Smallrig tabletop tripod..

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Andy
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/SMALLRIG-A...28&hvtargid=aud-548500765412:pla-804995709523


Has anyone used these in the past? I want something which I can use for indoor macro work... For the price it seems to be a great piece of kit... The legs apparently hold 80kg. But more importantly the ball head holds 5kg...
Now I'm wanting this for my d3300, 105 sigma, raynox and macro focus rail... To me this seems ideal for the job... Can anyone see any stay away signs? For under £40 it seems to be a steal!
 
This seems to be a bit of a departure for smallrig who specialise in fine quality rigs brackets and cages for video work and cameras.
If they state a weight holding capacity I believe them.
I rather fancy their adaptable L bracket for the Fuji XT30. Which is both better and more reasonable price than their direct high quality completion.
 
Has anyone used these in the past? I want something which I can use for indoor macro work... For the price it seems to be a great piece of kit... The legs apparently hold 80kg. But more importantly the ball head holds 5kg...

The Amazon weight figures do not match the figures in the Product Description panel. Amazon say legs support 44lbs (20kg) and ball head 4.4lbs (2kg) whereas the PD panel shows legs 80kg and ball head 5kg.
 
The Amazon weight figures do not match the figures in the Product Description panel. Amazon say legs support 44lbs (20kg) and ball head 4.4lbs (2kg) whereas the PD panel shows legs 80kg and ball head 5kg.

It would be easy enough to go on line and ask them. On go on their site and see for yourself.
 
Think I'm going to go ahead with it and give it some testing, if the weight isn't upto what it should be then amazon is usually great at this sort of stuff with customer service, so fingers crossed!
 
The item does not feature on SmallRig's website product list at all so not able to check.

That is strange As it is used to support a number of their products in the images on their site.
Perhaps it is a spin off product Made up for their own use and then sold as as a separate line.
 
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The item does not feature on SmallRig's website product list at all so not able to check.
What is interesting is that the Amazon seller is located in the same address as Smallrig!
 
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Thinking about it a bit more, they might just be testing the water, before deciding if this is a direction they want to go.
They are not into cheep or nasty.... where most mini tripods fit, and there may not be much of a market for a premium product such as this.
Most of their products are high end individually cnc machined items, with a hard anodised finish, not mass produced.
A similar route to that now taken by Nodal Ninja. of Panorama kit fame.
Top end Chinese production seems to have move away from mass produced injection molded and extrusion based products, with their inherently wider tolerances.

It is very unusual in having a 3/8" head mounting screw. most others have 1/4" screws If they have removable heads at all.
 
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Well I just ordered one, and at the moment there`s a 10% off clicky too. Shall report back, when it arrives on Tuesday.
 
Well I just ordered one, and at the moment there`s a 10% off clicky too. Shall report back, when it arrives on Tuesday.

Nice one:)
At least with the massive weight carrying capacity of the legs, you will be able to fit a heavy tripod head for for holding large lenses and the like.
 
I got one of these last year, only used it a few times but for the money I think it’s pretty dam good, well built and used with D500-105 macro.

It’s not perfect but it’s £34, I didn’t expect top end quality but it’s the price of a take away, so can’t complain

Neewer Portable Desktop Mini Tripod - Aluminum Alloy 50cm with 360 Degree Ball Head, 1/4 inch Quick Shoe Plate for DSLR Camera Video Camcorder, Load up to 11 pounds/5 kilograms https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FKDH3BC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7cnDDbYJFE8J7
 
Nice one:)
At least with the massive weight carrying capacity of the legs, you will be able to fit a heavy tripod head for for holding large lenses and the like.

I`m hoping it`s gonna be a "chuckit in the camera bag" item, so I don`t have to take a tripod out. Being a lazy arse snapper, sometimes tripods are a pita ;)
 
I`m hoping it`s gonna be a "chuckit in the camera bag" item, so I don`t have to take a tripod out. Being a lazy arse snapper, sometimes tripods are a pita ;)

Mine spends most of its life either in the boot of the car, or in the hallway by the stick stand, but it does get used.
I always take a walking pole that converts to a monopod when out walking.
 
Mine spends most of its life either in the boot of the car, or in the hallway by the stick stand, but it does get used.
I always take a walking pole that converts to a monopod when out walking.

