SUNPAK620-080 Tripod,Black

I purchased the Sunpak tripod after doing some research online. The other positive reviews of this tripod on Amazon helped sway my decision to purchase it. In short, the Sunpak delivers. It easily opens and closes, and has a quick detach lever you can use to quickly remove the camera from the tripod should you need to follow the action.Once locked in position, the tripod stays locked. It's incredibly versatile in its adjustment. A small level bubble comes with the detachable mount; you can use this to ensure your camera is straight and not at an awkward angle. As a professional wedding videographer, I can't praise this tripod enough. The Sunpak is exceptionally sturdy while being lightweight. It's also easily transportable, and the price is reasonable. I highly recommend it.

When I decided I needed a second tripod I didn't hesitate buying another Sunpak tripod, I've got an older Sunpak 3300 Pro that I truly love. Unfortunately the 8001UT is no where near the 3300 Pro in quality. Where the 3300 Pro is mostly metal the 8001UT is mostly plastic, which is not necessarily a bad thing but in this case, yeah it is.I bought the 8001UT to use with a Celestron C90 MAK spotting scope and while the spotting scope is not terribly light at 5 pounds it's well under the 10 pound max that this tripod is supposed to be able to handle. With the scope mounted to the tripod it bounces around a LOT. The legs seem stable enough but the tripod head is terrible, even with everything tightened as far as it can be tightened the scope has about a half inch of slop in the vertical axis. It's almost usable with the center section all the way down but with the center section raised more than a couple of inches the bounce gets markedly worse. Fortunately the scope is used to watch birds in our front yard and the tripod won't be called upon for anything too strenuous. The price was certainly low enough and if you only used it with a small point and shoot digital camera it might work fine but if you have a full sized DSLR or a spotting scope you might want to give this model a pass.

I looked around for a basic tripod. I didn't need anything complex of fancy, just something that was sturdy and would allow me to set my camera up for fixed shots or remote shots.This tripod delivers that and much more! It has adjustable legs, which allows you to place it on an incline and still keep the camera level. Additionally it has an adjustable neck, which lets you make minute adjustments to the height of the camera for getting the perfect angle. You can also flip the camera 90 degrees so you can take landscape and portrait photos. It has an integrated level on the mounting plate and the tripod itself. It also comes with 2 mounting plates so you can use more than on device without switching plates. One other feature I like is that it has retractable spikes in each leg, allowing you to set it outside and secure it on an incline.For the price I am very impressed with how sturdy and versatile this tripod is.

ABOUT MEI use a Nikon D3200 and use a 400mm zoom with this unit.I consider myself semi-pro (I do sell my work to supplement my family but am not well known (yet ;-))I do nature/wildlife photography.I have been using the tripod lightly for about a month.It holds the wight of my camera and 400mmzoom lens (which is super heavy). Although I would not trust it for anything more or telephoto. I also use it "loose" so I can move it to follow the subject.It seems to be made of average quality for a tripod of its price range.The connections and adjustments are all plastic.It has multiple adjustments that I like.The handle and adjustments can be tightened to hold still or you can loosen them up to a sweet spot to allow for mobility.(when I shoot wildlife this helps because they don't know the concept of holding a pose :-/)I was a bit dissapointed because this model does not come with the monopod feature that sunpak includes in some other models but--- it's not like you can't just fold up the legs - works just as well but with more bulk.Bulk - the unit is very lightweight - I am a 5'2 female and the camera with lens weighs more than this tripod.Case - does not come with one.Does not fit into my camera packs' side tripod holder either - will have to make or purchase a case with shoulder strap for travel.My units' head does not fully come to level on the tilt but that is easily adapted to with a twist of the leg nubs or leg length.For the price.... (under $50) This is a pretty good tripod.Recommended for - LIGHT, OCCASIONAL USEFor the BEGINNER, or SEMI-PRO or CASUAL userWe will see how it holds up over time. (so far way better then the polaroid I bought prior that broke straight out of the box)

This unit is very nice for the small amount of money it cost. Can you buy much better tripods? Sure you can, but not at this price. I have used this with my DSLR and with my Video camera. It has good balance of features, build quality and cost. I like that it came with 2 quick release bases, I am not sure how often I would use that but I tested it with my DSLR and another camera and it makes it really easy to swich between the 2. THe pan and height mechanisms seem reasonably smooth if maybe a little akward, but generally I do not use these functions when filming so It was not a deal breaker for me. The legs are easy to deploy and easy to adjust. It is sturdy and if treated with care will last many many years.

The product is very good and I like that so much. The only complain about the tripod is missing another level.Why one star if the product is good? The one star is for Amazon. They sold this product on website like brand new and look at the pictures! I'm sure that this product go back and forth many times!