Vanguard Auctus Plus 323CT Tripod Review

The options for big tripods have always been somewhat restricted to the larger companies, but with the advent of manufacturing moving to the East, many new products have been seen to rival the giants. Vanguard have released the new Auctus Plus 323CT, their first large carbon fibre tripod, aimed at the photography / video market. With features to satisfy either styles of media, will this tripod make a mark in both worlds?

Vanguard Auctus Plus 323CT: Features and Handling

The first thing that strikes you about the Auctus, is the geared centre column. The round water valve looking handle and striated central tube certainly captivate at first glance. The tripod is carbon fibre, with three leg sections, twist lock grips and feature galore. Standing at around four and a half feet when fully extended, it has a great presence and solid feel that mean business.

Operation is swift and smooth, the legs effortlessly sliding outwards with confidence. The Auctus is designed to take larger photographic loads, video heads and cameras or indeed anything you fancy.

The geared centre column give precise control of the weight above. The movement is smooth and precise, but for those used to smaller or lighter tripod designs, the gearing may feel a little laboured. It's important to remember that this is designed for weight, not speed.

The leg sections have wonderful leg extension locks that vertically lift. The usual three positions allow movement out to the usual 90degrees, but what makes them ingenious is their position. Just lift and swing the leg into position.

The legs have great twist grip locks. The rubber grips well and takes a little more than a half turn to lock tight. Looking downwards, it’s hard to miss the markings on the leg sections. At last! It's such a simple feature, yet it makes the Auctus simple to set up at uniform leg lengths.

There are rubber feet, but what is wonderful is these can be removed to reveal leg spikes. Thankfully they take some effort to take off, so don’t be worried about losing them. What is also great is the use of larger foot supports, all included in the package as standard. These widen and spread the load further, which means the tripod will not sink or slide so easily. There is the usual hook at the base of the centre column, which can be used to attach a camera bag for stability.

 

Vanguard Auctus Plus 323CT: Performance

Using an SBH300 to compliment the overall size, I loaded the Auctus up with the heaviest kit I have. With the Canon 1Ds Mk III, Canon 300mm f/2.8L + 2xII converter attached, all seemed very intuitive and easy to operate. The geared column was played with to get the idea of how it operated under load and then set to eye height. It’s a tall tripod, even taller when extended.

With the column locked into the position with another collar and I tried some further tests. Putting such a weight onto the tripod helps to reveal the strength of the design, so with the legs fully extended it was time for a ‘tapping test’. By tapping the tripod legs and looking through the viewfinder it’s possible to ascertain its strength, by seeing if the camera and lens vibrate excessively. Although not excessive there is a certain amount of instability here.

The main problem could be the leg locks themselves, but after shortening the bottom and thinnest leg sections, I believe that the problem is that the thinnest sections of carbon fibre are a little too thin for the load. Hiding them completely gives far greater stability all round. It’s a common problem with tripods, but it does leave me questioning its use in the landscape, where the howling wind could make this an unstable platform especially with long lenses.

It’s not light by any means. The Auctus is around half a kilo heavier than the behemoth Gitzo 5540 (3kg), which means it isn’t going up Ben Nevis with you. This additional weight is primarily taken up with the centre column.
 

Vanguard Auctus Plus 323CT: Verdict

Used in the studio, or for video, I can see this tripod being extremely popular. It has a number of wonderful features. The geared centre column is smooth and works well under load. The multi-purpose feet give many options for photographers of all types, but it's not going to be at the top of the list for landscape shooters like myself.

That aside, I did find it useful to shoot next to the car, for long range landscapes. I love all the leg markings, the build quality and the overall feel. It is certainly a quality product. It's also very quick to set up and get shooting, just aimed more towards studios than us landscape photography pack horses.

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE
OVERALL

 

Vanguard Auctus Plus 323CT: Specifications

Price	£349.99
Contact	www.vanguardworld.com
Weight	3.55Kg
Max Height	1800mm
Folded Height	710mm
Maximum Load	18Kg
Tube Diameter	32mm
Locking Mechanism	Twist grip leg locks Leg extension locks that vertically lift
Construction	Carbon fibre

The Vanguard Auctus Plus 323CT costs £349.99 and is available from the ePHOTOzine Shop here:

Vanguard Auctus Plus 323CT