Dolica AX620B100 62-Inch Proline Tripod and Ball Head

What an absolute incredible value! I read through the reviews of this tripod for almost 2 weeks before I finally made the purchase. I have to add to all the great things said by others. This tripod visually looks like it should cost a lot more than $50. The aluminum has a nice flat finish and the bag is an incredible added bonus. Honestly, knowing how nice the bag is, if it were a $30 option to the tripod I probably would have paid it! The legs extend and retract easily. Yes, the clamps are plastic but they still feel very solid, not likely to break soon. The center pole slides up and down easily, yet firmly. Unlike others, I found no creep in it when properly tightened. The ball head moves smoothly, and is easy to rotate into portrait shots (vertical). The quick release plate snaps into place very easily, and is easily removed, requiring a squeezing/two finger maneuver to release it from the stand. The levels on both the legs and the mounting plate are incredibly useful, and easy to see and use. Every clamp snaps down tightly, and feels very solid when extended. At 6' fully extended, the tripod is incredibly sturdy. I can't see how others have felt it flimsy, even claiming it swaying in the wind. Perhaps if you mounted an umbrella to it, but not a camera. It is virtually unaffected by wind, barring an insane monsoon storm. I don't hesitate to mount my equipment on this tripod. If you would rather spend an extra $100 on your next lens or body instead of a tripod, than do yourself a favor and buy this tripod. You won't find anything better for even 2 or 3 times the price. I'll be recommending this tripod to my family and friends. UPDATE 9/20/10: The screw that attaches the ball head to the tripod sheared in half. I have emailed Dolica but have not received a response. UPDATE 12/20/2012: I had forgotten all about this, but here it is two years later, and I HAVE STILL NOT HEARD ANYTHING FROM DOLICA. They never responded to my email. So this morning I forwarded it to them again, including all information they requested on their website for warranty work. This afternoon I called them and spoke to a nice guy named Victor. I told him my name, and he said he was looking at my email right that second, and read it back to me. He apologized that it broke, apologized that no one helped me two years ago, and said he would ship out a replacement ball head the very next day. I look forward to receiving it as I loved everything about the tripod. I don't know what happened with their customer service two years ago, but at least today I was impressed with them. July 2020: I guess I never updated this after the last one, but I did receive the new head as promised on the phone, and have been using it ever since. So I must have just gotten a bad ball head, but now the tripod is 10 years old and still going strong! It is incredibly light and easy to extend/retract. Very glad I have it, and if it ever does break or get lost I will certainly look at Dolica again! Upgrading my rating to 5*.

OK bottom line up front - this is a lot more tripod than you are paying for. If you are looking for a professional tripod, dont buy this. If you are looking to impress your friends with your cool expensive gear, dont buy this. If you are looking for a darn good value and a more than good enough tripod, you cant go wrong with the Dolica. This is my first ball head tripod and I bought as a "starter" tripod so I could learn how to use one and if I liked it. I do and I dont plan on replacing it any time soon. There is a huge difference in control over a pan head and I love the control and stability it gives shooting "action." It lets you stabilize AND move. The head has a slotted side for shooting portrait and you can rotate the center tube without touching the camera. I can lock most of the way it with a flip of the handle and then crank it down. The legs are probably the weakest part. Fully extended I worry about flexing the last section too much. If any part is going to fail early on this it will probably be the leg clamps. They are plastic and look like they could be stronger. The bag is nice and the soft grips are excellent. Mine had a very strong chemical smell when I took it our of the box so I set it on my porch for a day to air out and now its fine. The legs have three settings - normal, wide and super wide. Each can be set independently giving you a HUGE range of options for how and where you want to use it. I have not tried flipping the center column over for macros but I know it can be done. The hook on the bottom of the center column is perfect for hanging your camera bag from for extra stability. I use a K200D with a battery pack and with my Sigma 70-300 fully extended for macro shots it is a little hard to lock down accurately. Its a heavy (1.2 lbs/.5kg) and long lens so I normally lock it down with the lens retracted and then extend it. The 300mm is the only one I have issues with but I think the 13lb/6kg rating is a little generous. Do yourself a favor and order a second mounting plate for $7. I lost mine after a month and paid $15 for a replacement at a local store. Thats 1/3 of the cost of the entire tripod. There is no pretending that this is the same quality as a $300+ Manfrotto but the Manfrotto was not even an option for me right now. So between no tripod and one that wont last for 20 years, I'll take good enough and spend the difference on a nice prime - which is exactly what I did!

I recently purchased this tripod based on the overall good reviews. I like the appearance of the tripod and ease of use. The purpose for me, at least initially, was to take a lighter weight tripod with me on my recently completed European vacation. I liked most of the features of the tripod. It was not a bad weight to attach to my camera's backpack for a couple hours each evening while exploring for picture areas. Carrying around for a full day you might consider a lighter tripod which of course will either cost much more or be less stable. For the price, the weight of the tripod was good. The clamps where the legs join were a bit sticky at times. Again, this was not that big of a deal rather just one of those little things you pay attention to. They did clamp well though when in position. The stability was acceptable for my given camera (Canon Rebel T1I) and my light weight lens (Canon 18-55 IS lens with plastic casing). I would imagine adding a slight bit more of weight would be fine but I would not add anything significantly heavier such as larger, heavier zoom lens or lens with the real metal casings. My biggest disappointment would have to be the ball head attachment. I noticed over my 2 week trip, by the end the ball head was not as snug as I would like. When I would tighten down where I wanted the camera to be aligned, it wobbled just a little bit (I'm talking very tiny tip) so my final set up shot before taking my hand off the camera was slightly altered. In almost all of my shots, this was not a huge deal. There were a few times where I had to re-align knowing how the ball head had some "play" in it. This was just one of those little annoyances more than anything else. Overall, given the looks, features, and stability, I would recommend buying this tripod for somebody who will on occassion take pictures using a tripod. If you are using a tripod quite a bit then I'd probably look for something with a better ball head. Having said that, this tripod with ball head will work quite well for the majority of general photography users who don't want to spend hundreds on a tripod setup.

EDIT: October 2014. As I progress deeper in the photography/video world, I want to update my original review with a bit of info. This tripod still rocks, but I would not feel comfortable using heavy gear on it. Putting the Canon on it with battery grip works fine. But since my original review, I have used a fluid pan head, a camera cage, and a small mic on the cage - all mounted on this tripod. I have noticed that if I have the tripod extend almost all the way, the legs tend to sprout slightly outward...a slight bend on the legs. This makes me nervous, since camera gear is pricey. I love this tripod but I may invest in a heavy duty tripod down the road for mounting multiple equipment. I won't write anything else that the many other reviews has covered. But I will add a tidbit to some of the negative reviews encountered and how I personally use the tripod. I don't have a $500 tripod to compare the Dolica against and it would be unfair to do so as read in some reviews. I did however own your typical extending tripod purchased at the local electronics store that I also see offered in many other stores (Targus). I had a Canon attached to that tripod to do some nighttime sky photography. That thing was flimsy. A strong wind or a bump made it topple. I panicked since camera equipment does not come cheap and gasped more than a few times when the tripod wanted to go timmmbbbbeeeerrr. So I researched and purchased the Dolica. This thing is rock solid. Easily one of the greatest investment in photography equipment I have made. I am not a National Geographic photographer or own some fancy French studio. However, I use my tripod ruggedly; in local parks, in heavy forested areas, hiking adventures, family photos in backyards, sandy environments, and many other places. The Dolica has delivered without a hiccup. I love how you can adjust the legs in many angles. I have not mastered all angles, but I simply use two: standard and wide angled for prone/sitting shots. The head is smooth. The mechanics to lock everything in place is very secured. The padding and quality sling bag are added bonuses. Oh, if it helps anyone, I have used this with a Canon T5i with battery grip attached plus a 300mm lens (that came with camera) and a Yongnuo flash. Everything stays solid. I consider this product a professional tripod for serious enthusiasts. $40 gives you amazing features and quality construction. Don't hesitate. Also like how you can extend the legs AND neck, allowing you to stand without slouching over to look into camera. Only have 2 slight concerns. The ability to pan if you make videos. Technically, you can, if you leave the ball head just a little lose and pan with your hand. But I knew this before purchasing. The next size up, 68inch model, has the pan head. I may purchase that model and give this one away in the future. (I could use the extra tripod inches, since I am a tall 6ft person.) I *think* that you can buy a pan head or use different brand pan heads on this tripod, but I have not researched if this is true. And lastly, the end of the legs feature. It has a feature where you can screw out for standard rubber feet and screw in to expose points that comes in handy when in the outdoors. Not sure if this will hold up over time if you consistently alternate between both or if "wear and tear" replacements are available. For the most part, I leave them on rubber feet. Haven't arrive at any issue thus far.

I've owned this for 2 years now and it's still going strong. Pro's: - This stand has lasted me 2 years of indoor and outdoor use. However, I am a hobbies and I don't use it everyday. I also take care of it by keeping it in a bag most of the time when I'm not using it. The stand pretty much still looks brand new. All the knobs, twists, springs, and locks work like new after 2 years. - The plastic clips on the leg extensions haven't given me any issues so far and are still working well. - For light camera/lens this is a great tripod. It felt very stable with my Canon T5i and kit lens. However with my Canon 6D and Tamron 24-70 2.8 I feel less comfortable with it. I typically won't leave the 6D on the camera by itself if it is windy or there are people around the camera. That being said I still put my 6D on it regularly for portrait shots - The customer service is very good. I sent an email to Dolica with an issue and they resolved it without cost. - This is way better than the sub $30 tripods on the market. I've had 3 or 4 of them before getting this tripod with the ball head. For anybody who hasn't used a ball head before I highly recommend trying it out. - My quick release plate came with a rubber top instead of a cork top. They might have changed this after a couple years but I'm happy with the rubber. Con's: - The knob of the ball head is attached by a small hex screw which is good because it make it replaceable. However, the screw fell out after less than a year's worth of occasional use and I lost the knob as well. On the good side I contacted Dolica by email and they sent me a new knob and screw free of charge. I was very happy with the service. This is a small con and it didn't make me like the tripod any less because it was an easy fix. - When the legs are full extended the legs can feel a little shaky however I still trust it to hold up my gear. Overall I'm very happy with this tripod. It's one of my most reliable and well made pieces of gear for the money. There are sturdier and pricier products out there but this is a great value. I'm surprised to say that this tripod is one of my favorite pieces of camera equipment that I own.

