DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Manfrotto and Gitzo team up with UNI to create a new international standard for tripod load capacity

Jul 7, 2021 by John Aldred 1 Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Load capacity on tripods (and monopods, heads, etc) has, until now, been a bit like guide numbers on speedlights. Numbers that seem to state the obvious, but are quite easy to fudge and make equipment appear more capable than it actually is when compared to its competitors. Manfrotto and Gitzo weren’t happy with this, so they’ve developed a new measuring protocol to offer full transparency to customers.

The reference practices for testing has been published by the UNI (recognised internationally by CEN and ISO). Manfrotto and Gitzo say they are both compliant with the testing procedures and have collaborated with the UNI and industry experts to create the new standard for testing payload across all photo and video products for the industry.

Such a standard has not previously existed, but why is it even needed? Well, put simply, there’s a big difference between a product’s “maximum payload” and its “safety payload”. The new UNI/PdR 105:2021 standard outlines tests and measurements manufacturers of tripods, monopods or heads can use

The “Safety Payload”, Manfrotto says, is essentially the maximum load that a product can handle safely while maintaining its full functionality and guaranteed over time. Its “Maximum Payload” on the other hand is essentially the maximum weight it can handle before catastrophic failure – or at least, the maximum it can handle before compromising its safety and functionality.

It’s a bit like having a car that goes 130mph when all the roads are limited to 70mph (Autobahn notwithstanding). Sometimes you might need that little extra power when already at 70mph to avoid an incident. If all cars topped out at 70mph, the highways would be an even more dangerous place than they already are.

It’s why rental houses will often throw in a $10,000 tripod when you rent a $50,000+ RED or Arri setup. To ensure that it’s not going to fall off in the middle of a shoot (at least, if it does, it won’t be the fault of the tripod). The alternative is just trusting that you know what you’re doing and already have a decent tripod that can handle it and… Well, as we’ve seen over the last few years, the general human population at large isn’t that smart or that honest.

So far, only Manfrotto and Gitzo have come forward as saying that they’ll be adhering to the new standards. I hope that we’d see the other brands follow suit. If they do, we’ll get a better overall picture of how tripods, monopods and heads really all stack up against each other and it’ll be easy to spot who’s out there making cheap crap that isn’t worth risking your expensive camera and lens setup with.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Gudsen’s new Moza AirCross 2 is an ultra light gimbal with 360° rotation on all axes and 7lb load capacity Zhiyun’s new Crane-2 gimbal features 7lb load capacity and remote follow focus The new MOZA Air 2 motorised gimbal has a crazy 4.2kg load capacity New SD card standard unveiled offering up to 985MB/sec transfer speeds and 128TB capacity

Filed Under: news Tagged With: CEN, Gitzo, ISO, Manfrotto, monopod, standards, tripod head, Tripods, UNI

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« How to find your style and niche in photography
More images of DJI’s new Mavic Mini SE – It’s not coming to the USA or Europe, though »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy