Serious stability and versatility for photographers using heavy gear in challenging environments across diverse locations.
The Vanguard Alta Pro 3X 304CLBPS is a professional-grade carbon-fibre tripod. It’s been designed for any photographer looking for a solid, lightweight support, and, to be honest, it’s one of the most versatile tripods I’ve ever seen. The four-section design means it packs down to just 61 cm, but when fully extended, it reaches 1.5 m, and you can add more height by bolting on the centre column, although that is a bit of a faff and detracts from the superb design. The design of these new tripods from Vanguard is slightly unique, and they have almost completely dropped the centre column, although, as I mentioned, one is included in the bag that can be bolted on. Otherwise, it’s just a centre-column-free three-leg tripod, which is something I’ve wanted for many years, and I’ve converted several of my old tripods into lighter-weight, far simpler supports when I’m actually out shooting landscapes, both for pleasure and professionally.
But that’s not the only thing Vanguard has done with this new range of tripods. Firstly, the leg design is beautifully engineered with carbon fibre tubes with a maximum diameter of 30 mm. They also feature easy-clean twist locks, so if you are out in the winter, as we are at the moment, and mud or sand gets into the locking mechanism, you can fully disassemble, clean, and reassemble, and the process is relatively quick and easy.
Another feature of the legs is the quick-release leg angle adjuster. This feature is a metal button on the side of the legs that enables you to quickly adjust the leg angle. There’s no pulling out stoppers or fiddling with ratchet systems; this is a very clean, easy system. They can be used in both wet and freezing cold conditions without any issues.
Another massive feature here that has really impressed me is the new LBP-55S low-profile ball head. Vanguard has gone to great lengths to ensure that it has maximum flexibility with a large locking knob on the side to lock the head tight when you need it, and the ability to rotate both the camera base plate mount and the base of the tripod head, giving you greater flexibility when it comes to shooting macro as well as landscape. It’s just incredibly easy to manoeuvre the camera into the exact position that you need. Of course, as with many other modern tripods, there are accessory ports for a quarter-inch thread to be bolted in, as well as a strap.
Initial impressions of the tripod were exceptionally good, but it was only once I got out into the rain and started to really test this tripod that I discovered how good it was. This is a real level up and competes with some of the most expensive tripods that I’ve tried, yet at a far lower price; however, that’s not to say it’s cheap.
Ultimately, with the ability to hold an impressive 25 kg and a height of 1.5 m extending to 1.82 m with the column accessory, and having a high-quality carry bag with it, it’s one of the best value mid-pro range tripods on the market, but as ever I’d love to see another version with those thicker 32 mm legs to get that little extra support to the lower leg sections for shooting long exposure landscapes.
What is the Vanguard Pro 3X304CLBPS?
Vanguard Pro 3X304CLBPS is a professional-level carbon fibre tripod designed for DSLR and high-end mirrorless cameras. It features a 25 kg maximum load capacity, which is more than enough to handle pretty much every camera that I’ve ever looked at, and even with the Hasselblad X2D II mounted, this tripod had the strength and rigidity to hold it without any issue at all. Even switching over to a 200–600 mm on the Sony A7 IV, again the rigidity of the head and the combo makes it a superb option for wildlife and sport, with the smooth motion of the ball head enabling plenty of flexibility and a quick lock through the large knob on the head.
One of the features that has set Vanguard ball heads apart in the past is the dual Arca-Swiss-compatible design. This not only gives the usual panoramic rotation at the base of the head so you can capture panoramic landscapes and enables easy positioning to the left or right, but it also adds a further panoramic rotation to the head’s Arca-Swiss clamp. This means that if you’re trying to photograph flowers, macro, or other subjects where the camera might not be 100% level to the ground, you can easily rotate the camera to level it and ensure the best, most stable base for your photography. There are two bubble levels mounted onto the tripod, so it’s easy to ensure that you’re getting a level horizon when you need it.
This latest tripod from Vanguard is an ideal solution for landscape, wildlife, studio, and astro photography. In terms of quality and design, it competes with many of the other premium carbon tripods we’ve looked at over the years.
