The BEST real estate photography tripod. Benro TMA28A Series 2 Mach3 Legs + GD3WH 3-Way Geared Head.
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- čas přidán 10. 07. 2020
- After much searching, I finally found the best tripod for real estate photography. The Benro TMA28A Series 2 Mach3 Aluminum Tripod with the
Benro GD3WH 3-Way Geared Head. It's awesome and I hope you enjoy the video.
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Sorry I kept saying “ball head” when I meant “geared head”!
Great points.
I’d add that choosing the base hight is another factor some should consider. As you mentioned, the center column is crucial to RE photography.
Make sure the tripod minimum length with legs fully extended reaches around 12” below (camera + gear head + column) your eye level. This will allow full use of the center column.
I went with the Benro TMA38CL Long Series 3 Mach3 Carbon Fiber Tripod. With 2 of the three legs extended and the column at the bottom, with it’s base is about 45”, add 12” for the camera and gear head which will put the view finder around 57”. Now it’ll reach 66” with the column fully extended.
I’m 66” tall, so I’ve got about 7” of column adjustment.
Of course, I can stand on my toes if I need it to be fully extended.
You are right on many points. An acra-standard geared head is a must. On tripod I found clamp and twis locks are aboit equal; twist is a bit faster.
Great points on the center column issue.
One think I'd add is when selecting tripod also look for leg locking mechanism that van be operated w one adction... mostly is pressing down a lever or button w a thumb. It makes work a lot faster.
Normally I use 2 tripod. One w conventional center column for fast moving work. Another has off-center column for additional flexibility when I can spend time and for sites that are quite small. Both are fitted with geared head.
For sure! Having multiple tripods is killer. Sorry for the delayed response haha just getting back into CZcams.
Yes, Brenda!
Super detailed review for real world use AND entertaining too. New fan/subscribed 🤓
Hey thanks, I’m glad you found it helpful!!
Great video! I just started doing real estate photography and have been looking into tripods so this was helpful!
Glad you liked it! Hope you found a good tripod to fit your needs. 🤙
Full time real estate photographer in Nashville. After my first 300 homes my Neewer cheepo finally fell apart. Thanks for this video! Definitely going to give this set up a shot!
I hope it works out well for you! I’ve put this one through a few hundred properties and so far it’s still holding up perfectly.
@@NewNewChris love to hear how your gear head has held up. I’ve put mine through about 1500 properties at this point and it’s still going strong. Only con I have is that the joints have gotten a bit loose. Not much of a factor for real estate, but I definitely would wouldn’t take it to a windy place.
Is it something you can tighten up? I’ve been able to adjust all the parts on mine so far although now I use it strictly for studio work and some wedding video stuff.
Really solid video man! I do real estate photography in Fort Collins - just down the road. Definitely considering this head!
Hey thanks man! Fort Collins is rad! It’s a solid head for sure. Can’t recommend it enough.
good video - just ordered a Benro Mach3 series 3. TY for the review - looking forward to seeing Brenda review
Thanks! Been putting off Brendas review for too long haha.
Good job man, really helpful
Hey thanks a lot!!
Thank you so much. I love gear video wading but I also have to chose at some point. Me and B&H thanks you 😅
I hope you snagged the tripod and are enjoying it!
Great video, you packed in a bunch of info for us, thanks! You skimmed over a couple of things that I would love to hear more detail about. Specifically talking about the gear head with the three different angles and getting a third wall in the photo and such. Is there any chance you could do a video tutorial on the steps and the important things you do in each house photo shoot? I thought I was pretty Good at real estate photography until I realized I didn't know any of those specific things you were talking about... I might do some of them without really realizing but it kind of blew my mind to hear those specific things..... If you Don't have time to do a video, can you tell us where you learned those things?
Thank you! I haven’t shot real estate in a while now but if I ever get back into it I for sure will.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I've shot about 150 houses with the GD3H 3-way geared head and for the price this thing is amazing. It only took me about two real estate shoots on my benro ball head to say "I'm not down with this." MUCH time wasted with ball head. MUST have geared head and this is definitely the one to use - for the price as well. It literally takes me only seconds to frame up each shot with this head. no flopping around with a ball head. I spend more time turning on and off lights than I do taking pictures at this point. I might be buying this tripod. I have a Benro mach 3 long carbon one for outdoor, but indoor I've been using some cheesy travel manfrotto that is kind of annoying. I came here searching for info on this tripod - as I'm already a Benro enthusiast as far as having about 3 of their different heads now (pan, ball, geared) and the Mach 3 carbon and this TMA28A will be perfect together I suppose!
Love the gear head for sure. That aluminum tripod might be just what you're looking for then!
@@NewNewChris funny thing is, I was looking at it on BH and then pasted into youtube and your video came up first which was specifically about real estate - and it was funny because i was expecting to find a standard review or something and the first one basically confirmed it was good for real estate. my other benro carbon model is way to big for real estate and this little manfrotto travel thing is just sorta too wobbly and the center column is terrible for sure. I'm guessing the benro center column on this model is a little more sturdy based on how it is on my "TMA38CL Long Series"
Manfrotto's you can tighten the legs but it's a pain. I have real estate and video tripods from Manfrotto and both get loose and crush my hand but the video legs are 2 allen screws you have to release the angle lock to get to. The same story with the photo tripod, release the angle lock and it's underneath the leg 1 really odd-sized "star head" screw...IT'S NOT AN ALLEN KEY. It's dumb but it is possible to tighten. Sorry just had to state this. Great Review!
