AFAITH Tripod, any good?

Msteelio91 · Apr 9, 2015

Currently still using a $20 aluminum tripod from years and years ago that just isn't cutting it anymore. Found this one on Amazon and it looks quite promising:

Amazon.com AFAITH Professional SLR Camera Tripod Monopod Ball Head Portable Compact Travel up to 35lbs Camera Photo

Does anyone have any experience with this tripod or other similar AFAITh products?

Or if you have any suggestions to other tripods around the same price point that would also be helpful. Looking for something decent for travel, yet heavy and strong enough to offer a solid base for LE shots.

tirediron · Apr 9, 2015

It looks like it would do the job, but two questions I would ask: Are the QR plates a standard design (RRS, Giottos, etc) and/or are spares easily obtainable; and can you replace the rubber feet with spikes? I'm not a big fan of rubber feet for a lot of out-door work.

nerwin · Apr 9, 2015

I'm not sure how I feel about it, I wouldn't trust my camera on it. Like someone said in the comments, there are no parts for it. If you loose a quick release plate, then you are kind of out of luck. It comes from China by the way. I would recommend looking at well known brands like Vanguard, Manfrotto, Benro, Silk. They make some nice quality tripods around that price too. But if you are willing to give it a shot, make a review!

Msteelio91 · Apr 10, 2015

tirediron said:
It looks like it would do the job, but two questions I would ask: Are the QR plates a standard design (RRS, Giottos, etc) and/or are spares easily obtainable; and can you replace the rubber feet with spikes? I'm not a big fan of rubber feet for a lot of out-door work.

Yeah the parts seem to be a bit of an issue. Looks like I'll be looking for something a little more "mainstream".

nerwin said:
I'm not sure how I feel about it, I wouldn't trust my camera on it. Like someone said in the comments, there are no parts for it. If you loose a quick release plate, then you are kind of out of luck. It comes from China by the way. I would recommend looking at well known brands like Vanguard, Manfrotto, Benro, Silk. They make some nice quality tripods around that price too. But if you are willing to give it a shot, make a review!

Not sure I'm that brave, I don't have the spare coin to drop if this isn't going to be a solid system.

Amber Vira · Apr 11, 2015

Am using it for some time and satisfied!! It's advanced with casting technology....

Amber Vira

raventepes · Apr 12, 2015

I like its design and its ability to convert into a monopod, but after reading its 3 and under-star reviews, I don't think I'd trust it.

D-B-J · Apr 12, 2015

Looks like a 3 Legged Thing rip-off. It might work, it might not. Putting thousands in gear on a questionable tripod worries me....

Jake

Msteelio91 · Apr 13, 2015

D-B-J said:
Looks like a 3 Legged Thing rip-off. It might work, it might not. Putting thousands in gear on a questionable tripod worries me....

Jake

That's what I was thinking, I wish it was made with more universal parts but it looks like they did the typical "china special" on this one... Totally agree to I really don't want to risk my gear just because I was too cheap to get a better rig

raventepes said:
I like its design and its ability to convert into a monopod, but after reading its 3 and under-star reviews, I don't think I'd trust it.

Yeah so it's settled. The search continues. I think I'm going to up my budget to 200 and look for a separate set of legs and a ball head.

Thanks for the input all

tirediron · Apr 13, 2015

Msteelio91 said:
... I think I'm going to up my budget to 200 and look for a separate set of legs and a ball head.

Thanks for the input all

Don't forget, quality tripods are often a great buy used - you can pick up used, but not abused models for fifty cents of the dollar in many cases.

D-B-J · Apr 13, 2015

I loved my vanguard alta pro 263. It worked well, supported my gear, and didn't cost too much. That being said, less than a year later I've upgraded it significantly. The biggest issue with that one I had was that it didn't stand the elements well. A great intro tripod, to figure out whether or not I wanted one and what I needed most out of a tripod.

Jake

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Msteelio91 · Apr 13, 2015

D-B-J said:
I loved my vanguard alta pro 263. It worked well, supported my gear, and didn't cost too much. That being said, less than a year later I've upgraded it significantly. The biggest issue with that one I had was that it didn't stand the elements well. A great intro tripod, to figure out whether or not I wanted one and what I needed most out of a tripod.

Jake

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good to know! I follow you pretty regularly and definitely don't think I expose my gear to the same conditions as you hahaha

GlennT · Apr 14, 2015

My setup doesn't fit your requirements, but I have an Induro AT213 tripod (approx $140) and a PhotoClam PRO-42NS ball head ($230). My specs were pretty high, with my heaviest setup being a Canon 7D with my Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L and a 430EX II flash. Aside from the weight
of it, I absolutely love this setup. It's very sturdy. The ballhead is nice and smooth, and I love that I can loosen or lock it with about a 1/4 turn of the knob, with plenty of granularity in between. i.e. I can lock it, loosen it entirely, or adjust it anywhere in the middle so that it holds, yet I can move the camera. I also wanted to use arca-swiss style plates, but that does add quite a bit of cost.

I'd recommend looking for legs that can support at least 3 times the weight of your heaviest setup; probably considerably more than that for the head, if you can manage. A larger ball gives it the smoother movement and stronger hold.

I'd suggest looking at Benro and Induro closely. I believe they're owned by the same company, and have heard the quality is similar; the Induro brand is supposedly slightly nicer; mine did come with a very nice bag, in which the tripod fits with the head mounted. They have several kits in your price range. I can't vouch for their ballheads, but I'm sure they're at least on par with Vanguard (likely better) and they do generally use arca type plates (check carefully.) If you outgrow the ball head, but have arca plates, you can simply replace the ballhead and reuse your plates. I've honestly looked at a couple of these as a travel/hiking tripod, and since I have arca type plates, I'm otherwise all set.

I also heard/read many good things about Sirui. My interpretation of reviews suggested their quality isn't quite as good as Photo Clam, but otherwise, I did consider legs and ballheads from them.

Slik and Giottos were a couple others I checked out.

Manfrotto is extremely popular and hard to go wrong with, especially for entry level. My biggest problem with them was that they use proprietary plates. There's the same problem with plates and the cheaper Vanguard kits. The plates generally end up being somewhat universal fit, so equipment can twist on the mount. If you get arca plates, there is a whole world of custom fit plates that just outright fit and work better.

D-B-J · Apr 14, 2015

I can also speak highly of Induro. I own the CT214 series legs and LOVE them. AND, they're parts and repairs are handled by the MAC Group, and they handle things so damn well I was excited when I called and found out that's who handled their parts.

Jake

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

kylerpiercings · Apr 15, 2015

I recently got the Slik pro 700 and I'm a huge fan of it. It's about $40 more than the one you posted but it's built like a tank. for $140 you can get it with a pan head or buy the legs alone for $100.

There's quite a few favorable reviews on it as well.

Amazon.com SLIK PRO 700DX Professional Tripod with Panhead 615-315 Dslr Tripod Camera Photo