Peak Design Pro Tripods – Hands On

​Peak Design recently launched a new series of Pro tripods on Kickstarter. The campaign raised over $ 4 million. Here’s the problem: I have all three of the new tripods in my office, and I wanted to create a full, in-depth review before the end of the main Kickstarter campaign so that people can make the most informed buying decision.

Unfortunately, the loaner tripods only just arrived from Peak Design a couple of days before the end of the main Kickstarter campaign. My reviews take days of testing and writing. There’s no way I could complete a review in that time. It wouldn’t be fair to my readers to even try.

The good news is that despite the Kickstarter being over, Peak Design is also taking advantage of the Kickstarter Late Pledge system. Those taking advantage of the Late Pledge program will get their tripods after the people who backed the main campaign (only fair), but ensures they are at the front of the line before the tripods are available directly through retailers and Peak Design’s web store.

The other good news is that I will have my full review of these tripods completed before the end of the Late Pledge program. If you want to wait for my review before committing to the purchase, come back here shortly, or subscribe to my email newsletter to stay updated on the review.

All I can really do is share some quick thoughts with you:

• I’m impressed by the smoothness of the built-in fluid panning head. It feels like a proper fluid head.
• Overall construction is a step up from the original Peak Design Travel Tripod.
• All three sizes have their merits but I’d pick the Pro Tall for my work.
• I would happily use either the Pro or Pro Tall with my 600mm f/4 lens (this is huge news!)
• The optional Tilt Mod fluid tilt module is incredibly good and outrageously compact. I’ll be buying one myself.
• With the Tilt Mod, this is by far the best overall “do-it-all” tripod system I have seen for people shooting stills and video.
• I have a rather expensive 3-Series RRS tripod as my daily driver tripod. If I didn’t already own that, I could happily use the Pro or Pro Tall as my main tripod.
• You can buy the optional Pro Leveling Base if you want to switch out the included Peak Design head and use a gimbal or ball head yu already own. I have that here too, and it’s as nicely made as everything else.
• Peak Design are going to sell a boat load of these. No doubt about it.

Peak Design Pro Tripod Specifications

Peak Design Pro Tripod and Component Weights

Peak Design provides the weight for the Pro Tripod’s standard configurations, including the Pro Ball Head. Since many people are very particular about tripod weight, and because these tripods are highly customizable with various accessories or center column removal, I took the time to weigh all components individually.

Peak Design Pro Tripod Included Accessories

Tripod Tool

Tripod Case

The Pro tripods come with a padded case that has a shoulder strap, grab handles, and a small pocket for storing the included tripod tool. The case is lightly padded but provides enough protection against minor bumps and scratches. The quality of the case is very good. It’s a step up from the one provided with the Travel Tripod. It doesn’t feel like an afterthought, nor does it seem like a “freebie” item. By this, I mean it doesn’t seem like Peak Design just made the cheapest option they could, simply to check an “includes tripod case” box on a feature list.

I’ve seen many essentially disposable cases included with tripods, where it’s clear that the zipper would break in just a few days, and the stitching may come loose sooner. That’s not the–no pun intended here–case with this case. Overall, this case contributes well to the experience of purchasing a premium tripod, walking the perfect line between being too big and bulky to be used often and being too weak and flimsy to offer any protection.

Peak Design Pro Tripod Optional Accessories

Alongside the Pro Tripod line, Peak Design introduced a range of accessories that enhance the compatibility and functionality of the Pro Tripods.

Tilt Mod

The Tilt Mod is essentially a fluid tilt head with an Arca dovetail at the bottom. It is designed to attach to the Pro Tripod’s included Pro Ball Head and work in conjunction with the ball head’s built-in fluid panning base to create a fully functional panning and tilting fluid head for video shooting or use with super-telephoto lenses. The Tilt Mod features a telescoping handle and an Arca-compatible lever clamp.

Considering how compact and affordable ($149.95) this solution is when combined with the ball head included with any of the Pro Tripod models, I was very impressed with how smoothly it operated. The outcome is much better, more compact, and lighter than purchasing a cheap, dedicated fluid head for the same price. For creators shooting stills and some video with smaller camera setups, this accessory is definitely worth buying.

