I don't use a tripod very often but having bought a bigger lens for my wildlife i found that i've needed one on occasions due to its weight, in that whilst its okay hand holding for a while, if you are waiting for something to appear its best with it all set up and ready and my current aluminium one is just too heavy to  lug around and i hate the clip release on the legs so i decided to look for a new tripod... criteria was carbon fibre, the twist lock on the legs, light but sturdy (that would be the tricky one), and either no centre column as when i shoot static aircraft and often at night I need to get as low as possible, something my current tripod won't allow, well certainly not easily.

You'd think it would be an easy task but noooooo...... there are a mass of tripods on the market and due to a lack of shops you're totally dependant on doing your homework on the internet, which isn't easy and you could so easily buy the wrong thing.

The name Benro was mentioned by a couple of people and it wasn't a name that i was familiar with but researching on line they did seem to do a good range of tripods and i eventually (after a few months of indecisiveness) purchased their TMA27C as it seemed to tick all of my boxes plus there was the bonus that it could also be made into a monopod, not that i've tried that yet.

Have to say, i haven't been disappointed at all, its incredibly light coming in at just under one and a half Kg, but its surprisingly sturdy with my set up which is a Canon 1dxii with 500 f4 lens and i love how quick you can extend and retract the legs. It comes with two interchangeable centre columns but i tend to just use the very short one. It all came in a very nice bag and also some spiked feet should you need them.

I got mine from Wex Photographic as they had it on offer and have to say that I think it offered good value for money, certainly compared to the other brand that i nearly went for.

Highly recommended!