Specification
- Construction: Carbon fibre
- Leg Sections: 4-section legs, 30 mm diameter
- Weight: 1,685 g
- Maximum load capacity: 25 kg
- Maximum height: 182 cm (with centre column)
- Maximum height: 150 cm (without centre column)
- Folded length: 610 mm
- Folded diameter: 85 mm
- Leg angles: 23°, 50°, 80°
- Ball Head: LBP-55S dual-axis Arca-compatible ball head
Build and Handling
Vanguard has captured a niche with its high-end, ergonomic tripods. These supports really took a leap forward when the company switched to CNC machining for many of the metal parts a few years ago. Again, here with the Vanguard Pro 3X304CLBPS, the level of design and innovation certainly takes another step forward. One of the key features here is the four-section carbon fibre legs, secured with simple twist locks, which make set-up speed a key feature.
The tripod weighs 1.68 kg, making it relatively lightweight for a full-size tripod with a maximum height of 1.5 m and a minimum height of 17.5 cm. An important factor for any tripod is always the load capacity, and here it’s up to 25 kg, a little overkill for most kits, but this means that for the majority of camera and lens combos, it’s going to lock solid. Checking out the tripod’s design from bottom up, the feet feature a good-sized rubber grip at the base of each leg. They can be screwed up towards the leg to reveal a built-in metal spike. The spikes and feet are fixed but should last for many years thanks to the high-quality build.
Then you have the 4-section carbon-tubed legs with twist locks, with a 30mm top diameter, providing solid support.
The tops of the legs feature leg angle adjusters with quick-release locks, so the leg angle can be easily adjusted to 23°, 50°, and 80°. Because there’s no centre column, it’s quick and easy to drop the tripod to ground level. This shows the benefit of not having a centre column, especially for landscape photographers and macro shooters.
As standard, the tripod ships with the LBP-55S low-profile ball head, which is also a step in innovation, featuring dual-access pan adjustment on an Arca-Swiss-compatible clamp.
Taking a closer look at the head, which is of the ball design featuring a pan base released with a large silver knob on the side to release and lock. Then you have the friction control knob sticking vertically up, the main ball-head release, the Arca-Swiss base plate, and another 360° pan option. There are five knobs on the head, which can initially seem a little over-complex; however, it’s all been well designed, with each knob having a different design, texture, and size, so you always know by feel which knob you are loosening or tightening. Most importantly, the base plate release is a completely different shape from all the other release knobs.
Features
The tripod’s main features include the four-section carbon fibre legs, the quick-release angular adjustments and the innovative LBP-55S ball head, but aside from that, when it comes to the more technical features, the tripod here has been designed to carry a maximum load of 25 kg, has a max height of 1.5m and no centre column helping to cut weight and making it easy to drop to ground level, providing more than enough for enthusiasts or indeed professional-level camera and lens combinations.
When it comes to the legs, there’s a good variety of adjustments enabling you to take the tripod head right down to 175 mm off the ground and up to 1.5 m in height without the need for a centre column. If you do want a centre column, there is one in the bag that can be attached if needed, taking the maximum height up to a very respectable 1.82 m.
It is worth noting that, with full carbon fibre legs, high-quality CNC-machined mechanics, and an advanced head, this tripod is actually reasonably priced. It is a little on the pricey side for most enthusiasts, but if you’re an enthusiast looking for one of the best-equipped, stable, and versatile tripods on the market, then it is certainly worth it.
Performance
From the outside, this is one of the best-looking tripods I’ve come across so far, with only the Gitzo Traveller really beating it for desirability. What I like is the style of the tripod, with its mix of metal, carbon fibre, silver, and yellow, although, as this comes from Vanguard, I still miss the incredible grey they used for many of their tripods. If I did own one of these, I would be tempted to dismantle it and take it back to that Vanguard grey that I first saw in the Arctic back in 2009.
Taking a quick look at the overall build quality and the technological advancements Vanguard has used really stand out. This is a really good, high-quality tripod, and that’s reflected in both the build and materials of the tripod itself and the carry bag that comes with it.
Inside that carry bag is the QS-40 quick-release plate, which is Arca-compatible. Alongside that, there is a centre column. The design of this is also quite striking, although as so often with these nicely designed bags, the complexity of the zip can be a bit of an issue, and with the up-and-over zip style design I did find on a few cold and wet mornings it was a little awkward to unzip in the near dark compared with just a single zip design that I’m more used to. The bag is also contoured to the shape of the tripod, and if you put the tripod upside down at the end of the shoot and then try to remove it later, you have a battle on your hands. This is a small thing, but again, whilst this bag is beautifully designed, looks great, and functions perfectly when used as intended, there are certain field situations where pure functionality is often required over design.
