Perhaps the product description should include a disclaimer:

"Not recommended for use when photographing a public figure or politician."

I bought this similar model from Best Buy http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sunpak+-+PlatinumPlus+6600PG+65.5%22+Tripod/1204144.p?id=1218246670063&skuId=1204144&st=sunpak&cp=1&lp=10

and it is not really steady enough for my Canon 7D with anything other than a small 17-50 lens. It mostly holds the camera still, but there is some creep. And for night shots, the motion of the shutter is enough to introduce shake. In other words, with a heavy camera like the 7D, it's barely good enough for shots that border on slow... 1/30 of a second.

LastApeMan wrote:This seems odd to me.
why carbon fiber?
Seems a little pricey for something like this.

Why carbon fiber? For strength without too much weight. What's odd about that?

Wow, usually you guys have low prices but this isn't one of those days. These tripods just arrived at BigLots for $39.98. I just got one last night. Check your prices. This one is just way too high. Great product though.

This is towards the heavy end for a carbon fiber tripod and being Sunpak it is guaranteed to be cheaply made.

Lightweight in a carbon fiber/compact ball head setup would be 3 lbs or less. Feisol tripods are a good example of very light carbon fiber tripods. Several of their models weigh ~2 lbs without the head. You can get a good ballhead that weighs less than a lb. It will cost much more than this but a good tripod that will hold your gear steady and won't break costs money.

Personally didn't need the absolute lightweight so I went with the $200 Hakuba HK-503mx. Lifetime warranty and much less chintzy than anything made by Sunpak.

brad

This seems a bit short for auditorium use as in plays or school events at only max height: 64 in. (162.5 cm). I picked up the previous woot on 9/29/2009 - Sunpak Platinum Plus 7500 75" Pro Tripod w/ 3 Way Ultra-smooth Photo/Video Panhead 620-750BB and that was almost too short to get above the heads of those seated. It was less than $30 as well.

NightGhost wrote:
And if you're taking a longer video, say of a school play, concert, or game, you'd be nuts not to use a tripod. Just nuts!

If you are at a school play etc and video taping, you'd be better off with a mono pod. So would the people sitting around you. It's a lot easier to setup and use too.

phacopida wrote:Is 4 pounds heavy for a tripod of this caliber? I would like a really good tripod but I'd like to keep the packing weight to a minimum.

Caliber has nothing to do with it. I have a 12 gauge thats about 4 pounds and it even has a pistol grip.

This is decent if you are short or have an angled spotting scope. If you are over 5ft6 you will not be able to comfortably use this for cameras.

dapduki wrote:Wow, usually you guys have low prices but this isn't one of those days. These tripods just arrived at BigLots for $39.98. I just got one last night. Check your prices. This one is just way too high. Great product though.

Are you sure it's carbon fiber? I wouldn't mind having a CF tripod though I use a tripod maybe 2-3 times a year at best. I'm a professional photographer, what I really need is a CF monopod. For those asking why CF it's all about the weight. When you carry a bag of stuff all day in the heat a tripod can become a real pita.

great head for digital slr. i have it on a set of bogen legs. I'm not sure i would trust such a light set of legs in a windy / crowded situation though. I would recommend this setup for any amateur / intermediate photographer. I also have a bogen micro fluid pan head for when i'm doing only video. Great deal !

Make sure you know what you need. I know that light and portable might seem appealing, but if you have a nice slr and want to shoot outdoors, light is not necessarily good. I was shooting on friday up in the mountains during a hike and this tripod would fly away in the wind faster than I could catch it. To steadily hold a hefty slr in the wind on an uneven surface you want something nice and heavy - not carbon fiber.

That said, if you only plan to use it indoors (no wind, steady level surface) then it might be great!

I have this and works very well! Pistol grip is removable and is best for light lenses. Upgrade to a better head for more weight,etc
Would suggest to a friend

labman27730 wrote:Silk tripods are junk they will last a while but then start falling apart.

LOL. Best leave that material to just hold up spiders.

gkcmilner wrote:I have a 30 year old Slick U212, and I can tell you it is NOT junk. Maybe some of the newer ones aren't as solidly built, but they use to make excellent tripods.
This offering doesn't seem to be all that light (4 lbs) considering it's made from carbon fiber.

