Pros: Controls on the Handle, Folds up fairly small, Seems heavy duty
Cons: None yet
The Bottom Line: Although I haven't seen any other tripods, I would say this is probably one of the best commercially available today and recommend it to all.
A few weeks ago I made a trip out to Lancaster, PA. I really went to look at all of the amish stuff, but ended up stopping by the factory outlets and landed in the Sony one. Before I saw this tripod in the Sony store, I didn't even know they made them with the control on the grip so I immediatly thought it was cool and had to buy it. Unfortunatly it was raining that weekend in Lancaster so I didn't get a chance to test it out right away so I had to bring it home to finally use it. Also unfortunatly, it appears after looking at the price off this site, that I may of payed a little too much but I still feel it is worth every penny.
Pros:
- Duh! The number one pro of this tripod is that it plugs into your camera so that you can operate it off the tripod grip. Instead of having to reach onto the camera (moving the camera around) you just push the button on the tripod. You can zoom in, out, record, stop record, and take pictures. There may be other buttons, but I've only used those.
- It folds very small, and can get tall enough for most people. The exact heights are: 17.5' To 45'. Where I bought mine it came with a carrying case that was about 18 inches long. It folds up small enough to record secretly from your car floor if you need to for any reason (maybe your in the FBI and need to spy?), and it gets big enough for just about anything else.
- Once you find a comfortable level and the legs are all pulled out, you can still easily adjust the height. There is a knob type thing that you turn and can make it elevate or lower. It is very easy to use, and turn.
- The movement of the tripod spinning is smooth. No squeeking or any problems it spins so smooth you may not even notice your spinning it. It also tilts up and down very smoothly without a problem. With this type of control and functionality you could make professional quality movies which is one reason I bought this.
- The legs are thick and look to be heavy duty. I was thinking of smashing it and seeing if they stand up but after spending $80, I decided I didn't feel like throwing something this cool away if it didn't hold. The legs fold up in 3 sections and are locked and unlocked by flipping somewhat of a switch type thing on the leg that tightens and loosens the bolt that holds it.
Cons:
- Not really a con for me but for others it may be... I think the remote control on the grip only works with Sony cameras that are more recent. I feel bad for everyone else that does not have a Sony camera.
- I have not run into anything with this tripod that I find to be a con. Therefore I am 100% satisfied.
After weeks of playing with this tripod with the camera I got at Christmas which review can be found here Sony DCR-PC101 I am very pleased with it's performance. It has exceeded my expectations for a tripod and makes for great quality videos. It is easy to use...I think a monkey could use it if it had to. Sony gets two thumbs up on this one!
Mount your camcorder or digital camera on the tripod and operate it directly from the tripod grip Remote zoom in/out, start/stop, and lock/standby Exp...More at Amazon Marketplace
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