I do have easy acess to mine, and it`s a travel one (mefoto), but I tend to use it more indoors, so a little one, would be more handy for table top stuff, I hope. Then I might just leave the main one in the boot :)
 
I got one of these last year, only used it a few times but for the money I think it’s pretty dam good, well built and used with D500-105 macro.

I would be interested to know whether the legs have stops at the 'normal' and 'low level' positions or is this hit and miss. I assume the tension of the leg hinges is adjusted with the included hex spanner.
 
I would be interested to know whether the legs have stops at the 'normal' and 'low level' positions or is this hit and miss. I assume the tension of the leg hinges is adjusted with the included hex spanner.
Yes and yes, I’ll take a few snaps for you
 
Tripod arrived today and it seems very sturdy, however it does move unfortunately when angled down or when my focus rail is at the front.

I will be keeping it and possibly counter weighting my rig. It might be worth noting the locking nuts are very small and take a lot of effort to tighten which will effect movement obviously.

View: https://flic.kr/p/2hcs9cp
 
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Tripod arrived today and it seems very sturdy, however it does move unfortunately when angled down or when my focus rail is at the front.

I will be keeping it and possibly counter weighting my rig.
A daft question perhaps?

Are you saying the tripod is tilting over, when you say it is moving.......if so is that with the tripod legs fully splayed and the attached camera rig aligned over the forward 'reaching' leg i.e. is the weight over a leg rather than between two of them???
 
A daft question perhaps?

Are you saying the tripod is tilting over, when you say it is moving.......if so is that with the tripod legs fully splayed and the attached camera rig aligned over the forward 'reaching' leg i.e. is the weight over a leg rather than between two of them???

Sorry I'm meaning that the ball head isn't supporting the weight of the tripod and it's shifting forward slowly with the weight of the lens the further down it gets the faster it goes. Although when it's at a straight 90 degrees it does stay put.
I think if I didn't have the focus rail on it would manage it.
 
Looking at that setup. You have rather too much leverage going on with the camera that high over such a small ball head. You only need to be tilted a small amount for the friction on the ball to fail. A simpler and Lower setup would be better.
 
Looking at that setup. You have rather too much leverage going on with the camera that high over such a small ball head. You only need to be tilted a small amount for the friction on the ball to fail. A simpler and Lower setup would be better.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this tripod is bad. It's far from it, for the price it's a fantastic bit of kit and feels really sturdy.
If I counterweight the back of my focus rail I don't have any doubts that the tripod will have any issues. Which I plan on doing to be honnest.
If I can take the ball head off the camera and get an adapter I'll use my camera without the ball head which will give me a super sturdy rig for indoor macro work which is what I do want. The ball head wouod be fine without the macro rail which unfortunately adds that extra weight.
 
Well, looks to be much better quality than the Manfrotto Pixie.

I have the Pixie, it really is a bit crap unless you have something like a pancake lens on your camera, or you're facing upward. Not good at all for ground shots with any kind of slightly larger lens
 
And an extra 10% off at present (valid until 14 November 2019) by the looks of it too (y)

Yup, if you tick the promo box, it automatically gets deducted at checkout (y)
 
Arrived today, and it`s a really well built sturdy little bugger. Seems perfect for the camera bag (y)
 
This looks like something that could go on my shopping list, would it be possible to change the ball head for a manfrotto 410 geared head
 
This looks like something that could go on my shopping list, would it b thee possible to change the ball head for a manfrotto 410 geared head

You can fit any head with the normal 3/8 Thread
 
OK, had my tripod for a couple of days now so I thought I would post my observations.

The tripod is well made as has been said being all metal with no plastic parts. The rubber feet are good but there is no sign of the spikes that are mentioned in Amazon's description.

The legs do not have intermediate stops on them only one at the lowest height. Intermediate adjustment is governed by tightening the hinge joints The friction arrangement consists of a shanked cap screw (allen bolt) on the hinge which only goes so far in. There are two copper friction washers either side of the leg hinge spigot that mounts into the head section. As you can only tighten up the shanked hex bolts in so far the friction is not uniform over the three legs so that, when fully tightened one leg on mine is still quite loose and, I suspect, with a heavy rig mounted would gradually slide down to the lowest height. Luckily there is a 25mm slot along the axis of each leg through which one can thread a webbing strap which will prevent the legs splaying out completely.

TBH I would be very sceptical of the claim that the tripod can take a maximum weight of 80kg. At 76kg I'm certainly not going to try standing on it to test that claim! :LOL:
 
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