AmazonBasics aluminium 62″ tripod with ball head – review

I’ve reviewed other items in the AmazonBasics range, and I’ve found them good value. Their 62″ tripod is no exception, and is far better than any other tripod I’ve used at this price point.

The tripod comes in its own padded carry case, and there’s room to get it back in again once out. The instructions even explain how to close the tripod for fitting in the bag (the legs close over the head).

The first thing you notice, is this does not feel like a £40 tripod. It’s fairly weighty at around 1.6kg and feels sturdy.

The legs fold down with two positive stops for differing heights and stability. There’s a push button to move them back up through a stop. The legs extend smoothly with twist release knobs, although one leg is a little sticky with my tripod. The centre post has the same twist knob for locking extension, and with everything extended fully, the maximum height is a very useful 62″ or 157.5cm.

The rubber feet screw in to reveal metal spikes for outdoor rough terrain.

The bottom of the centre post has a sprung weight hook, for hanging your rucksack for example to further increase the stability.

The head of the tripod has an aluminium quick release mounting plate, which slides into the plate base and locks into position with a plastic knob. To release the plate, you need to depress a safety lock pin, which provides a little extra security.

The mounting plate sits on a ball head which rotates very smoothly and locks down securely with another plastic knob. You can loosen this (tension) knob just slightly to allow finer adjustments. You can position the camera in a 90° position by lining it up over the ball head notch. There’s a bubble level to ensure you get your camera level. It’s pretty small and only really visible before you attach your camera, but still nice to have.

Below the ball head, there’s a panning adjustment, which rotates smoothly and tightens with a small plastic knob. There are 360° markings to assist with panoramic shots which is very nice, although the head rotates slightly as you tighten, so it can be hard to perfectly align.

There’s no panning arm, since this camera is mainly intended for photography, but I’d like to see a handle that could perhaps be screwed in as needed. With the smooth rotation, this would work well with filming too. Vertical panning would be harder, but Amazon do a more expensive video tripod that I’ll try and review in the future.

The tripod can also be setup for low angle shots but reversing the centre post and head. Simply unscrew the weight hook and loosen the centre post lock. Remove the centre post and slide up through the bottom.

Conclusions

I really could find little fault with this tripod, especially considering its price. It’s stable, has smooth adjustments and a very good height range.

Pros

• Very good build quality for the price
• Good range of height adjustments
• Smooth ball and socket adjustment
• Smooth rotation (panning)
• Rotation markings (panning dial) very useful for panoramic shots
• Twist release knobs make for quick leg and centre column adjustments
• Positive stops for 2 leg positions

Cons

• Quick release plate requires coin to tighten
• Spirit level difficult to check when camera attached
• Panning is difficult without handle
• Weight although an advantage for stability, is a little on the heavy side, for a general carry around tripod

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