Fascinating to see opinions of tripods based on the age of the user. When I used to sell to Brooks Institute students (Santa Barbara) in the early 70's, a very heavy "Star D" tripod was the minimum they could use for their heavy cameras. Then, as cameras got lighter and used more plastic, so did the tripods.

bchernicoff wrote:
and it is not really steady enough for my Canon 7D with anything other than a small 17-50 lens. It mostly holds the camera still, but there is some creep. And for night shots, the motion of the shutter is enough to introduce shake. In other words, with a heavy camera like the 7D, it's barely good enough for shots that border on slow... 1/30 of a second.

I have a similar model myself and all the screws have worked themselves out of the mounting plates. Lost 2 of them before putting on some threadlock. Now this tripos is only used as a laptop stnad when shooting tethered.

4 lbs. is not a heavy tripod. I have an old
Husky made of aluminum and it weighs at least
10 lbs.

However, light weight can be a problem re:
stability in windy or unstable conditions.
There are ways to minimize this, however.

This should do very well for modern, digital
equipment, both for stills and video. And
this deal is so good, I'm seriously considering
this buy.

Chemyst

butkus wrote:You can get a Manfrotto tripod with postal grip head for $70
http://www.cordcamera.com/Manfrotto-785B-Modo-Maxi-Tripod-with-Pistol-Grip-Ball-Head-P3572.aspx

That tripod has a load capacity of 2.2 lbs.
Just one of my lenses weighs more than that.
The Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS weighs in at 3.5 lbs with the tripod ring on it.
That's not even including the weight of the camera body.

dapduki wrote:Wow, usually you guys have low prices but this isn't one of those days. These tripods just arrived at BigLots for $39.98. I just got one last night. Check your prices. This one is just way too high. Great product though.

Can somebody confirm that this is the same model?

Why Carbon Fiber, besides weight?

I do a lot of sports photography, and while I almost always use a carbon fiber monopod, I will tell you that most referees won't let you get anywhere near a sideline with aluminum (monopod or tripod) - it is a player safety issue...

Just something to consider...

I've had this tripod for about 6 months and I love it! It's certainly not a pro model but it does fine with my Canon T1i with a 100-400 lens attached. I don't have any problems with creep.

Not available at local Big Lots

chicorob wrote:How does woot consistently know when I have purchased something within the last week? Just bought a Calumet pro tripod and ball head but would have seriously considered this one a week ago.

For most DLSR's this will work well and will be extremely light with the carbon fiber composition. For pro bodies and lenses it might not be robust enough but anyone with a consumer body and lenses will love this deal. I personally prefer a ball head but again, for most this will work great.



If you really want those pro looking photos get a tripod. It will work wonders in terms of the sharpness of your photos!

you mean DSLR right?

You can easily make this a monopod by just keeping the legs closed and adjusting the height. I never understood why amateur people would want both a monopod and a tripod at their disposal.

No idea about the pistol grip, but I have a ?regular? grip from this company and make and its probably the best consumer tripod ive ever used.

6.1 pounds or 13.2? every where I read this tripods holds up to 13.2 the only place i see 6.1 is here and b&H. So what does it hold 6.1 or 13.2?

walmark wrote:Make sure you know what you need. I know that light and portable might seem appealing, but if you have a nice slr and want to shoot outdoors, light is not necessarily good. I was shooting on friday up in the mountains during a hike and this tripod would fly away in the wind faster than I could catch it. To steadily hold a hefty slr in the wind on an uneven surface you want something nice and heavy - not carbon fiber.

That said, if you only plan to use it indoors (no wind, steady level surface) then it might be great!

Almost any decent tripod has a hook on the bottom of the center post for weighting in less than optimal conditions, and this tripod appears to have a hook as well (See picture with legs fully extended). Depending on the weight of your tripod to protect your camera in windy conditions is foolhardy...and carrying around a heavy tripod all the time on the off chance it's too windy to shoot seems like a lot of work. Buy a light, but sturdy, tripod for all your shooting that needs a tripod. Buy a tripod apron or use your camera bag for weighing down the tripod in windy conditions. And never leave your camera unattended when shooting in windy conditions unless you are absolutely sure it won't topple...

How long till Woot sends confirmation email or order posts to Account? I ordered this morning and no email and not listed on my account.

http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/291400182.htm

I'm just gonna leave this here.....

chemyst wrote:4 lbs. is not a heavy tripod. I have an old
Husky made of aluminum and it weighs at least
10 lbs.

Compared to some other CARBON FIBER tripods it is heavier. Certainly not heavy but heaviER.

brad

KrisTECarter wrote:http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/291400182.htm

I'm just gonna leave this here.....

