-400mm. I have not tried it with my 70-200 which is a little longer to see how it will hold up. It fit on my backpack nicely without sticking out and I couldn't tell it added any weight.This tripod comes with spiked feet, a very nice compact bag, tools in a pouch, a shoulder strap and 6-year warranty. It's very light and folds up to less than 15". You can expand/compress it's leg height very quickly because you don't have to turn the twist locks very far to raise/lower them. You have 3 leg angles, and as of yet, I have not missed having the 4 leg angles of my 055cxprob. That doesn't mean I won't need my larger tripod, just that I won't have to lug it around most of the time.As far as the ballhead is concerned, it also comes very nicely packaged with a tool and 6-year warranty. While I'm still getting used to the Arca-Swiss type mount plate and the knob adjustments, it seems to be more sturdy and have less play than my 498RC2 with 200PL quick release.I'm happy with my purchase and the seller shipped it very fast. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Amazing tripod: light, stable, compact, setup in a flash, high quality. Worth the price. I matched it with G10x and should have match it with K20X ball head instead.

Seit Anfang Februar habe ich das Stativ in Benutzung und bin von der Handhabung, Stabilität und Verarbeitung begeistert. In Verbindung mit dem Kugelkopf Sirui K-20X wackelt auch an windigen Tagen nichts mehr. Das Aufbauen dauert mittlerweile nur noch wenige Sekunden. Kein Wackeln, kein Grackeln - alle Teile laufen extrem leicht. Selbst mit schweren Teleobjektiven gelingen top Aufnahmen. Leider gibt es einen Stern Abzug. Für diesen Preis hat Sirui keine Wasserwaage verbaut (muss ich jetzt nachrüsten:  Neewer 10074592 50 mm Höchste Präzision Stativ Wasserwaage Offsetplatte ), die etwa 12€ kostet - schade! Gerade für Panoramaaufnahmen ist eine gerade Ausrichtung des Statives besonders wichtig.Das Stativ kann ich sonst jedem empfehlen, der auch auf Qualität Wert legt. Es ist besonders für größere Leute gut geeignet und kommt mit einer gut verarbeiteten Tasche. Neewer 10074592 50 mm Höchste Präzision Stativ Wasserwaage Offsetplatte

Prodotto made in Japan, confezionato e realizzato con cura e professionalità. Leggero, ma molto resistente. Ho montato la testa a sfera e l'impressione è ottima. Regolazioni facili e smooth. Ottimo prodotto.

Sólido, fiable, versátil. Un 10.

ProsBuild quality (excellent. ?light-weight spring on leg extension locks)WeightStabilitySpikes (although takes time to retract)Reasonable heightConsLocks (too easily un-locked when handling)Slow operation (un-folding, unlocking legs, changing to short column)The build quality of the T-2205X is excellent. It feels both light-weight but solid. The carbon fibre legs and column keep the weight down and allow comfortable handing in the cold (although with two of the legs having warmers, that shouldn't be a problem anyway). I wanted a traveling tripod and expected it not to reach as high as my larger one. As it is, it extends to about 124cm (without a head) and 143cm with the column extended. It's quite stable at full extension, but I try not to use the column on any tripod to maintain better stability. That said, there is a handy hook at the bottom of the column to hang extra weight to (a camera bag etc). I like the retractable spikes on the feet very much. They look like good quality spikes, although it's quite tedious twisting the feet to retract them. The legs and column also use a twist lock design which requires a 1/4 of a turn. They don't need to be tightened very much to lock the legs tight. I found that, when handling the tripod, I kept catching the knurled locks and loosening them slightly as they do unlock with ease. Also, be careful that you don't trap your fingers when retracting the legs though (I managed to do that and it hurts!). Much as the twist lock works though, it's not the quickest of locking methods. My Manfrotto has a leaver lock, which seems much quicker to set up. The design allows for the legs to fold back on themselves to shorten the folded tripod for travelling. To be honest, that also takes longer to do than just closing the legs in the normal way, so, saving an extra 14cm might not warrant the extra time. If you are packing the tripod for walking or carrying it in it's (rather nicely made) bag, then I can see the point of folding the legs back. The T-2205X comes with a short column too. This allows you to spread the legs so that the top of the (short) column is about 13cm from the ground (your tripod head and camera will dictate the final height of course). In order to used the shorter column, you have to unscrew the hook and remove the head from the long column, remove it from the legs and slot the short column in its stead. Then you'll need to replace the hook (if needed) and the head. Not exactly a swift operation, and you'll need the supplied allen key to unlock the head. Now, if you use a tripod, one could argue that it's a considered way of composing your shots, so a slower set-up should be expected. Having used the Manfrotto 190X Prob and it's larger brother, the 055CXPro3, I can say that they are both much quicker to set up and they have the horizontal column feature. I bought the T-2205X for traveling with a Sony RX1, so I think they are a good match and overall extremely happy with it.