I'm very pleased with this good quality, reasonably priced tripod. Provided the tilt locking knob and pan locking lever are correctly set (either 'locked' or 'unlocked'), and the centre column lock is tightened, this seems like a sturdy and wobble-free piece of kit.
I'm looking forward to using the smooth action fluid head next time I shoot some video footage. A few test recordings reveal the tripod delivers a jerk-free start and end to pans and tilts.
The pan and tilt friction is not adjustable, unlike rather more expensive, video-dedicated tripods, but this shouldn't be an issue for most users.
I have a DSLR, not a proper video camera, and I imagine it would be fine with heavier cameras too.
Setting the tripod up for stills should be a doddle once I've used it a few times.
One of the legs unscrews and transforms into a monopod, which can be used with or without the removable centre column to increase the height. Very useful when you're shooting in a crowd.
My only slightly negative comment is that the head has a tendency to come loose from the tripod mounting plate when panning left, but this is, I believe, a problem with most 'bowl-free' video tripods - certainly those that don't have grub screws or locking screws to 'bond' the tripod to the head.
My solution? A 2" square piece of 1/8" thick rubber, with a 3/8" hole in the middle, between tripod and head. It seems to do the job.
This is the tripod I chose to replace my old Slik, which has done solid service from the mid 70s onwards, both for stills and 8mm movies, and yes, I'm very pleased indeed with the TP72A.
| Package Dimensions L x W x H | 64.2 x 17 x 16.2 centimetres |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 2.86 Kilograms |
| Item Weight | 92 Ounces |
| Brand | Neewer |
| Part number | 10101627 |
| Guaranteed software updates until | unknown |
