Sunpak 620-020 2001UT Travel Tripod with Extra Quick-Release Mounting Plate

First it looks professional. Locks on the legs are “quick”, you can release and adjust the legs very fast. One problem is that if you don’t want to strecth the legs full way, then you have to use your imagination to make it stand level. It is much lighter than it looks. The legs and structure is made of thin and hollow pieces to reduce weight, still it is sturdy and holds the camera firm. The quick release pan head is also a nice feature that helps you to fix and release your camera without unscrewing the pan. An extra pan also comes with it that helps you to use two cameras alternatively without bother. The pan can be adjusted in three coordinates. A small complaint is that, there is no indicator with which to check if the pan surface is horizontal, so again one needs to guess.

The tripod has also a center pole that extends to about 1 foot and helps adjust the camera height without need to adjust legs. When legs are closed it is reasonably small.

I would say this is a great tripod for home and vacation use and for the price you pay, you get a worthy service.
Rating: 5 / 5

I agree with the reviews that speak of the good features of this tripod… it is lightweight, easy to set up, compacts to a reasonable size, and is not difficult to carry.

I purchased this tripod in 2004 but have never used it with my video camera; it always held my still camera. This year, I began using my video camera and a tripod was needed for smooth panning and tilt for an hour-long shoot. The subject was a corporate trainer whose motions did not follow a predictable path.

The first taping, I found the joints a little sticky, even though the clamps were loosened. To prepare for the next taping, I attempted to lubricate he mechanism. That is when I realized that the design and construction was the cause and not that the tripod needed the lubricant.

The construction of the joints had large clearances thus the tradeoff was keeping the adjustment snug or allowing the maximum freedom to eliminate the stickiness. On the second taping, I loosened everything up and was more careful. Some erratic movement could be edited out and some was compensated by the video camera’s steady-cam features.

While I like this tripod for my still pictures I would suggest evaluating other tripods for video use when panning, or tilt is needed.
Rating: 3 / 5