Page 49 - Amateur Photographer - August 5, 2017

ACCESSORIES Testbench

Vanguard Alta Pro

2+ 264AT Grips

Rubberised grips on two
of the legs make the tripod
more comfortable to carry,
Andy Westlake tests out a tripod with an especially in cold
ingenious multi-angle centre column weather.

● £189 ● www.vanguardworld.co.uk
MOST tripods currently follow a ‘travel’ pattern, with
legs that reverse fold around the head for a more Spirit level
compact size. The Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 264AT, A small bubble level on the
however, is based on a rather different concept. Its ‘spider’ assists with getting
legs fold conventionally, but it has a multi-angle the camera level, and includes a
centre column that can be tilted off-vertical then suspension loop for hanging a
rotated freely relative to the legs, allowing the weight to gain extra
camera to be pointed in almost any direction. This stability.
extra fl exibility can be really useful in the fi eld,
particularly for macro work. All of the centre-
column movements are adjusted using large
controls with textured rubberised grips.
Vanguard has included lots of other neat features, Reversible
too. The 4-section aluminium legs have clever twist screw
locks that are restricted to just 35° rotation The mounting screw can
between loose and tight, which means they’re be reversed to accept
extremely easy to operate. All three locks on each heads with either 1/4in
leg can be undone together in a single movement, or 3/8in sockets.
making the tripod quick to set up.
Rather than the usual two or three leg angles,
Vanguard offers four, of 20°, 40°, 60° and 80°,
changed via easy-to-grip sliding locks. Chunky, Recommended
curved rubber feet provide good ground contact at
all leg angles. The lowest position enables practically
ground-level shooting when used in concert with
the tilting centre column, and crucially you don’t
have to disassemble anything, which again means
it’s quicker to set up than tripods with split or short
centre columns.
A matte grey gunmetal fi nish and yellow markings
provide a utilitarian, almost military aesthetic; there’s
no chance of this tripod attracting undue attention, Accessory
or refl ecting a colour cast back into your images. connector
The build quality offers few causes for complaint, The 3/8in Alta Link screw
the only small disappointment being that the centre socket allows the attachment
column height adjustment screw isn’t captive. The of a range of accessories
tripod also gets a bit wobbly at its full height, as this such as video lights or
requires fully extending the rather long centre reflectors.
column, and I was happier restricting it to 140cm.
With the column down, you’ll only get 120cm.
Verdict At a glance MATCHED HEADS
If you like the sound of a tripod that can hold your
camera at angles most others can’t, then the The tripod comes as
Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 264AT is certainly worth ● Max height 150cm a leg-set only, so you’ll
ALL PRICES ARE APPROXIMATE STREET PRICES sturdy enough to hold an enthusiast DSLR. It does ● Weight 1.9kg a matching gunmetal
also need to buy a head.
● Folded length 50.5cm
a look. It’s well thought-out, quick to use and easily
Vanguard makes two in
face strong competition from the Manfrotto 190
● Max load 7kg
finish, the compact 3-way
Go, which is a bit smaller and lighter, but has a less
Alta PH-32 that costs
fl exible centre column that can only be set to
around £75, and the £70
vertical or horizontal. Even so, it’s a good choice
for nature and macro photography.
subscribe 0330 333 1113 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 5 August 2017 Alta BH-100 ball head. 49