Giotto’s has launched a brand new range of tripods featuring a totally unique, patented design. The Giotto’s Silk Road YTL Series replaces the entire range of Giotto’s MTL tripods and comes with a new Y-shaped centre column (see cross-section above) allowing legs to be stowed in a much more compact fashion. The new Y-Tube column allows a 30% space saving versus the MTL range – while maintaining full strength, stability and weight capacity, the company claims. The Silk Road Series includes a range of tripods, which support up to 5kg, 8kg and 10kg of camera equipment. The new range also features graduated leg markings and new, patented Quick Easy Leg Lock adjustments for fast, accurate adjustment without taking your eye off the subject. On the models with 2 way centre column, there’s also a bubble spirit level built in and all models feature a swappable tripod thread. The aluminium models start at £100, while the carbon fibre versions are available from £220.