ZOMEI Z669C Carbon Fiber Portable Tripod with Ball Head Compact Travel for Canon,Sony, Nikon, Samsung, Panasonic, Olympus, Kodak, Fuji, Cameras and Video Camera

First an foremost, the seller contacted me throughout the entire process to ensure everything arrived and was in good condition. This is a first to me and a huge bonus.Assembly and packaging:Overall great! The item arrived bagged inside it's padded carrying case, along with a velvet cover over the head for added protection. Directions (not in English, but the pictures and how it works are pretty intuitive) and an Allen key were included, but since it was already assembled there was no need to really use either.Build Quality:It appears to be entirely made of a high quality, durable aluminum. It has a nice heft to it, but does not weigh as much as some professional tripods I have used. Weight wise I could image carrying it on a short hike (it folds up pretty small too), but much more than that may be pushing it with other gear. A big one for me, the quick release plate and all connections are also the same type of metal. A few knobs have plastic on the outside, but are still mainly metal. Knobs screws are all smooth and easy to turn. Two of the legs (unsure why they didn't just do one, or do all three?) have a nice padded grip which is a nice touch for carrying it around and if you have to use the monopod for a few hours. Overall, I'm impressed with the build quality, especially for the price.Performance:I spend the weekend testing it using some of the biggest items I own. The majority was done with a d810 body and Tamron 200-500 lens that gets LONG. It held it in both the vertical and horizontal position with ease. The ad states it can hold up to 28.5lbs. While I don't know if I would try that (or even have the gear to do it), it held my equipment (which weight wise will be more than most users) with ease. Legs and mount were sturdy and quickly locked into place. It could be quickly converted to a monopod as well.A word to the wise: The ball head tightening screw and quick release plate screw are right above and below each other. If you plan on loosening the ball head, you may want to double check you're turning the right one. I almost lost my camera and lens a couple times not being used to this placement.The ball head. It's not as smooth as I would have hoped. For video or panoramic photos this may present a small issue. It moves well, works in a pitch, and it a step up from hand-holding, but you're not going to get that buttery smooth and perfect adjustment you may be looking for.Overall, I can see this becoming one of my favorite tripods to carry around with me, and is by far the best I have seen priced below $100. I would say it's nearly identical to my MeFoto and Vanguard versions I've owned in the past, just at half the cost. If you're looking for a solid tripod, this might just be your best bet.

Replacing my old cheaper Dolica, these are so much more sturdy and stable! They are also as versatile as described. I'm using it to hold up a heavy pastel painting pochade - much more difficult for tripods to handle full pochades for painting than even heavy lens cameras, BTW. If it holds up as I think it will, I'll consider it a great purchase. However, even with carbon fiber legs I wouldn't call it light weight, which is probably due to the extra sturdy metal fittings. Still it does fold up small, folds up well, and does the job.UPDATE: It is very sturdy and works like a charm! I wasn't sure a ball socket would work as well as a pan tilt head, but it works even better.

This is a great tripod for a great price. Steady, extremely portable, and easy to use. Fits perfectly on my hiking back-pack. The head is very stable and moves like a much more expensive piece of equipment. No complaints at all.I downgraded my review, which I never have done before. Nothing wrong with the tripod, it's still a great tripod.The problem I had is that one of the sections of the legs came completely off. I would consider this a manufacturing defect. The bolt that holds the leg on went flying, and I am unable to find it. I contacted Zomei, about the possibility of replacing the lost part, and despite promising 24 hour response, several days later and still no reply. I really don't want to spend 100+ on a new tripod because of a missing few dollar piece.

The media could not be loaded. Light weight and secure carbon fiber tripod that I will be using for outdoor shoots!I am a professional photographer and DP and shoot both indoors and outdoors. I often rotate equitpment for the shoots and hence do have quite a number of tripod to use. I would use this for outdoor shoots and for travel assignments. This is great for indoor shoots as well if you are looking for something light weight.What I like most:-Easy to carry and portable-Stable and secure-Quick release-Versitile-Legs have spikes (good for outdoor shoots)-Carbon fiber (does not rust)-Durable-Can handle relatively heavy equiptment considering its light weightI was initially hesitant as I have not bought anything from this brand before but the price point was all right so I decided to give it a try and am definitely impressed!I can see myself using this for outdoor shoots, travel assignemnts, and also on shoots where I have to move around a lot as this tripod is incredibly light!