Another crappy, aluminum Sunpak tripod with foldup crossbars at the bottom? What's your point?

brad

KrisTECarter wrote:http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/291400182.htm

I'm just gonna leave this here.....

that is an aluminum D shaped leg tripod with pistol grip. not even the in the same class. Please take it with you and do not leave it here. This tripod is a great low end carbon fiber piece with a good pistol grip head. if you want to dable in photography this is a good deal. not great but good and not to be seen again for awhile.

NightGhost wrote:I can understand why folks are reluctant to use this for a digital SLR with a heavy zoom lens, but it should handle most of today's camcorders just fine.

Some of those camcorders are so light, it just seems a shame to bog yourself down lugging a tripod around. But after you've watched a few hand-held videos, you'll realize how much you want/need a tripod, even if you have the steady hands of a surgeon.

And if you're taking a longer video, say of a school play, concert, or game, you'd be nuts not to use a tripod. Just nuts!

This tripod works well with a medium-sized zoom. I have a Canon 5dMII (which isn't exactly feather weight on its own) and several tele lens. For example, it works just perfectly for my 70-200mm (this is the L-series beastie that weights a ton). No problems with tipping or movement.

As someone noted, using this for panning can be a problem because when you let the pistol grip go it will move (esp. with a heavy lens). But, for nature shots and such it is great with a long lens because you can move up/down, left/right with little effort (quickly catch that critter moving off to the side a bit). When you are on a long shot the tripod is a must to reduce noise in your shot, particularly at low light, small aperture settings, etc. It is also good for portrait shooting because of the ease of readjustment (don't want to cut off uncle Bob's toupee).

I bought the pistol grip as an add on to the carbon fiber tripod with the pan head. The reason I did this was, in part, because the pan head wouldn't fit into the bag (the bag is really nice) with the pan head attached. The pistol grip fits nicely into the bag and I really like this set up (my daughter uses this as much or more than her Manfrotto).

Of course, I mentioned this woot to my daughter so she'd stop borrowing mine. She said, "it's not a Manfrotto, so why would I want it." But, for the price this is a nice tripod for those of you with digital SLRs.

Peaty wrote:If you are at a school play etc and video taping, you'd be better off with a mono pod. So would the people sitting around you. It's a lot easier to setup and use too.

Another advantage of monopods is that you can bring them more places, most museums will not let you bring in tripods but they allow monopods.

billrhea wrote:6.1 pounds or 13.2? every where I read this tripods holds up to 13.2 the only place i see 6.1 is here and b&H. So what does it hold 6.1 or 13.2?

If you look at the "Packaging" photo on the main Woot page, the tripod box says "Supports up to 6.1 lb (2.8 kg)" on the front. So that's the value I'd go with.

Well I shoot a Canon 5d Mark II and a 70-200L so i am hoping this will hold. I know its a but more the 6 pounds but most of what I do is studio work. The price is $70 less then anyone else has it so I have to jump on it. I dont have $400 for a Manfroto

Any thoughts on something heavier than a camera? I've been looking for a good tripod for spotting scope /astronomy binocs for a while, but everything seems to flimsy.

Peaty wrote:If you are at a school play etc and video taping, you'd be better off with a mono pod. So would the people sitting around you. It's a lot easier to setup and use too.

I agree wholeheartedly about using the monopod. I have one and use it at school functions. The parents sitting behind me appreciate it, too.

OK, I am in for 1!
I figured this deal was a good enough reason to replace my 30 year old Slick U212.
I no longer use an SLR, so this should be good enough for my camcorder and my Nikon P6000. I am pretty excited about this purchase!

billrhea wrote:Well I shoot a Canon 5d Mark II and a 70-200L so i am hoping this will hold. I know its a but more the 6 pounds but most of what I do is studio work. The price is $70 less then anyone else has it so I have to jump on it. I dont have $400 for a Manfroto

You've easily got 4k in camera equipment there. Don't go cheap on the tripod. Good aluminum tripods (heavy but sturdy) can be had for under $200.

dapduki wrote:Wow, usually you guys have low prices but this isn't one of those days. These tripods just arrived at BigLots for $39.98. I just got one last night. Check your prices. This one is just way too high. Great product though.

No kidding! i will go see. sounds cool to me.
i dont really need one but if they havem that cheap and people are buying them here for 99 maybe I can get one and sell it - Then I can go eat crab legs.

FREE! well, sept for the leg work. LOL