Velbon CX-300 T/F Tripod

Comments about Velbon CX-300 T/F Tripod:

we use the tripod for quick and easy recording sessions. it's very easy to use and sturdy for the quick applications for which we need it.

Comments about Velbon CX-300 T/F Tripod:

One thing you should know about me right off the bat is that I only review products after I have practically or completely mastered them. I have completely mastered this tripod and know absolutely everything about it. Most would judge a low-end tripod immediately thinking its cheap design is probably worthless and unstable. I have used this tripod for exactly 5 and a half years now, and all I can say is: For a low-end tripod, this thing delivers far beyond expectation. I have used this tripod under insane conditions and it always works out great. It is light but stable enough. Obviously, if you bump it, it will shake, but you would really have to deck it hard to topple it, even at full height with center column completely extended.My rating is 5 stars because of the price, not because it's the best tripod in the world. It certainly is not. But for consumer cameras, this thing does just what it needs to. Its head can vary in several angles, and always holds perfectly when tightened into position. I have trusted it for professional projects and MANY MANY short films. My total time using this tripod is well over a thousand hours, honestly. I have used this thing halfway submerged in a lake to get angles, in the snow, in the mud, on tile, in grass, on even on rocky mountains. It always holds up great: Just adjust the legs and necessary to level it and you're good to go. One thing that's very nice about this tripod that REALLY should be with every tripod, especially professional cameras, is the fact that all legs at extended position are exactly the same length. So if you walk up to a spot where you need to shoot, you can quickly rotate the collapsed tripod in your hand, undo all 6 of the folding locks in 3 swipes, pull the 3 legs with one hand while holding the tripod with the other and lock it all immediately. On average, I have this tripod go from fully collapsed to completely extended (including center column) in less than 6 seconds (just timed it with a stopwatch). The biggest downside of the camera is that you can't get smooth pans very easily at all. You really REALLY have to have it fairly tight, and smoothly bring the pan handle towards your body in a perfectly stable, fluid movement to get decent pans. You obviously won't get a fluid head on a [$] tripod, so this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, and is why that fact doesn't lower my rating on this tripod.I, to this day, still trust this tripod for my shooting needs. Over 5 and a half years of brutal use on this tripod, the ONLY malfunction I have ever had is one hinge on the leg separator falling out. For a free fix, I just extended a paper clip, put it through the hinge, and twisted it to hold the place, and that still works fine to this day.This cheap tripod acts much better than any cheap tripod I have ever used or seen. The legs are thick (although hollow obviously for sliding legs)and aluminum, which is hard to find quality in low-end tripods.I am aware this is a long evaluation but that is the best review you will ever find of this tripod on the entire internet for this tripod, because I have serious doubts anyone else on this Earth has used this tripod 1,000+ hours as I have.

Comments about Velbon CX-300 T/F Tripod:

I bought this tripod for a self-portrait assignment I had in my Black and White Photography class. It definitely did what I needed it to do. It was a little awkward at first getting used to which little knob adjusted what part of the tripod, but I figured it out fairly quickly. The only thing I wish it would have had was some way to tell if you are even on all three legs...b/c if you are not using it at the farthest point you are left to use your own leveling skills (which I do not have much of...)