So I would recommend this tripod for most things. It is light, stable, tall, and you can position it with the ball head in mostly any "normal" position one can think of. It even comes with a nifty case. The only hesitation I have with this tripod is when you set the camera (such as DSLR) in a position where it puts stress on the ball head and the top plate. First, the detachable plate is covered with cork to protect the camera and keep the fit snug. For the most part this work well. But the cork is glued to the plastic plate, which means that in certain positions and extended use (as in setting the camera in a vertical position for a portrait orientation), the cork will start to slide off! Not so good. I have a Canon 7D and used the tripod in this very condition with a 18-135mm lens, which means the camera is about 3lbs. The other thing that should be noted is that with a camera of this size/weight, the ball head has trouble perfectly setting the shot. What will happen is that it will creep down slightly after framing. I've checked that the plate is secure with the camera base and locked, but the ball head just can't seem to hold the camera in the framed position for very long, sometimes not really at all. You can only tighten it so far before you just see it as what it is - the tripod has some weight limitations. So I have to allow for this and frame the photo slightly higher and then crop later. Keep in mind though that again this is only in certain situations as previously mentioned. If you twist the head to the side to accommodate the camera in a portrait position and you camera is around 3lbs., expect to see this issue. Otherwise I think its a great tripod. I'm surprised by how light it is. Hope this helps....

This is a good photo tripod to get started and practice with but here it is less than a year later and it broke on me. I only occasionally used this (indoor shoots only) and when I wasn't using it, I stored it in it's bag and keep the bag in the manufacturer's box. Well taken care of but the knob that allows adjustment of the ball head just fell off one day. I tightened the ball head down to take a shot and unknown to me it fell off. This was the first time I used it outdoors so I ended up looking through grass until I found it. I was shooting a sunset so I wasn't running and gunning with it. I was pretty stationary. This is not very durable for a long run I think, but I think that it makes a good back up. Get it to start out with and when you can afford to upgrade to a Manfrotto or something keep it as a spare (or lightstand, tablet stand, mic stand, slider support, etc). There is padding on the legs and the locks work great. So far there has been no issues with anything other than the lock on the head, the sticks are still great. This can be dropped to practically floor level but that adjustment requires a little wrench (included) to spread the tripod legs wide and low (which is why I have never used that setup during a shoot). There are little spikes on the feet, a bubble level (although somewhat mediocre), it comes with a bag, is light to lug around and it holds my full frame DSLR without too much wobble. The head is detachable. After the knob broke I unscrewed it from the tripod and attached it to my slider since I needed one for it anyway (I would not be using it as often and not have to adjust the ball head as much on the slider). All in all, I guess that I got my money out of it considering how cheap it was. I wish it turned out to be more durable, but it still was not a horrible purchase (especially for someone who was just starting out with no experience and little budget).

I was rather shocked at the quality of this tripod. I got this one to replace another one I got on Amazon for the same price, but that one broke. It was a nice tripod with a plethora of features but mostly made out of plastic. The first time I used it for a shoot the top came off and the piece that was holding the head fell into the middle pole and I couldn't get it out, rendering it useless. So I got this replacement hoping it would be better, but I did not expect for the same price it would be THIS much better. Pretty much all solid aluminum, very sturdy for a DSLR (maybe different if you're using heavier equipment), and the features are suitable for the average photo shoot. I got mine for $30 and the price is totally worth it. I wish I were able to get the bigger style that had a handle on it, but it was out of stock so I got this one. Still very satisfied. The only negative is the clasps on the legs are pretty stiff, but I'd rather they were stiff than loose if there were to be one or the other. I also like the fact that the mounting piece is very small. The other tripod i had the mounting piece was larger so if I needed to replace the battery I'd have to take the mounting piece off first. This one is small enough I can replace the battery without taking the mounting piece off. Definite plus, as every second that passes as a photographer is a potential missed shot. The ball joint head is also nice as you can shoot at whatever angle you want. Some other tripods at this price only go up and down and left to right. You could still work your angle it would just take longer to do. Like I said before, every angle counts. Edit*** I've noticed some people say that it's not sturdy for their DSLR's. Not sure if there is much difference one to another, but I use my canon XSI with a 28-135mm lens on it and there is zero bending of the legs or instability of the ball joint. Not even a threat. I put some pressure on it (just a bit) and still nothing. For my set up it is super solid. I can imagine it might be different if you were using a 1DX with a 70-200mm lens or the like. But I think for the average shooter or aspiring professional, you won't have a problem with problems like that. If you're a real professional with all that heavy equipment you can probably afford a more expensive tripod. I don't know why a real professional with the more advanced equipment would consider a $30 tripod anyway. If my set up was much more expensive I would not even consider trusting a $30 tripod for my equipment. Though I must say this tripod exceeded my expectations.