Opteka 70" Full Size Professional Photo / Video Tripod
by Opteka
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List Price: Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Opteka 70" Full Size Professional Photo / Video Tripod
Customer Review: 70 inches tall?
Summary: 3 Stars
First off, my intentions for this tripod was just something I can start out with as I'm not willing to shell out $80+ dollars at the given moment. I've been using a Canon EOS Rebel T2i for about a year, and I really needed a tripod mainly for self pictures and videos.. since I don't have anyone who could help me with that. So almost a year later, I finally decided to try this out.
This tripod came in about four days. It didn't have any instructions or booklets with it, so you're going to need to experiment with it to see how it will accommodate you.
PROS:
- Pretty sturdy. Lightweight. Doesn't feel 100% solid but with gentle handling, I don't think this will break or collapse.
- I like that I can tighten the gears so my camera stays where I want it. I didn't have problems panning with it, ofcourse it wasn't smooth like butter, but it seemed quite consistent. The camera will not fall down if you tighten the "black stick" clockwise.
CONS:
- Either I haven't figured it out but this is by no means 70 inches tall. 70 inches is around 5'8", no? As I crank it up it stops at around 3 feet at most(I'm eyeballing it, btw)!
Additional comments: The screw to screw on the camera to the 'plate' of the tripod was tricky for me. I got it to fit my camera by taking the plate out and pushing the screw through the plate so it didn't dwindle down. At that point, while holding the bottom of the screw through the whole so it wouldn't fall down, I twisted my camera onto the screw until it became tight and then inserted the plate back onto the tripod (confusing? lol). I'm not sure if all tripods are like this since I don't have prior experience with any but this part upset me (I had a big WTF?! moment). I was about to get ready to return the product because I really wanted something that will be secure for my camera especially since I shelled out $1000 dollars for it.
I do plan on buying a better tripod later on, possibly end of the year or next year, but for now this will do.
... I just need it to get to 70 inches. -______- With that I would rate the product 3.5~4 stars...
Customer Review: With ALL it's options, it's WAY More than worth the price!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
It's light, compact, and has it's own carrying case!! The one thing that makes this tripod more than worth the price is the DUAL LEVELS. One for the 3-way panhead and one for the quick-release channel lock legs.
It has a reinforced center brace with a carrying handle, along with a with a rotating locking feature, so if you're re-positioning a few feet away that the tripod won't collapse on itself. At the end of the center brace is an attached accessory hook, as well. The channel lock legs, you can adjust to any height in between while using the level. It has a quick release plate and you can take pictures at a 90 degree angle using the rotating platform. Since the level is on the platform, you know it's 90 degrees with the level. It has a gear operated center column, that also has a rotating locking feature. The panhead also has a rotating locking feature, too. The panhead slides easily when the locking feature is released. It has non slip rubber feet, that accept nearly any angle of terrain.
Finally, IT EXTENDS 70 inches in height!!! Me, being 5'2", I would never use that height unless I had a short ladder. LOL! My DH laughed when I showed him how high it will extend. I have a Casio EX-P505, which is small and light . . . I mean, it looks tiny sitting on the tripod. LOL! But I'm sure it could accomodate much heavier cameras, because titanium anodized finish.
Here are it's specs:
Maximum Extended Height: 70 inches (5.83 feet)
Minimum Operating Height: 25.5 inches (2.125 feet)
Folded Height: 26 inches (2.17 feet)
Maximum Tube Diameter: 1.13 inches
Net Weight: 61.4 oz (3.84 lbs.)
So, this product is worth way more than price, because I thought it was a good deal before I found out ALL of it's features. I'm so sold on this product that I just ordered opteka's 67 inch monopod, which is sold on Amazon.com from the same fast shipping company, "47th Street". We're overseas and received it in about a week. (I was impressed with their packaging and fast shipping.)
Customer Review: Basically, a good tripod
Summary: 3 Stars
On paper, this is a good tripod to own. It was cheap, it is light (to me), it extends relatively tall, and does what a tripod is basically meant to do.
In practice, there's a few quirks that I'm not sure I like so much, and that I think can prove to be a problem in more advanced usage.
1. Build quality - is what you'd expect from a bargain tripod. Lots of plastic, and adjustment parts do not feel sturdy enough to hold up to repeated tightening/loosening. There is a soft plastic insert/bushing that centers the main shaft when making height adjustments, and on mine this bushing has become separated from its housing and moves up and down with the shaft during height changes.
2. Smoothness of operation - the head does not swivel easily for smooth panning, although I don't know that many would use a tripod for panning shots. Same goes for the horizontal adjustment, its simply not very good. You need to have the adjustments locked down tight so the camera doesn't droop, but you need to keep them loose to change the angle. Micro-adjustments, when taking product shots in a lightbox for example, become very difficult.
During last summer, I carried this around to get shots at the racetrack, where I do amateur motorsports photography. It worked well to get consistent still shots, but I hand-held the camera for panning shots. Now, I've relegated the tripod to very basic home use, such as the above-mentioned lightbox photo shoots and portraits here and there. It will just start collecting dust as soon as I pick up a quality monopod + mini-tripod combo, as both would serve my purposes better than the Opteka.
Customer Review: You buy cheap you get cheap...
Summary: 1 Stars
I love Amazon.com but at times they sell stuff with bad product info.. This item works well if you have a small digital cam. The tripod won't stay put, it will flip over and fall back once the cam is on it. I have a Nikon D5000 and its not all that big/heavy but the info stated it will work with a cam like that, so I got it. Tried it for the first time on the beach and boy did it stink ( can use a diff word but won't ).. It would not stay on the tripod and it kept falling over or backwards. The part that makes it move forward or backwards didn't work at all. The tripod did stand fine but the part that holds the cam was unable to tighten to keep cam from moving/falling over/backwards. I just got a brand new one as a gift and its worth over $120 but its well worth it. Having both side to side shows a huge diff between cheap and heavy duty. So I would not buy/give or recommend this tripod to anyone. Its built for a child with a $10 cam, not a cam that's worth over $1000 with lens.. I got the Sunpak platinum plus 750 pro ( or close to that ) and boy what a diff.. Even comes with a monopod and built strong. I would recommend the heavy duty Sunpak to anyone that is going to use it over and over and has a heavy/big/expensive cam. It even comes with a life time warranty.. Wish Amazon would take back my cheap tripod and give me at least credit towards anything else. Hope this helps.Customer Review: Did I get the same product other's are reviewing?
Summary: 2 Stars
Several issues. First, the hook at the bottom AND the head BOTH fell off! No, this wasn't a shipping or packing issue, they are held in there by friction! For the money, I was expecting something wobbly, plasticky, and perhaps a bit fragile and yes, it was all of those things too. But I wanted to be able to USE the darn thing before it fell apart. With the price, it's hardly worth returning. I'm going to try to fix it with hose clamps. I intend to cut a slot an inch or two down the ends of the tube and then cinch the tube down on the plastic parts that fell out. If it doesn't work, I'll toss it in the trash.
Update: 01 August 08: Okay, I 'fixed'it. Didn't worry about the hook as I don't have anything that I could hang from it. A few observations now taht I've used it some. There is a little flip-out handle to turn the screw into the camera mount. It's difficult to hold on to and you can't really tighten it well. Further, when you go to take the picture, you have to wait about two or three seconds for the camera to settle down. You can't use the shutter release, you have to use a timer. I have a remote, and it worked decent. I was really worried that as unstable as the tripod was, I'd need to use mirror lockup as well, but the pictures turned out well enough. This one's going in the closet and I'm buying something more substantial. The rating stands.