Oh nice I'll have to look into that. That old Manfrotto tripod is currently on a shelf collecting dust, but if I ever bust it out again I'll for sure try that.
Hey 👋 I loved the video, I picked up the benro setup. Is it possible to put a RRS arca plate on top of the benro gear head?
Hope you like the tripod! I’ve been able to put my RRS L-brackets on the benro head no problem.
11:30 Try using one of the grip tapes for cellphones. I am using GRiPhone all the time for these purposes. This particular product may not be available outside of Japan, but I'm sure similar products are available where you live.
Yeah worth a shot! Tennis grip tape could be another easy solution.
Thanks for the suggestion. I was hoping you would have affiliate link to buy this setup. You should look into it.
Definitely something to look into for sure!
Thanks Chris appreciate the review. Looking for a new setup, great tips. but "20 minutes to shoot a 3000 sq ft house"? Im guessing they also want you to turn the photos around that same day
Thanks! Yep, it happens where a client only wants a few images so my time on-site is very short. Add into that time flipping all lights on, opening blinds, etc. and things can be very fast paced. Luckily the company I work with has an editing department so I don’t have to worry about that end. Still pretty frantic at times though.
@@NewNewChris yes same here. with other's doing the editing, we spend more time talking to people and driving and turning lights on, than we do actually shooting. hahaha
Hey Chris, awesome review! I've been trying to find a good tripod for my real estate work within a reasonable budget, and this tripod/head combo looks like it might hit that sweet spot for me. It would be great if you could make some real estate tutorials and maybe talk about your workflow. On a side note, why do you need to sanitize your tripods? Are other people touching them? Do you sanitize all your gear regularly, because that would be such a headache, lol.
Thanks dude! I’d love to do a tutorial and workflow video but I’ve just been so dang busy it’s hard. I sanitize everything pretty often just because it’s safer to do so. With everything going on I’d rather not run the risk of bringing anything around with me. People don’t touch my gear but I have to touch door knobs, light switches, etc. throughout multiple homes a day and I’d rather be safe than sorry. It’s a colossal pain but just part of doing business now.
@@NewNewChris Damn man this was one year ago and we still on the same page
I shoot real estate photography and I've been using a Slik 700DX tripod and after using many other tripods I found this tripod to be the best for real estate photography. The tripod is light but heavy duty and the locks don't come loose like the Manfrotto. But the best part is that you can find these new for around $120 or you can buy them used like I did. I paid $35 and $60 for mine and did buy the Benro Gear head which I love.
Trust me, go check them out at your local camera store before you buy any other tripod and spend a whole lot more.
For a tripod?
Would you mind putting links to both tripod setups?
I will for sure get to that when I get a chance.
(paraphrasing): "it only cost me $375, pretty good value"
me using a 6 year old cheap Canon T5 and efs 10-18mm lens attached to an old tripod that I just want to replace with a nice new one around $100: 👁️👄👁️
joking aside, this video was informative and helpful! I spend way more time getting the photos straight both in person and in Lightroom than I should be; having a slight astigmatism in my right eye probably doesn't help tho lol. I'll look for a tripod with a good way to adjust the axis separately, as panoramas are also a bit of a pain on a probably 15year-old ball-mount that's not exactly accurate for centering anymore.
Glad you liked it! I’d definitely say any geared head will help a ton with getting the angles right and saving a lot of time in post.
That pan jiggle - doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a tripod? If everything is locked down and it moves that much, that can’t be good for taking multiple exposures and blending in post.
It looks really dramatic on video but it takes a good amount of force to make it jiggle. I've never had it be an issue for exposure blending.
Only @ 2:00 and I understand every point you made lol. I'm really sick of opening 3 sections per leg
Oh it’s the worst haha.
Seated vs Cabinet height? Wait! What?
I shoot 95% of my shots at mid-level, guessing that's your 'Seated height' level. I do shoot other heights inside but not enough to have a designated height. It just depends on the special shot. Would love to see or hear why you have these two heights and see examples of both. Also, how did you come up with the specific levels?
Thx and good video.
Awesome question. So the difference in height might seem non important but it actually makes a huge difference in the final results. The reason I do both heights is to give the viewer a feeling of actually being inside the space. Seated Height is just where my eye level is if I was sitting in a chair in that room. So the viewer can more easily feel like they're sitting in that room, too. Cabinet or Standing Height(I use this term interchangeably) is typically about an inch or two above the bottom of the cabinet. This feels more like standing in the room. ALSO, it eliminates the view of the bottom of the cabinets which are never really that flattering to look at. Definitely try this out as it can be the little difference that sets your photos apart from the competition. Hopefully this helps and sorry for the delay, I haven't been on CZcams in a while.
i quickly learned, the majority of a house is shot at seated height (UNLESS it has some amazing vaulted cielings or what not. you need to have equal ceiling and floor ratio). shooting kitchens is at "standing" height - or - just enough to not see the bottom of the cabinet. use your judgement. it's a pain in the ass with the wrong tripod or head arrangement for sure!!!