The tripod itself is once again a thing of beauty, and after almost two months of testing, I have found it very difficult to fault anything. However, I’ll start with some of those small negative thoughts. The first is that it’s 30 mm, not 32 mm; that 2 mm difference in the widest-diameter leg section matters when you’re taking long-exposure landscapes. Whilst the light is relatively low at the moment, so long exposures are inevitable, getting as much support and stability as possible from your tripod is essential. 30 mm for this particular tripod is good; however, I still hope that at some point in the future, Vanguard will make that leg 32 mm.
When it comes to the weight, at 1,685 g, it is actually pretty average despite being carbon fibre, and that all goes into the rigidity of the build. However, when mounting it onto a backpack with the head down, I found it felt really well-balanced. Whilst 1.68 kg is quite a bit, along with your camera and a couple of lenses, it’s more than acceptable. I would rear-mount this rather than side-mount to take that load off one of your shoulders.
One of my other small issues with the tripod isn’t really an issue at all: Vanguard has made this leap by producing a very high-quality mid- to high-end tripod without a column, which I really appreciate. However, whilst they’ve gone so far as to produce this tripod centre-column free, they’ve included an optional one in the bag.
To fit it, you do need to remove parts, fit the column, and then bolt the head to the top, and that process is a bit of a faff. You could say it’s just nice to have a column if you need it, but to be honest, through the two months, the only time I used it was to test how it fitted and could then be removed quickly and placed back in the bag, and since then, I’ve had no reason to use it.
Now onto why this tripod is so good. If I wanted to adjust the height, having a tripod without a centre column means you pay more attention to the initial setup, and as long as you adjust the legs perfectly at the beginning, there’s never really any reason to have a centre column. The point here is that the tripod setup is quick, the twist locks can be released in a single action, and they provide an excellent lock.
Then you move to the leg angles and thos buttons, which are well refined and tight in the design, enable the best design of any tripod for their function – they just work in any condition, warm, cool, dark or bright, this tripods usability comes down to touch as much as sight, and you can easily hold a conversation while setting up the tripod without having to focus too much.
For stills photography, the design is simple, with plenty of versatility when needed, all provided by the head that offers incredible levels of adjustment while feeling rock-solid. If you want to use the tripod for video, it may lack handles, but it’s well balanced, especially with the addition of the accessories port, which lets you bolt in a friction arm.
This is one of the best-looking tripods out there, but it’s not just about looks; all those additions make this an easy tripod to use and carry in the field.
Final Thoughts
Over the years, I’ve used many tripods, and in that time, the four that I go back to are an old Manfrotto 055, Benro Mach3, Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ and a 3 Legged Thing Punks Billy. Each has its own uses, and over the years of use, they all looked rather old and battered, or well-loved, but many of the newer tripods I’ve looked at, while stunningly designed, for one reason or another, these are always the tripods that I revert back to.
However, now with the Pro 3X304CLBPS, I have a tripod that is solid, flexible, and beautifully designed, perfect for both studio and outdoor use, with a decent weight and, more importantly, sized to carry.
Whilst stability is the major factor here, the ability to carry the tripod to your location is also incredibly important. Whilst the Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ is probably one of the most solid tripods that I own and most flexible, carrying that anywhere for any length of time proves just how heavy it can be. Likewise, the old Manfrotto and Benro, whilst both superb tripods, are just a bit on the large and bulky side to take on a full day hike, and whilst the Three Legged Thing Punks Billy is an ideal solution, it doesn’t have the support of these larger tripods.
So, really testing the Pro 3X in some of the worst conditions I’ve ever known over the last couple of months, I have to say this is the one tripod I would be happy to always take with me. To that end, it has been dragged from job to job, on hikes with the dog, and to workshops, and has consistently provided me with the quick, easy support I need for my cameras. Sorry, Vanugaurd, the new Alta Pro 3X is no longer looking so new.
If you’re an enthusiast or professional shooting in the studio, wildlife, sports, or landscapes, then the Vanguard Alta Pro 3X304CLBPS is an excellent option and one I highly recommend.
