Customer Reviews

Velbon Ultra Luxi SF Tripod with Ball and Socket Head

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Quite a remarkable travel tripod! very lightweight, yet solid. Lets take it from the top.

The head isn't bad. While it may not have a quick release, it's low profile make for a great travel size. There is a piece of cork surrounding the screw point. The ball head has one adjustment lever. This one lever controls the friction of the ball and the ability to pan the head. The lever rapidly adjusts the amount of clamping force. The ball head is slotted on two sides, 180 degrees from each other. The head comes off! yes, it is removable. it screws into a center column pole.

The center column is necessary to use the tripod/head. However, the center column is sectioned, and the majority of it can be unscrewed with enough remaining to be clamped in the base.

The legs are rather light, but that's to be expected. easily repositionable via angle and length. It will take a bit getting used to the locking method. Once i have the tripod setup, i push down on the head with my hand to make sure the legs are locked.

With the max height leg angle, pushing down on the tripod doesn't force the legs to splay out in weird directions. nice! they do splay out when at the intermediate angle. the legs have no ability to accept spikes.

Overall, it's a great tripod, and I'm quite happy with it. It holds my Rebel XT + Sigma 70-200EX with out a fuss. I haven't tried it in wind with the same setup however... the entire thing fits inside the Canon Backpack too.

what's not to like?

This is an amazing little tripod. Very rigid. works fine with my D70 even with bigger lenses like my sigma 12-24. Incredibly compact when collapsed. If it were 6" taller fully extended it would be perfect. If you do any sort of shooting while hiking or backpacking you'll love this little guy.

Just what I needed for a 2 week vacation when weight and space mattered. The low height required more stooping than my standard tripod; but, the advantage of the compact size and weight was well worth it. (I generally avoid extending the center column of any tripod.)

...and it certainly exceeded my expectations. My Canon Digital Rebel held steady--even in vertical orientation with the 70-200 f4 plus a 1.4x extender in use. Thirty second night exposures and shorter daylight shots showed no shake. (I use the self-timer.) The ball head on this unit is very effective. The fit and finish are reassuring. The bag is of equal quality; not just a bonus gimmick.

A surprise feature, the ability to select from 3 leg angles, came in handy for shots where a very low viewpoint was needed to include the foreground.

I highly recommend this Tripod with the PH-353 Ball Head.

Nice for traveling, this tripod is ultra-lightweight and takes up very little room (less than two pounds and a little over a foot long). It is very well constructed with smooth controls and comes with a custom carrying bag. No complaints, given the minimal size and weight it is designed for. Of course, it is not meant for use with a 15 pound camera-lens combination but works fine with my Canon 5D and 70-200 f4L lens 3-pound combo.

I own a 1248 Gitzo Carbon Fiber tripod with an expensive ball-head that cost 8 times what this little gem costs. The Gitzo + head weighs much more than the Luxi SF.

For 90% of my use which includes a digital SLR with lenses up to 200mm f/2.8, and medium format Rollei and Mamiya cameras, I find myself bringing along the Luxi and leaving the Gitzo at home. I now only use my Gitzo for situations where I know there'll be high wind or when using long lenses with the Rollei MF SLR (which suffers from that massive mirror slap).

I take off 1 star because there's no center column hook for weighting the tripod down to add stability, and the only way to remove the platform on the included ballhead (to install a quick-release plate instead) is to use a torch to free the loktite.

I am happy with my purchase of this tripod. The ballhead works great and seems very secure when tightened. The legs are thin at the bottom (have to be to compact to 13") but I put my Canon 300D with zoom lens on and it is steady. It fits very well in my backpack which is why I purchased it.

Bought this for portability. While it success in that realm, it lacks in the "usability" space. The legs are very cumbersome and clumsy to deal with and absolutely do NOT feel sturdy. The twist lock design is the major downfall of this tripod's legging system. The ball head was so-so. It desperately needs a quick release. I know one can be added, but it would be nice to have it there from the get-go.

Needless to say, I returned it and am still searching for a portable tripod that can safely support my EOS 5D and EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens combo (a quite heavy lens, I might add).

Excellent travel tripod! It's not very tall but makes up for it with its portability and lightness. I have used the tripod with my Minolta 7D and 28-75 f2.8 lens without a problem. It easily fits in most backpacks and sets up quickly.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants a nice portable tripod for travel.

Very good tripod for it being so small. I ordered this for my recent trip to Las Vegas and it worked perfectly. It held my Canon 30D without a problem.

The tripod fits perfectly in my Beseler sling camera bag. I used it for the first time in my recent trip to Antelope Canyon in Arizona and the ball/socket head was perfect to get the right composition quickly (before the light shafts disappeared from the slots). It easily handles the Canon G3 weight even with telephoto or wide angle add on lenses.