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Sunpak Carbon Fiber Tripod with Pistol Grip Handle
$99.99 + $5 Shipping
Condition: New

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'Pistol Grip' built-in and no commentary on it in the write-up. Shame, shame, shame...back to the DG'in' I guess...

I have a Silk pistol Grip Tripod and it looks exactly the same as this Sunpak in every detail.

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.

very unstable and the pistol grip is useless for photography. fine if you want to pan during video but of zero use for photography.

I used one twice and gave it away.

Already own, and this thing is phenomenal...functions like a serious photographer, but looks of a B.A. photographer...combined to make a seriously B.A. tripod.

I have not used this particular Sunpak product; however, on prior woots I tried my hand at a mini flexible tripod and a regular light weight tripod. Having multiples of each prior version all have broken with in one or two none abusive photos sessions.

Do yourself a favor and skip these products!

Woot, do us a favor and don't offer crappy junk

This is possibly the first non-chintzy tripod I've seen here. I'm not a huge fan of carbon fiber, as I'd rather just get an aluminum Bogen or Gitzo with a head, but it *is* a lot lighter.

carbonium wrote:I have a Silk pistol Grip Tripod and it looks exactly the same as this Sunpak in every detail.

It can't hold that much though, being made of silk.

morgansh wrote:very unstable and the pistol grip is useless for photography. fine if you want to pan during video but of zero use for photography.

I used one twice and gave it away.

A pistol grip is precisely the kind of head you don't want for videography (unless you have to swivel really quickly). Believe it or not, panning is easier with a pan head.
Though this is definitely not heavy enough for long zoom use, particularly since it doesn't have a hook.

If only it were more sturdy. It will only hold up six pounds. I won't trust my zoom lenses on that.

"A gun rack? A gun rack... I don't even own a gun... especially enough to necessitate an entire rack. What am I going to do, with a gun rack?"

froogled

http://www.adorama.com/SUP523PX2.html

Adorama has it for sale. 8 reviews - all great. $169.95

Reviews at buzzillions

and BH Photo

and Amazon

Anyone know if the pistol grip head is removeable? If so, does it have a standard mount to accept another tripod head? (i.e. 1/4"-20 or 3/8"-16, preferably the latter)

The legs might be worth it in that case.

Shinespark wrote:
It can't hold that much though, being made of silk.

Lol... SLIK...

Dislexia today have I

Carbon fiber is supposed to transmit less vibration from the ground than metal. Wood is still superior, but heavier.

went for it, I'll end up putting a ballhead on it and it still still be a good deal

inzeos wrote:I have not used this particular Sunpak product; however, on prior woots I tried my hand at a mini flexible tripod and a regular light weight tripod. Having multiples of each prior version all have broken with in one or two none abusive photos sessions.

Do yourself a favor and skip these products!

Woot, do us a favor and don't offer crappy junk

So, based on you breaking other brands, you assume this tripod is bad?? Agreed, there are a lot of crap tripods, but I'm not seeing your point.

The closest model I can find on the product website is the PRO 523P:

http://www.sunpak.com/sunpak/carbonfibertripods.html

with the pdf sales page not adding much:

http://www.sunpak.com/images/620-523-CFT-P.pdf

Service webpage:
http://www.sunpak.com/service.html

As an aside, it is AMAZING how many people discard nice tripods because they now have gone digital. The laws of physics have not changed! A good tripod will still help produce a sharper shot when long lenses or long exposures are needed.

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!

Silk tripods are junk they will last a while but then start falling apart. buy a better brand such as a Manfrotto. it will cost you more but your great great grand kids can use it! long after your gone. passing on this Woot!

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!

We have one of these on display at my store, and even through light customer use it has started to come loose a little, with noticeable play when using a heavy camera/lens.

Buy cheap, buy twice. Get something more solid, like the widely accepted Manfrotto.

Serafyna wrote:http://www.adorama.com/SUP523PX2.html

Adorama has it for sale. 8 reviews - all great. $169.95

b&h also. one review not so good:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=getItemDetail&Q=&sku=673436&is=REG&si=rev#anchorToReadReviews

Pro photo friend sez....
pretty cheap for cf.
made in china.
manfrotto or gitzo are used by people who are going to put some miles on them

I bought a Sunpak Pro 624P a while back for a few bucks cheaper during a woot off. I was not impressed with the quality, although I must admit that I have not had the opportunity to use it much. Maybe I just expected more for what I paid - I am sure that a really good quality tripod would cost much more. So I guess if it lasts as long as my first tripod has (30 years and counting), it's not a bad deal - time will tell.

Best I can tell the "artist" was the copywriter and the "art" was this writeup...

One Caution with Pistol Grip heads. Before you go and film an important event make sure you mount your camera on the tripod and shoot some video...make sure to turn the head a few times. Play back the video and see if you get vibration noise on the video from the friction between the ball and head. I have a Bogen Pistol grip that is unusable in any situation where the camera might need to be panned...the vibration noise wipes out most audio. Using Panasonic Camera.

?

labman27730 wrote:buy a better brand such as a Manfrotto. it will cost you more but your great great grand kids can use it! long after your gone.

Who cares about them. Let them buy their own tripod.

If you're thinking of using this as a backpacking tripod because of the reasonably light weight, think twice. It has three section legs thus the folded length is a longish 27". Four section leg carbon fiber tripods are much easier to pack in due to their shorter folded length.

I've done both and wouldn't attempt more than a short pack in with a tripod of this length.

This is the same one I bought my sister for Christmass. Unfortunately My sister could not tell you nothing about it, since it was stolen along with her car and belongings while visiting her and her husbands friend who happens to play for the steelers. Was surprised, but then again when your rich them theives are watching you.

$99 ?! Geez, next thing ya know- woot'll be selling diamonds or something.

A couple years ago I bought one of those cheap, Chinese knock-offs on Ebay. Sure, it was light, but it looked like some amateur had made the thing without the instruction sheet. I just couldn't get myself to pay the $700+ for a Gitzo, so when Manfrotto came out with 055CXPRO3 model I was excited.

Don't know anything about this particular tripod model but have dealt with Sunpak in the past on another model and they provided great customer service. Received a unit that was damaged during shipping because of the way it was packaged and Sunpak replaced broken parts free of charge and sent the replacement parts very quickly.I would not hesitate to buy a Sunpak product again.

It seems like this thing is too expensive for anyone who just wants something to stick their camera on and too cheap for someone who's serious.

A good page for anyone interested in serious support for still photography: http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

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

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.