The Oben CT-2331 is the smallest and lightest of the tripods in this line from Oben. It is incredibly tall for its weight. In fact, this is one of the lightest tripods available that is not billed as a table top model. The bad news is that it performs spectacularly poorly in the stiffness test. This is a tripod that should only be used in ideal conditions when weight is absolutely the highest priority.
| Name | Oben CT-2331 |
| Class | Travel |
| Stiffness About Vertical Axis | 166 +/- 2 Nm/rad |
| Damping About Vertical Axis | 0.124 +/- 0.012 Js/rad |
| Stiffness About Radial Axis | 690 +/- 4 Nm/rad |
| Damping About Radial Axis | 0.231 +/- 0.023 Js/rad |
| Retail Price | $200 |
| Weight | 1.59 lbs (0.72 kgs) |
| Manufacturer weight rating | 8.8 lbs |
| Maximum Height | 44.7 in (113.5 cm) |
| Minimum Height | 12.3 in (31.2 cm) |
| Max Height with Center Column | 55.3 in (140.5 cm) |
| Center Column | Yes |
| Base Diameter | 2.0 in (5.1 cm) |
| Folded Length | 21.3 in (54.1 cm) |
| Folded Circumference | 8.3 in (21.1 cm) |
| Folded Volume | 117.0 cu. in. (1.9 liters) |
| Leg Material | Carbon Fiber |
| Leg Sections | 3 |
| Primary Leg Angle | 23.6 deg |
| Leg Locks | Twist |
| Top Tube Diameter | 18.9 mm |
| Second Tube Diameter | 15.9 mm |
| Third Tube Diameter | 13.0 mm |
| Exchangeable Feet | No |
| Foot Type | Rubber |
| Bottom Hook | Yes |
The stiffness and damping data are the averages of 10 trials for each measurement. The reported error is the standard error, except in the case of the damping data. I have set the error in the damping at 10% as the standard error metric does not appropriately capture the error in fitting to the data. All of the reported specifications are measured, with the exception of the weight rating. The tripod is tested at full height, with the center column down.
Example data for oscillations about the vertical axis of the tripod:
This is very well behaved. But the performance is pretty spectacularly poor.
Not the cleanest Fourier line, but it shows we are clearly getting the right line.
Example data for oscillations about the radial axis of the tripod:
The tripod is as usual much stiffer about the radial axis, and there is somewhat better damping. This made for a tripod that was much harder to test, but eventually got the resonance correct.