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7DayShop Travellers Midi Trippod
by Biskey
7Dayshop is an online shopping outlet, specializing in photographic, digital and computer goods. I'd never used them before, but came across the site when I was looking for a tripod for my telescope.
I'd bought a spotting scope for bird watching, for those times when I found myself on a really good reserve where I could set ... up for a longish haul and expect to see a wide range of birds at a distance. Those times tend to be few and far between, so although I needed a decent scope, I didn't necessarily want a heavy duty tripod. There are some excellent tripods out there and there's no doubt that if you are a regular, serious birder, you need something that will take the wear.
I didn't want to spend a great deal. I thought that if I could get myself something that was decent but low cost, I could see how things went and always upgrade later. I think I've found what I was after with the 7Dayshop Midi Tripod. It's intended more as a camera tripod and of course can be used for photography as well, or instead.
/I\ /I\ FEATURES /I\ /I\
The tripod comes with its own carrying case (with shoulder strap) and not extended it is just 42 cms long. At 612 g it is also very light, which is important as sometimes you have to trek quite long distances before you can set up. The tripod itself has a handle attached for ease of carrying when you don't want to be putting it back in its case all the time as you move from one location to another.
The aluminium legs have quick release fasteners that snap open and shut and the rubber feet articulate to cope with uneven ground to give extra stability. A built in spirit level helps to ensure that you have it well set. The centre column also has a hook on the bottom from which an additional weight can be hung for extra stability if required.
The centre column releases and can then be wound up and down for fine tuning the height required. The fully extended height of the tripod is 136 cms.
The tripod comes with a quick release plate, which carries a standard screw that should fit almost all cameras and scopes. This makes it a lot easier and quicker to put the scope on and take it off the tripod as you are working.
The locking plate also has a video pin, in case you want to use this for a video camera. The docking section itself tilts to vertical, in case you want to use this for a camera to take portrait shots. This has its own spirit level as well.
Tilt and pan are controlled by a twist release / twist tighten handle and the action is quite nice and smooth.
The black and grey colour scheme is restrained and attractive.
/I\ /I\ OVERALL IMPRESSIONS /I\ /I\
Just doing this review has made me realise what a good buy this was.
This cost me £12.99 including p&p and they are currently offering them for £10.89 (not sure if p&p is included with that). I think this is excellent value. If you were looking for a camera tripod but didn't have much to spend, or you just weren't sure how committed you were to using it, then you couldn't go far wrong with this. For me, with a heavier telescope and carting it across some rough terrain, only time will tell if it stands up to the wear and tear. I'm very hopeful. It has certainly done good service so far and, although it is lightweight, it isn't tacky. If I find that I'm using the telescope a lot more and bits start to drop off the tripod, I shan't resent having bought it, because it will have done its job. In the meantime, it's a very handy piece of kit.
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Sony VCT 50AV
by MrPixl8
As an amateur film maker it is necessary for me to have multiple different tripods and I have slowly begun to realise that there are some seriously terrible tripods out there and unfortunately they are generally the ones that I can actually afford. Recently I purchased a Sony Handi cam camcorder to accommodate my main camera ( to capture ... scenes from different angles etc) and because of this I required a new tripod.
Straight away I can say that this tripod is fantastic and it has passed all of the tests I have done with it! A problem I have had with other tripods is that their is a weird creak when you attempt to rotate the the camera while it is attached to the plate on the top. This has literally been the bane of my existence at times as it ruins scenes when there is supposed to be complete silence. This certainly doesn't have this problem, it is blissfully silent. Another irritant with other tripods is that they are annoyingly stiff, which can be a huge problem while filming as it cause the footage to come out shaky which totally defeats the point of a tripod in the first place. Again this tripod does not have this problem and all the footage I have made using this tripod has been silky smooth.
