Novo explora T5

A carbon tripod for the price of aluminium

We’ve been impressed by the quality, performance and affordability of Novo carbon fibre tripods in the past. The T5 undercuts the T10 that we’ve previously reviewed in price, weight and load capacity, and it’s a little shorter as well.

It’s actually the most lightweight kit in this group, at just 1.43kg, but still has a confidently respectable maximum load rating of 10kg for both the legs and the head.

With four rather than five sections per leg, it doesn’t fold down particularly small, at 47cm, but it manages a decent maximum operating height of 161cm. The carbon legs are resistant to flexing and vibration, even when they’re fully extended and utilizing the bottom sections that only have a 14mm diameter.

Simple but effective, the ball head has a rather unique design. There’s the often-seen adjustable friction damper but this time it’s built into the main release knob.

There’s not one but two pan only release knobs, one that enables rotation of the entire head, the other allowing only the camera platform to rotate. A bubble level is featured but you can only see it after removing the Arca-swiss compatible quick-release plate, which is somewhat inconvenient.

Performance

It may not be the tallest tripod in the group and doesn’t fold down the smallest, but it does offer a good compromise in a particularly lightweight, yet nicely engineered package. The pull-off rubber foot pads that reveal metal spikes are a nice touch and everything about the design works simply and efficiently for it’s purpose. The look and feel of carbon fibre also adds a touch of class luxury at the higher end of the price spectrum.