Sponsored Article from Benro.
For 30 years, Benro has been manufacturing and designing tripods. They have never ceased developing and designing photographic equipment that improves photographers’ efficiency, from the most basic camera tripod to products such as the Polaris Smart Tripod Head and Theta Smart Tripod. Benro’s innovation through technology has been unabated.
As technology advances, Benro has constantly moved toward a future where devices can do more with less. The Benro Theta is no exception to this rule. Theta is a highly innovative product that combines portability, stability, efficiency, and intelligence.
Theta offers the same stability as a regular tripod but with many extras to assist photographers in easily taking the perfect shot. From rapid leg deployment and automatic leveling to remote camera control, automatic exposure adjustment, and live streaming.
With Theta’s level function, you can turn the ball head into a platform that is always level. Instead of having to take care of whether the framing is horizontal during the shoot – it is horizontal at all times. So you can stay focused on your composition.
Benro initially wanted to design an electric tripod head with built-in leveling that would be travel-friendly. However, the torque of an electronic tripod head is quite high, and making it smaller would give up its stability. With lots of testing, they redesigned Theta’s legs and ball head to make it a truly portable, self-leveling tripod, all without compromising stability and practicality.
How Theta Works
Auto-leveling helps you save time by eliminating the need to adjust the legs manually. However, we need to get the camera level on the ball head. Can Theta continually keep the camera level while we adjust the ball head for composition?
With this in mind, the Theta ball head was designed with a locking system that always allows the ball head to align with the tripod. This means the ball head can be switched between free and roll lock modes. While in roll lock position, when the tripod is level with the ground, so is the camera.
Step 1
– Twist the knob to lock movement on the roll axis.
– Move the ball head until you hear a “click”.
– When locked – the roll axis is fixed and always aligned horizontally with the tripod.
Step 2
All three of Theta’s legs can be leveled automatically. When auto-leveling is activated, Theta determines how many legs need to be adjusted simultaneously to reach level as quickly as possible, based on its current leveling status.
– Mount the battery module (add-ons).
– Press the button, and the leg between the first and second sections will automatically adjust its length.
– The tripod is leveled with the ground.
Theta will detect the current leveling status when automatic leveling begins to determine how many legs and lengths must be adjusted to reach the fastest leveling status.
Multi-function ball head
Theta’s ball head can quickly switch between full range of free motion and pan & tilt motion. If you tighten the retractable knob on the side of the ball head, the ball head can then only move in the pan and tilt direction, while the roll axis is locked and always remains level with the tripod. In this mode, you can adjust the composition and frame more accurately without affecting the original tuned horizontal state.
Compact and Stable
For photographers, size, and weight are the most important factors when selecting a tripod. Most travel tripods on the market compromise on size in order to be lightweight and sturdy. Or perhaps they compromise on the sturdiness in order to be light and compact.
Theta is a travel tripod that considers all three of these factors. We used structural optimization of the central shaft in order to have zero wasted space while maintaining a round tube design. With the unique center column design and by thickening Theta’s upper leg diameter to 29mm – the stability and capacity of Theta’s legs were greatly increased.
Inverted center column
The inverted center column is perfect for macro work and low-angle shooting. 170cm Height (Theta Max): Maintain stability while shooting over obstacles, or extend to your eye-level and shoot without hunching.
Theta’s center column still retains the strength of a round tube, which is shaped just right for a seamless fit. Also, the center column is made of 6061-T6 Aluminum and is used to strengthen it further.
The difference between Theta and Theta Max center shaft
Currently, Theta Max and Theta have the same central shaft design.
If you need to take a low-angle shot, you can easily remove the lower half of the Theta or Theta Max center column.
Note: The Benro team invites you to join us in designing the center column for Theta and Theta Max. We value your input and welcome your feedback. Please take a moment to participate in our survey by clicking here.
Round Thick Legs
The trigonous center shaft design allows us to keep the leg tubes round without compromising on size. However, simply keeping the round tube design isn’t the only factor that makes a tripod stable and sturdy.
The engineers thought of many ways to accomplish greater stability. We finally decided to improve Theta’s stability by increasing the legs’ diameter. This was an optimal solution to ensure that Theta’s lightweight and compactness would not be compromised while also improving its sturdiness.
With thicker, rounded legs and premium carbon fiber, Theta can easily support your full-frame DSRL plus lens, even in open, windy places.
Fast and Safe
From leg deployment to storage, camera mounting to dismounting, and precise control of camera movement – you can enjoy a supremely fast and smooth experience with Theta. However, being fast and smooth isn’t enough – we love our cameras and lenses as much as you do, and we’ve designed Theta to keep them safe.
We’ve engineered an anti-slip mechanism for Theta’s legs. If you forget to lock the foot completely, or if the leg slides accidentally, Theta’s built-in safety automatically locks the leg and prevents it from continuing to skid. It’s a very subtle design. But we think you will love it. We know your gear will!
Sand Resistant Legs
Flip locks and twist locks are the two most common types of leg locks. When shooting on sand, twist-locks are fairly susceptible to sand getting inside and become difficult to clean. Flip locks struggle to lock in warm or cold weather due to expansion and slip easily.
After years of design – Theta’s legs have been made sand proof and easy to clean. Sand will be scraped off when you retract the legs to prevent it slips into the gap of the leg tube.
