Alister Chapman
March 26th, 2010, 01:04 PM
I recently took delivery of a new tripod to replace my now somewhat elderly Vinten 5 tripod. My original Vinten 5 was purchased way back in 1991 (gulp!!) and has served me extremely well for almost 20 years. Now in terms of a business investment it’s hard to beat something that lasts that long. To be honest tripods have not really changed much over the years. New lighter materials are available now such as carbon fiber legs, but the basic technology is still the same. So knowing how well Vinten heads are made I decided to stick with them. I put my tripods through hell shooting in everything from desert dust storms to sub zero arctic conditions. I’ve had them in rivers and lakes as well as the sea (not recommended) and used them to shoot hurricanes and tornadoes. For anything to last 20 years given that kind of abuse it has to be good.
Anyway, what about the new Vision 5AS? Well it arrived in a nice blue Vinten bag and upon unpacking I could see that it was once again substantially made. The 5AS is a mid weight tripod suited to cameras such as a fully loaded EX3 or a PMW-350. It has a very easy to set counterbalance system that stops the camera from wanting to tip back or forwards as you tilt, this is essential in any pro tripod IMHO. Pan and Tilt drag adjustment is made by geared wheels that are easy to rotate with the tension being indicated as a number in an easy to view window. This is an improvement over my original Vision 5 which just had a big knob.
One of the other things that’s new is the way the tripod plate attaches to the head. In my old head the plate slides into the top of the head, this is OK, but can be a bit fiddly at times to get it lined up. The new Vinten AS heads have a side loading system where the plate slots in to one side of the head and then latches into place as you drop it level. This is very easy to use and I really like this. On thing to note is that the 5AS uses a 75mm bowl, my original Vision 5 is 100mm. I have not found this to be an issue and you can get simple adapter rings to use the 75mm head on 100mm tripod legs.
Talking of legs, I have a set of Vintens excellent Fibertec legs. Sadly these are no longer made as they were too difficult to produce at a sensible price. I will continue to use these legs, but I also got a set of 2 stage alloy legs with the 5AS system, this gives me 2 tripods for multi-camera shoots. The alloy legs are surprisingly light, yet sturdy and stable, in part thanks to Vintens clever spread-lok mid level spreader. My experience of tubular carbon fiber legs has been mixed. Yes they are a little lighter, but they tend to be more fragile and can fracture if abused. Alloy legs tend to bend if abused, if your careful bent legs can be straightened while fractured CF legs are scrap. The leg locks use simple 1/4 turn latches providing a positive and secure action, one nice touch is that the leg locks are attached to the tops of each extending section so there is never the need to bend down to the ground to extend the lower leg sections.
The Pan and Tilt action is silky smooth and the tripod is stable and steady. On a recent shoot in Norway I had the tripod outside in temperatures approaching -20c without any issues. The 5AS is everything I have come to expect from a Vinten tripod, solidly built and well engineered. I hope this one last as long as my old one!
Anyway, what about the new Vision 5AS? Well it arrived in a nice blue Vinten bag and upon unpacking I could see that it was once again substantially made. The 5AS is a mid weight tripod suited to cameras such as a fully loaded EX3 or a PMW-350. It has a very easy to set counterbalance system that stops the camera from wanting to tip back or forwards as you tilt, this is essential in any pro tripod IMHO. Pan and Tilt drag adjustment is made by geared wheels that are easy to rotate with the tension being indicated as a number in an easy to view window. This is an improvement over my original Vision 5 which just had a big knob.
One of the other things that’s new is the way the tripod plate attaches to the head. In my old head the plate slides into the top of the head, this is OK, but can be a bit fiddly at times to get it lined up. The new Vinten AS heads have a side loading system where the plate slots in to one side of the head and then latches into place as you drop it level. This is very easy to use and I really like this. On thing to note is that the 5AS uses a 75mm bowl, my original Vision 5 is 100mm. I have not found this to be an issue and you can get simple adapter rings to use the 75mm head on 100mm tripod legs.
Talking of legs, I have a set of Vintens excellent Fibertec legs. Sadly these are no longer made as they were too difficult to produce at a sensible price. I will continue to use these legs, but I also got a set of 2 stage alloy legs with the 5AS system, this gives me 2 tripods for multi-camera shoots. The alloy legs are surprisingly light, yet sturdy and stable, in part thanks to Vintens clever spread-lok mid level spreader. My experience of tubular carbon fiber legs has been mixed. Yes they are a little lighter, but they tend to be more fragile and can fracture if abused. Alloy legs tend to bend if abused, if your careful bent legs can be straightened while fractured CF legs are scrap. The leg locks use simple 1/4 turn latches providing a positive and secure action, one nice touch is that the leg locks are attached to the tops of each extending section so there is never the need to bend down to the ground to extend the lower leg sections.
The Pan and Tilt action is silky smooth and the tripod is stable and steady. On a recent shoot in Norway I had the tripod outside in temperatures approaching -20c without any issues. The 5AS is everything I have come to expect from a Vinten tripod, solidly built and well engineered. I hope this one last as long as my old one!