Reviews
Compact, many great functions, versatile, well made.
I'm a tripod guy - I have at least a dozen. I have compact models for travel, large rugged models when I need a rugged model, carbon fiber, aluminum and a combination. After using this tripod a few times, you'll find that whoever designed it took the best qualities of several tripods and combined them here - although some have escaped them.
All dials and buttons are aluminum, not plastic. This is really nice and adds years to the life of the tripod. Plastic buttons eventually break. They break if bumped too hard. Aluminum has dents or scratches, but it doesn't shatter like plastic.
All hardware (connecting screws, nuts, bolts) is rust-free.
The included ball head is pretty damn nice too. It has the thicker 3/8-24 thread typical of a tripod head. The plate is an Arca-Swiss style sliding plate and the camera screw has a built in thumb lock for hand tightening. No tools (or coins) are required. The plate can be detached and slid back and forth, but will not slip off the head. It takes almost two full turns of the locking knob to fully disengage the panel. Kind. There is also a built-in soap scale. The ball mechanism is in a Teflon pocket and is therefore smooth-running.
At the top of the tripod (where the head attaches) is a reversible screw - 1/4-20 for cameras or 3/8-24 for tripod heads. The top orange collar ensures it stays in place. It's all hand tightened, so it's possible to twist the ball head off without realizing it. There are no locking screws to fix the tripod head. The best way to attach the head is to remove the double ended screw and collar. On the tripod head, loosen the large locking wheel and move the plate to the 45-degree position (so it sticks in the notch.) Turn the tripod mounting screw until it stops — it's actually pushing against the ball at this point. Now turn up the orange collar. Loosen the screw half a turn. Tighten the collar as tight as possible (no tools!) Now twist and tighten on your head. You'll find that it's a lot harder to accidentally spin off.
Anyway, a great tripod, a little heavier compared to compact or carbon fiber models, but a good choice for all-round use. Also, it is very convenient to switch to a monopod in less than a minute.
All dials and buttons are aluminum, not plastic. This is really nice and adds years to the life of the tripod. Plastic buttons eventually break. They break if bumped too hard. Aluminum has dents or scratches, but it doesn't shatter like plastic.
All hardware (connecting screws, nuts, bolts) is rust-free.
The included ball head is pretty damn nice too. It has the thicker 3/8-24 thread typical of a tripod head. The plate is an Arca-Swiss style sliding plate and the camera screw has a built in thumb lock for hand tightening. No tools (or coins) are required. The plate can be detached and slid back and forth, but will not slip off the head. It takes almost two full turns of the locking knob to fully disengage the panel. Kind. There is also a built-in soap scale. The ball mechanism is in a Teflon pocket and is therefore smooth-running.
At the top of the tripod (where the head attaches) is a reversible screw - 1/4-20 for cameras or 3/8-24 for tripod heads. The top orange collar ensures it stays in place. It's all hand tightened, so it's possible to twist the ball head off without realizing it. There are no locking screws to fix the tripod head. The best way to attach the head is to remove the double ended screw and collar. On the tripod head, loosen the large locking wheel and move the plate to the 45-degree position (so it sticks in the notch.) Turn the tripod mounting screw until it stops — it's actually pushing against the ball at this point. Now turn up the orange collar. Loosen the screw half a turn. Tighten the collar as tight as possible (no tools!) Now twist and tighten on your head. You'll find that it's a lot harder to accidentally spin off.
Anyway, a great tripod, a little heavier compared to compact or carbon fiber models, but a good choice for all-round use. Also, it is very convenient to switch to a monopod in less than a minute.
17/03/2024