- Sand and Dust Resistant
The collars on each leg are designed to keep out dust and sand, and they are incredibly easy to disassemble.
- Rapid deployment and retraction
Theta’s leg lock construction not only makes them sand-proof but also makes them faster than ever to deploy and store. To deploy the Theta, twist the foot lock to unlock all sections and pull. Rotate the foot lock back to lock the leg.
If you need to adjust a leg section, rather than the traditional multiple micro-adjustments and the twisting or flipping of locks that go with them to achieve the correct length – you choose any section of Theta’s leg, twist it, adjust the length of the leg, and then rotate back. This can even be done with winter gloves on. Theta is much smoother and easier to handle – even in less-than-ideal conditions.
- Keep your gear safe
When the legs of a regular tripod are not fully locked – its legs may slip when heavy cameras or lenses are mounted on them. This typically doesn’t end well, causing the tripod and equipment to tip over.
Benro made a small but major adjustment when designing Theta’s legs. When Theta is placed on a surface without being fully locked, its legs will detect it slipping, and the legs will automatically lock, ensuring the tripod does not fall over in the process.
Benro automatic snap-lock mechanism
Benro designed an automatic snap-lock mechanism on Theta’s ball head to make camera installation faster and safer. Once the quick-release plate is installed on your camera, press the camera onto the ball head, and the plate will automatically lock. No further operation is required. When removing the camera, twist the locking ring to unlock and remove.
Every detail of the Theta Ball Head has been meticulously designed to fit within a photographer’s working routine. From being the ideal head for landscapes and portraits, incorporating roll lock to enhance pan and tilt movements, or having the ability to fine-tune the composition of your shots via the app precisely are all things you can enjoy with the ball head that is included with Theta.
- Fine-Tune The Leveling Angle
A good ball head or 3-way head provides stable support for shake-free shooting, but it might be difficult to make fine adjustments. A geared head could be an option. Or you can use Theta’s app to fine-tune the camera’s level state without switching out heads or bringing extra leveling equipment – aka more weight. It’s very practical when you’re doing extreme close-ups that need precise adjustments, enabling you to make the finest of adjustments easily.
*** A battery and camera control modules are must-haves for the leveling fine-tuning feature.
There are three waterproof expansion ports on the top of Theta’s legs. With these ports, we could develop swappable smart modules to expand functionality.
You will love these modules in certain photography scenarios. You can leave them on Theta or remove them when you’re not using them. If you leave them on – they won’t take up any extra space in your backpack. They’ll be there when you need them, and Theta will step-up and become your intelligent assistant.
Battery Module
Theta maintains normal tripod characteristics with a separate battery module design, even with built-in motors and gyroscopes. Theta also allows users to place the full tripod body in water while allowing for manual leg adjustment.
When other Theta modules are attached to ports, the battery module will supply power to them automatically. No cables are required.
With the battery module removed – Theta will remain level. It can also be manually adjusted. When the other modules of Theta are attached to Theta ports, the battery module will supply power to them automatically without any cables.
All modules must be attached to an available Theta port and powered by the battery module. It can also power your camera (requires a USB connection)
Camera Control Module
Theta’s Camera Control Module allows control of your camera up to 150 feet away. Set shutter speed, aperture, and ISO – access live preview, and trigger the shutter from your smartphone to capture video or take photos.
Theta camera control module fully supports dozens of popular DSLR and mirrorless camera models made by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, and Fuji. To see if your camera will be supported when we launch, visit Benro Theta Camera Compatibility List.
Optical Matrix Sensor Module
The optical matrix sensor module is the perfect assistant for time-lapse shooting. This module detects ambient light in real-time and enables the camera control module to combine sensor inputs with advanced algorithms to adjust exposure settings dynamically. Smoothly ramp for daylight to night (or vice versa) transitions.
Theta’s built-in algorithm can accumulate the photo sequence’s brightness histogram, hence auto-controlling the shutter speed in manual bulb mode to create a smoother brightness transition during timelapse. The extreme brightness or darkness spots will be eliminated by applying the optical matrix sensor module or in the histogram – to avoid sudden changes in the light sources.
Auto leveling with other ball heads
If you swap the included ball head for your own, you can still use the Theta auto-level feature. However, you must combine the battery, camera control, and optical sensor modules for this feature to work. This will let Theta know the level status of the camera and adjust its leg’s length based on this data – even if you don’t use Theta’s standard ball head.
The Optical Matrix Sensor module has a built-in battery. It can be charged separately with a USB cable. You can also attach it to a Theta port and allow it to charge via the battery module.
Go Live Module
Your DSLR or mirrorless camera has much better image quality and performs better in low light than simply streaming with the camera on your phone. If you want to get a clear, professional image – live streaming through the camera is the best option.
Specifications
The Benro Theta is the world’s first self-leveling tripod, but it didn’t stop at this. Adding modules to further expand the possibilities of the Theta as a timelapse capture tool and more makes it an incredibly advanced system.
The Benro Theta is a Kickstarter project that can be purchased in several configurations for as low as $349, plus several options at a discounted price during the campaign. Head over to Kickstarter to see what is available.
Questions about the Benro THETA project? Check out the FAQ