The downside of the Tilt Mod, and the thing that may still push full-time video folks towards a proper fluid video head, is the lack of a counterbalance system that helps balance heavier camera rigs and return them to center. Still, this is an innovative solution for people seeking an all-in-one stills and video tripod system, and it will meet the needs of most creators who occasionally shoot video with their still cameras. It would certainly cover all of my needs for YouTube and social media content.

Pro Leveling Base

The Pro Leveling Base replaces the Pro Ball Head and has a 3/8″-16 male screw mount, letting you attach your own ball head, fluid video head, or gimbal head to any Peak Design Pro Tripod. When the locking collar is released, the Pro Leveling Base offers up to 20° of omnidirectional tilting, allowing for perfect horizontal pans when used with a fluid head or gimbal head.

At around $120, the Pro Leveling Base is reasonably priced for this type of accessory and useful if you genuinely need the leveling tilt feature. However, if your main reason for buying it is to use an existing ball head with a Peak Design Pro Tripod, and you don’t need the leveling capability that a fluid or gimbal head needs, or you don’t need perfectly level panning for panoramic photography, then $120 suddenly seems very expensive. I’m a big fan of the FlexShooter tripod heads, but since they have built-in leveling, adding another leveling base is redundant in function, more expensive, and heavier than necessary.

It is disappointing that Peak Design has not created a Pro Tripod version of the Universal Head Adapter, which is optional for the Travel Tripod. This adapter offers a simple, lightweight, flat plate with a 3/8″-16 screw mount for a ball head. It’s an ideal solution for most people who want to use a ball head with the Travel Tripod and don’t need the function of a leveling base, and it costs just $25. A Pro Tripod-Compatible version of this platform, coming in at around $35-40, is a hole in an otherwise well-thought-out tripod system. How about it, Peak Design? Please make one in the future.

Spike Feet

Peak Design offers two versions of the Pro Spike Feet: one designed for the Pro Lite tripod and another designed for the Pro and Pro Tall models, which accommodate their slightly larger leg tube diameter. The Spike Feet are made from durable 420 stainless steel, and both versions are priced at $49.95, which seems reasonable for tripod feet that are obviously well-machined.

These Spike Feet are among the shortest and least spiky tripod feet available on the market. They perform well on soft, muddy, or boggy ground but offer little advantage on hard rock or ice, so they might not be an immediately necessary purchase. It depends on where you usually shoot. They install using the tripod’s included 4mm

Compared to the Peak Design Travel Tripod

If you’re thinking about one of the Peak Design Pro Tripods, you might have also wondered if the Travel Tripod would suit your needs. The Travel Tripod lineup includes two versions: Aluminum and Carbon. The more affordable aluminum version costs half as much as the cheapest Pro Lite tripod ($399 versus $799), while the Carbon Travel Tripod is $200 less than the Pro Lite. Comparing the Travel Tripods to the more robust Pro and Pro Tall models only increases that price difference. In short, there are differences between these tripod lines, and you pay for those differences.

In reality, the price and specification gap between the Travel Tripod models and the Pro or Pro Tall models is so large that comparing them is pointless. If you need the capacity, rigidity, or height of either the Pro or Pro Tall tripod, you should not be considering the Travel Tripod. End of story.

Too many people ignored my advice when the Travel Tripod first launched and tried to use it with too-heavy gear in unsuitable shooting scenarios. They got caught up in the industry hype and believed the Travel Tripod was some magical device that defies the laws of physics. It isn’t. It’s an excellent travel tripod. However, it still sacrifices stability for weight and collapsed dimensions. That’s just the reality of all travel tripods, and you shouldn’t buy one if stability is of greater concern to you than weight and compactness.

Of course, some people greatly value lighter weight and packability, and would rather have any kind of tripod with them than nothing at all. For those people, the question of whether to choose the Peak Design Travel Tripod or Pro Tripod is still a valid one, especially when narrowed down to the Pro Lite tripod. For that reason, I’ve pulled out the Pro Lite’s specifications and put them head-to-head with the Travel Tripod below.

The Pro Lite tripod is much more stable than the Travel Tripod, and its versatility is greatly improved by the smooth fluid panning of the Pro Ball Head—something the Travel Tripod lacks. The Pro Lite also allows the addition of the Tilt Mod, making it an excellent and lightweight option for video shooting. In my experience, the Travel Tripod isn’t stable enough for video work at all. Overall, if you can afford it and don’t mind carrying a little extra weight, the Pro Lite is a better and more versatile tripod.