Velbon UT-3AR 5-Section Aluminum Tripod with Ball Head with QB-3AS QR Plate

2020-10-09T09:29:15

My search for the perfect travel tripod stops here. I've used many travel tripods, this is by far the BEST I've ever used. Although it is not made of carbon fiber, it is still amazingly light. It collapses less than 12" and extended to a usable height. It is also very slim when collapsed unlike some other travel tripods that are very chunky which is a big deciding factor for me because it is much easier to strap it to my backpack. One of the features that it did not mentioned in the description is that it is compatible with Arca Swiss style QR plates. I highly recommend it.

Aaron A.

2019-05-28T14:56:11

This is a 1.73 pound tripod that folds up to 11.61" and has a maximum height of 53.35". It's not going to be the most sturdy thing, but if you recognize it for what it is, it's great. It definitely prioritizes low weight over build quality, but at the same time it feels nice enough for its price point. The only real area of concern I'd have over the long-term is the durability of its leg-locking mechanism. Never have used legs that lock in this manner, and it doesn't feel as solid as I'm used to from other lever-lock mechanisms. I use an Olympus E-M5 II, which is about 460g, and I did my testing with my largest zoom lens, a first-gen Panasonic 100-300mm, which is about 520g. This is the heaviest combo that I personally would go with, though the box states it has a capacity of 1.5kg. In testing, it's fairly wobbly at the 300mm (600mm equivalent) end of that zoom... a tap on the tripod or camera would take a little time to stabilize. At that amount of zoom, I have similar issues on heavier, sturdier tripods too, and would be using remote shutter (through the camera's app) or a 2s anti-shock delay anyway. The 2s anti-shock was enough to negate the shaking from pressing the shutter button in my experience, though it wasn't too windy when I tested. Arca Swiss quick release works great with my existing plates. The ballhead is lightweight and serviceable, but it's not great. My biggest complaint here is that I didn't realize the Velbon ballhead is not removable. It wouldn't have stopped me from getting this tripod, but it's just okay - not great. For comparison, I've got a SunwayFoto XB-28 on my old tripod which is much higher quality (though in fairness, the SunwayFoto one is heavier and chunkier). But the thing to keep in mind here is how small and light this is. You most likely know what you're looking for if you're getting a tripod like this, and that's the lightest and smallest possible packed dimensions compared to how high its working range is. My old tripod packs to 19" and weighs nearly 3 pounds, and has a max height of 64" (center column extended) and 52.5" (center column down). This again is 11.6" folded, weighs 1.73 pounds, and has a max height of 53.35" (center column extended) and 46.54" (center column down). That's a tradeoff I am way more than willing to make.

Joe H.