Opteka 70" Full Size Professional Photo / Video Tripod

For a modest sum, this is a huge upgrade from my tripod it replaces; however, having said that, I cannot give it a 5-star review. The head and the quick-release camera plate are plastic. There is only so much you can do to tighten things down. If I need to shoot hand-released shots (say, for bracketed exposures beyond the +2, -2 that my Canon 20D will shoot automatically), the camera can be the slightest bit squizzy. I can either be very careful, or work-around with time-release, mirror lock-up, etc.. Next time I upgrade, I'm going to go into a store and look at, say, the Bogen/Manfrotto.

A Great tripod for such a low price.
I am not an expert but it serves its function.
The only negative aspect is that there is a tendency for the camera to drop down when i am not holding it. I dont know if this is user error or a problem with the tripod but overall I am happy with it.

Opteka 70" Full Size Professional Photo / Video Tripod

This tripod is simple to use and very lightweight. Great for photography/videography on the go. Has a level, feet are adjustable(not flat they swivel and tilt as needed) to have your tripod sit level. Would highly recommend.

Several issues. First, the hook at the bottom AND the head BOTH fell off! No, this wasn't a shipping or packing issue, they are held in there by friction! For the money, I was expecting something wobbly, plasticky, and perhaps a bit fragile and yes, it was all of those things too. But I wanted to be able to USE the darn thing before it fell apart. With the price, it's hardly worth returning. I'm going to try to fix it with hose clamps. I intend to cut a slot an inch or two down the ends of the tube and then cinch the tube down on the plastic parts that fell out. If it doesn't work, I'll toss it in the trash.

Update: 01 August 08: Okay, I 'fixed'it. Didn't worry about the hook as I don't have anything that I could hang from it. A few observations now taht I've used it some. There is a little flip-out handle to turn the screw into the camera mount. It's difficult to hold on to and you can't really tighten it well. Further, when you go to take the picture, you have to wait about two or three seconds for the camera to settle down. You can't use the shutter release, you have to use a timer. I have a remote, and it worked decent. I was really worried that as unstable as the tripod was, I'd need to use mirror lockup as well, but the pictures turned out well enough. This one's going in the closet and I'm buying something more substantial. The rating stands.

Good Balance between price & quality. Its' light but strong enough to support my Canon XTi... Maybe if you use a professional video camera you would need a stronger tripod, but for small video cameras and any kind of photo camera its good enough.