Easiest Tripod Legs to Work With?

[Max Field]

Hey all,

Assuming it can handle a payload of at least 20lbs, what is the most convenient pair of tripod legs you have had the pleasure of working with?

I currently use Manfrotto 545B legs and once they are in place they don't buckle or have stability issues but adjusting from shot to shot as a self-shooter can feel very tedious when it comes to balancing the legs, loosening and tightening each spoke of the spreader, etc.

Let me know what you guys have used!

[Jon O'Brien]

I've many times had the pleasure of working with the Sachtler aktiv10 with aktive10T fluid head.

Highly recommend.

Very light to carry for the payload it can carry. Big enough for heavy chunky 16mm cameras and probably even a IIC etc, should you be so inclined.

Very fast and easy to set up. Good for older dudes who don't want to be forever bending down (hey, Jon, what are you saying, you're not all that old yet).

Can't fault it so far. No doubt Miller are just as good, they are an excellent Australian product, I've used those too, but I suspect I prefer the Sachtler aktiv gear just a bit more, maybe as I've used it more often.

I was actually at Panavision Gold Coast the other day, and the O'Connor fluid heads on top of Ronford Baker legs (I think they were R-B) were truly enormous. Much bigger than the Sachtler akive10 gear. They had a Panavision Millenium XL2 35mm film camera on top. Man what a fantastic camera.

Edited April 11 by Jon O'Brien

[Max Field]

On 4/10/2025 at 9:12 PM, Jon O'Brien said:

I've many times had the pleasure of working with the Sachtler aktiv10 with aktive10T fluid head.

Highly recommend.

Very light to carry for the payload it can carry. Big enough for heavy chunky 16mm cameras and probably even a IIC etc, should you be so inclined.

Very fast and easy to set up. Good for older dudes who don't want to be forever bending down (hey, Jon, what are you saying, you're not all that old yet).

Can't fault it so far. No doubt Miller are just as good, they are an excellent Australian product, I've used those too, but I suspect I prefer the Sachtler aktiv gear just a bit more, maybe as I've used it more often.

I was actually at Panavision Gold Coast the other day, and the O'Connor fluid heads on top of Ronford Baker legs (I think they were R-B) were truly enormous. Much bigger than the Sachtler akive10 gear. They had a Panavision Millenium XL2 35mm film camera on top. Man what a fantastic camera.

Would you happen to have any specific model for the legs themselves? I googled the product numbers and only saw fluidheads with no legs.

[Uli Meyer]

15 hours ago, Max Field said:

Would you happen to have any specific model for the legs themselves? I googled the product numbers and only saw fluidheads with no legs.

https://www.sachtler.com/en/product/tripod-flowtech-100-gs/

[Max Field]

I actually stumbled across the Miller Solo-Q tripod series.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1606239-REG/miller_2520_solo_q_100_3_stage_carbon.html

66 pound payload and legs individually lock without the need of a spreader.

Anyone have hands-on experience with this model?