Now onto the most interesting part about this tripod, it's remote controlled, yeah you heard me correctly. This tripod can be controlled remotely with the use of a remote provided, this means you can move the top of the tripod without even touching it. To me this is an amazing feature, sometimes you don't want to go near the tripod at all for fear of nudging the tripod and ruining the footage. This way the head of the tripod can rotate without the aid of physical interaction. So to prevent this from sounding like an advertisement I will say that honestly I don't use this feature a lot and the reason for this is I'm just plain scared to use it. There is something terrifying about putting your £600 camcorder onto a tripod which you aren't in full control of, what if the head gets jammed and the tripod falls over?! (I am literally shuddering at the thought) but perhaps this is just me being weird. Realistically I shouldn't think this way as the tripod is very sturdy and stable so my worry is probably misplaced, I cant really see this tripod falling over unless you push it or position it on a precarious surface. As a final word of advice I would say that it is ESSENTIAL that you check the tripod is compatible with your camcorder otherwise you would've just spent £70 on a paper weight!(although I have said this, there probably is an adaptor for your camera but that just means spending more money and who wants that!)
Like I said before, this tripod is around £60-£70 so it is reasonably expensive and for an amateur film maker who has spent most of their money on their camera like myself this is probably quite a lot of money. But although this is quite a lot of money it isn't nearly as bad as some other insanely priced tripods on the market, do not be fooled by these tripods as this one is probably all you need realistically.
So ultimately, whether you're an amateur like me or a semi pro film maker this tripod is perfect for use with your Sony camcorder. With the remote control feature and the absolute sturdiness of this tripod you'll be purchasing a welcome addition to your arsenal.
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Hama Profil Duo II
by tzlubbock
This interesting tripod has more to it than you think, it can also be turned into a monopod!
This is one of the lower end tripods for sale, characterized by the materials used and the quality of feel to the finished product you can see the injection moulding marks on the components which is a little bit of an off put. Not that ... I am saying it's not good, in fact for a cheap tri/mono pod combo it's great, but what I am saying is that you know you're using a cheaper pod setup.
That being said it's still a great option if you are in the market for that sort of thing, in fact it's the best cheap pod I have come across.
Build Quality: The unit has a good build quality, not outstanding not poor. The joints are reliable enough to endure moderate usage, the press locks are sturdy and have a solid action as do the numerous knobs. The legs are sturdy with collapsible sections to reduce pack size. Often on these cheaper tripods the legs are given no consideration and the flex once extended is often excessive to the point of allowing for camera shake. Not in this case! They retain a good amount of rigidity. The feet are of the rubber type, so they grip well to all surfaces and have a good footprint. The camera locking bay is sound enough, although I doubt I would frequently subject it to my telephoto lens which weighs significantly more than most lenses under normal usage, hence for normal use the build quality suffices, once you start to push it...as I said you know you're using a cheap tripod and you tend to worry about the gear attached to it. (Well...I do)
Tripod usage: With a good leg spread the tripod is sound on its feet, looking at the feet you think they might not work so well being rounded and bulbous, but they do work well in most instances with hidden metal spikes, the quick lock mechanisms work well enough to enable the user to adapt to rough terrain, when required you just flip the lock and adjust, then lock back in. You can get a good range of movement from the adjustable, and you can alternate orientation at a moment's notice with locking orientation changer.
Monopod usage: it's a luxury feature on such a cheap tripod, to be able to just simply lift the mid section and use it as a 150mm monopod. It does suffer slight shaft bend when in this mode, as the middle section is doubling up as tripod mid shaft and mono pod shaft. If the makers were to try and get a monopod into the middle of a tripod you would be looking at even more weight unless you then moved to suitable materials. As Monopods goes it gives you quick access to stable shots, and given that my top tip for any photographer is to have a monopod on hand (often more convenient than a tripod) this product wins for convenience.
Weight: it's not the lightest! But then again it's not carbon and aluminium, its molded plastic and steel. Average on the weight front I am afraid.
Value for money: at the end of the day this is a monopod also, the overall package adds up to quite a good value proposition and as long as your expectations are managed in terms of finish, it's a neat little package. One thing to note is that the bubble levels are just about useless, so small they just pale into insignificance when trying to get a level shot. Better to judge it yourself and adjust in software later (just my opinion).
I really like this product for its adaptability and the fact that I don't worry about dragging expensive kit with me. It's nice to have features and function in such a price point.
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