If for any sad reason I had to do without all my material and photographic equipment, being able to save only 3 things, I would undoubtedly save the camera (body), the lens since without it it is difficult to photograph anything, and the tripod. I couldn’t live without a tripod. From my point of view, the tripod is more important and essential than any other photography accessory, even more important than the external Flash: do not be shocked, it is the humble personal opinion of a server 😉
With a flash I can light (1 thing), while with a tripod I can stabilize and light (2 things at once). Yes, a tripod gives me much more room, it gives me the flexibility to shoot as slow a shutter speed as I want, thus sucking in all the available light, not to mention its main importance, that of stabilizing and allowing the photographer to achieve extremely difficult angles and points of view (simply impossible without a tripod).
You may have already noticed, today I will talk about the tripod. I have already dedicated several posts to it before but today I would like to bring you closer to one in particular, the ABEO PRO 283CGH from Vanguard. Just as I call the 50mm f/1.4 lens as the King of Lenses (if you read me frequently you will know why), today I will explain to you why the ABEO PRO 283CGH tripod could be the undisputed King of Tripods.
Note: If you get tired while reading watch this video and you will want to know more.
Do not comment on what you do not know!
I tend to be very cautious when presenting or recommending a device, be it a camera, flash, lens or tripod. I like to write about things that I have tried personally or that I know very closely through friends and colleagues, and what I don’t know I usually don’t comment on. So I asked the guys at Vanguard to temporarily provide me with this new tripod, to present it here in society, praise or criticize it objectively. They gladly agreed. I was able to touch and taste it quietly. In a moment I will present my conclusions.
In case you don’t know “Vanguard”
Vanguard It is a brand of photographic material that, except for cameras and lenses, manufactures almost everything: backpacks, tripods and endless accessories. They have been on the market for more than 26 years. Lately they have been dedicated to harvesting Awards in almost all product categories. Many of his tripods were awarded TIPA Awards.
But still you may not have heard of them. Why? For the price most likely. Vanguard is a brand that puts all the meat on the grill when looking for quality in its products, they strive to produce the best tripods, but instead they position themselves as a brand that is not exactly cheap. The quality of their products is impeccable, and an example of this is the tripod that I bring you below.
Vanguard ABEO PRO 283CGH Tripod
Like its entire range of tripods, ABEO PRO 283CGH is really a kit consisting of tripod + ball head. The head is therefore interchangeable and the day you get fed up with it or it bothers you, you buy a replacement (or you buy another head with different functionalities) and that’s it.
The tripod was born with an Award under its arm: RedDot Design Award 2013. An award given to products with the best design and usability experience for the user.
Featured Features
- Carbon fiber tripod, strong but light to carry at the same time.
- Pistol grip with remote trigger control.
- The handle/ball joint allows 360 degree movements with two panning axes.
- Movable central column with multi-angle system.
- Individually adjustable legs at different angles (25, 50 and 80 degrees).
- All-terrain rubber feet adaptable to studio floors, sand or snow.
Advantage
I don’t like to go too much into the technical characteristics, I prefer to translate the terms and technicalities of the tripod into advantages and disadvantages, something that the reader can understand, something that has meaning for the user, so let’s start with the advantages.
As I said above, Vanguard’s ABEO PRO 283CGH is made of carbon fiber, a star material in terms of tripod manufacturing, since carbon fiber provides the tripod with enough resistance not to break and to remain stable. but at the same time without weighing us down when transporting and carrying it.
The handle is one of the biggest advantages of this tripod: thanks to it we can direct the camera in any direction we want, 360 degrees, in all 3 dimensions, LITERALLY. This is possible thanks to the ball head that is incorporated, and its pistol grip shape, made so that the photographer can hold and move the camera at will.
As if they fell short, an integrated remote trigger has been added to this pistol grip. Thanks to him we can hold, move, and shoot, all with the same hand.
The central column of the ABEO PRO 283CGH can be adapted to different degrees allowing shooting from truly unimaginable angles, especially very useful for frame photography, flowers, or situations that require a difficult position.
I never thought that tripod feet would matter to me, but yes, they do matter. The ABEO PRO 283CGH comes with rubber or rubber accessories that allow the feet to adapt to any type of surface: flat, inclined, firm, interior, exterior, wet, sand, snow, etc. One last.
drawbacks
It could not be all advantages. It had to have some drawback: the price, which for some might seem a bit exorbitant. The Vanguard ABEO PRO 283CGH it is the typical tripod that you buy and you stop trying tripods for the rest of your life, it is designed for those who are looking to invest only once, significant money, and get a tripod that is possibly the best in its category so far (I am part of this type of users).
Being objective, I was not able to find more inconveniences.
Who do I recommend it for?
I am not going to advise you to invest your savings like crazy in this tripod, first make sure you belong to the group of users who may be interested. From my point of view, I recommend it for the following groups:
- Professional and sports photographers (Formula 1, Motocross, soccer, cycling, etc.)
- Medium-advanced amateur photographers
- Adventure photographers, birds, animals, etc.
- Video fans (great for making very smooth sweeps on video)
one last detail
If you want to see it in action, take a look at the following video:
personal assessment
I love things well done. The ABEO PRO 283CGH is one of the best built tripods I have ever tried. All those little (and big) details that are incorporated make life much easier for the photographer.
For my part, it gets a more than deserved 9/10.