Customer Reviews

Velbon DF-40 Deluxe Lightweight Photo/Video Tripod with 3-Way Panhead and Quick Release Shoe

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been using an old metal tripod for over twenty years and wanted something modern, lightweight and affordable. The DF-40 is all three of the things for which I asked. However, in hindsight I see now that I needed to add criteria such as "well-made" or "quality" to the list I was using to determine my purchase.

The stand itself is adequate and what I expected for the price but the plastic head feels quite flimsy and even when locked down still has a bit of wobble to it. Enough so that shooting without a cable release or IR remote may well cause an unintended motion blur which kind of defeats the reason for using a tripod. All of the knobs and levers feel equally frail and I am willing to bet that something breaks on this tripod within the first half dozen uses. When I first mounted my D-80 to it, I was a little hesitant to move my hands away because the weight seemed a bit much for the head.

It seemed like a good value as the next major price point is significantly higher, but now that I have received it and given it a thorough look, I would not have purchased the DF-40 had I been able to see and touch it first.

EDIT (Please Read) - I've now had the product for about four months now and it has held up far better than I anticipated. The fragile knobs I thought would break still feel fragile, but they haven't broken yet and I carried the tripod in a backpack for about two weeks and it held up fine. Thus I feel it necessary to upgrade my review - I now believe the product to be a good buy and although the page won't let me change my star rating, I would now give this tripod 4 stars.

The DF 40 stands next to my 35 year old, well beaten, much traveled VGB-3. The designs are very very similar. The methods are the same. The materials are largely the same, minor differences in some places due to weight, others due to improved materials (today), so (albeit few, IMO) for cost savings.

I've loaded the DF with the same "standard load" of camera, lens and other such that I used with the VGB. Then I added four pounds in lead bars.

Everything is stable, no wobble, no creaking or groaning.

I paid for quality in Velbon over three decades ago, and now have gotten quality AGAIN by purchasing Velbon.

That seems a pretty simple concept to me (G)
geoff beneze

I've been researching and pricing tripods for about a month now, but when this deal came along with free shipping, I couldn't resist. I have looked at the Velbon DF-40 in photo departments of stores and really like the versatility and quality of this model, and when I received my order from Amazon, several days early and in excellent condition, I was NOT disappointed. It does everything I need a tripod to do, and it's very easy to transport just about anywhere because of it's compact size. Super product form Velbon and super service from Amazon--Who could ask for more??

Paying $25 for this tripod is worth it. It held my Nikon D200 quite well with a 18-200mm VR lens on it. Some moving parts are made of plastic and you probably cant abuse it like some other expensive ones out there...You should buy this tripod and determine how much usage you have before buying the more expensive one.

I got this tripod a few weeks ago and must say I am quite pleased with it. For one, it collapses quite well and can stand at least 4ft tall (Haven't extended it to full length yet.)

While it does feel a bit fragile it does hold up well with my canon slr very well, even with my heavy 75-300 Tamron lens. You can set the camera on the tripod laterally, or turn the plate sideways to take a shot on the camera side.

The set up is pretty easy to use and didn't really have to consult the instructions to know how to use the device. It's also quite light too so should not pose a problem carrying around.

I was so disappointed with this tripod, I guess you really do get what you pay for! However, that being said, the information for this listing suggested that this tripod was capable of holding up to 10 pounds, which would easily hold most DSLR's, but it is definitly too flimsy. This tripod is made for small point and shoot type cameras and small video camera's only. If you're looking for something to hold up your precious and very expensive DSLR, DO NOT buy this tripod, you will be disappointed! However, Amazon is awesome and this tripod arrived in record time and so far the return process seems absolutely simple!

the tripod is good knowing it's a velbon, i think it's good enough to handle enough battering, my only complaint is that the quick release shoe is hard to place under the camera's tripod screw, they should have used a metal knob that has a longer handle, when mounting on the tripod itself in vertical orientation, you must be careful for it not to be turning because of the camera's weight (my camera is canon 40d with bg-e2n grip and 28-135mm IS/ sigma 30mm 1.4) maybe for lighter cameras it will not turn when it's mounted, anyway, this is just my first tripod so i can say it's just okay, i'll invest soon on a better tripod (manfrotto).

I didn't give it five stars because it's a really good tripod, not great. Having said that, Great Tripods cost $150 or better, Really Good Tripods will usually cost between $75-$100. At $30.00, this tripod is unbelievable.

I bought this tripod because it was a good price, the size was what I was looking for and it was lightweight. It was fine for the first couple of times I used it then it got stuck. I could not lower or raise the head, the crank got stuck. I ended up cracking the plastic where the crank is by forcing it....so now have to manually pull it up as it is seperated. Maybe I just got a lemon...Next time I will spend a bit more money and get a more sturdy one...

This tripod is exactly what we needed for our Safari. We had serious weight limitation due to us taking bush planes, so we could not bring our regular Manfrotto carbon tripod with 2 pound swivel head.

The Velbon SF-40 was cheap, stable, compact, very light weight and did everything a tripod is supposed to do. We used it with a Canon 20D and 40D SLR and an L-series 100-400mm IS lens. Yes, it was holding up the weight remarkably well for its size (struggled slightly with the big lens).

Originally we were planning to leave it behind (you know souvenirs take space), but because it worked so well decided to bring it back home with us. This baby will be a travel companion from now on when space and weight is limited.