2012-09-03T21:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Good value for a quality tripod
The monopod feature of this tripod is very nice for handling a full size camera with long glass. I used it the other nigh at a local football game with good results. I am very pleased with the quality and functionality of this product, and would recommend it to anyone who needs a tripod to support medium weight equipment.
Don
2012-08-12T21:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Everything I was looking
Everything I was looking for in a take-along tripod. Converts to monopod easily, very compact for packing into backpack, and the ball mount operates smoothky and effectively.
Fast P.
2011-08-04T21:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Great value for up to medium sized gear
Very versatile compact carbon tripod for a great price. Build quality is very good, and the included small ball head works smoothly with nicely dampened controls- I find it very adequate for this size tripod.
This is also a fair bit taller than most other "travel" tripods, which is great. I'm 6'1" and only need to extend the center column about 1/3 to get the camera up to eye level.
As with pretty much any tripod, ignore the official "load rating" - in practice, this is stable enough for use with a mid size body, e.g. a D300, and up to a medium tele like a 70-200/2.8 or a 300/4 (using the tripod mount on the lens). It'll probably hold a lot more than that in a pinch, but handling will suffer. If you use a 300/2.8 on a daily basis, get a bigger tripod.
The head is Arca-compatible, but don't use the supplied plate if you want maximum stability. The plate is cork padded, which causes noticable flex between the plate and the camera or lens. Any aftermarket Arca-plate should work though.
Being a 5-section tripod, there are lots of twist locks to open and close when setting this up, thankfully the legs are non-rotating, so the locks can be operated in any order. This is the price to pay for the very compact folded size.
As a monopod, the center column is screwed to one of the legs. This makes for a nice and very tall monopod, but the minimum collapsed length is also quite long. You can simply take it apart again for storage though.
The feet are rubber with a built in retractable steel spike. It has a built in tie-down/weight hook and two round levels for landscape and vertical shots.
The only thing missing is a couple of tabs to attach a carrying strap. It does come with a nice padded bag though.
I weighed mine at 1,640g (or 3lbs, 10oz), including ball head, without plate.
All in all, highly recommended. Awesome value for money.
Whoateallthepies
