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Benro is a Chinese company which makes professional tripods and heads. While the name “Benro” has little international recognition in comparison to Manfrotto, Gitzo, etc , it is well known among the Chinese. Benro like any other tripod companies has a wide range of product ranging from flexipods, tripods, monpods and heads. Benro also offers their products in Carbon Fibre.
One of their more interesting product is probably the Benro Travel Angel. It is similar design to the Gitzo 1550 with a 180 degree folding mechanism. The Benro Travel Angel comes in three different sizes and the largest of them all is the Benro TRA269.
The Benro TRA269 is very compact, only 40cm when folded. It comes with the matching Benro BH-1 ball head, as well as its own carry case and strap. The leg section diameter measures from 16mm-28mm which is similar to the Manfrotto 190XB series. The build quality seems good and is fairly stable. However, when compared with the higher class Manfrotto 055XPROB, the Benro TRA269 is not as solid. The Benro TRA2269 feels as solid as the Manfrotto 190XB series, but with 5 leg sections and a foldable leg system to reduce its size.
Length comparison with
- Manfrotto 055XPROB+488RC2 Ball Head ~ 1.9m
- Manfrotto 776YB Monopod ~0.48m
- Benro TRA269+BH-1 Ball Head ~0.4m
The Benro TRA296 is even shorter than the Manfrotto 776YB monopod when folded.
Benro TRA269 specification compares with Manfrotto 190XB and the higher class 055XPROB.
| Benro TRA269+BH-1 Ball Head | Manfrotto 190XB (no head) | Manfrotto 055XPROB (no head) | |
| Max.load | 6kg | 5kg | 7kg |
| Max. Height | 1590mm | 1460mm | 1785mm |
| Min. Height | 500mm | 80cm | 100mm |
| Folded Length | 400mm | 535mm | 655mm |
| Number of Leg Sections | 5 (16mm-28mm) | 3 (16-25mm) | 3 (20mm-29.4mm) |
| Weight | 1.80kg | 1.80kg | 2.40kg |
What makes the Benro Travel Angel so compact is the reverse folding legs. When folded, it is only 40cm which is ideal for travel.
The Benro Travel Angel comes in three models:
TRA269 – similar to the Manfrotto 190XB series
TRA169 – similar to the Manfrotto 7301YB series. Comparing to the TRA269, the TRA169 is about 2cm shorter when folded, 0.3kg lighter and with a leg section diameter from 13mm-25mm.
TRA069 – the smallest of all with a maximum loading of 1kg.
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