Velbon CUBE Compact Tripod

Easy to expand and contract. Integrated ball head is simple to adjust as well. Slightly bigger than initially thought. But overall for compact cameras it's portable (not in your pocket though) and not too heavy.

I was looking for a small, light, tripod for my compact mirrorless camera to take on the go without any unnecessary bulk. I purchased and tried one of the Agfa/Polaroid/Giottos (they appear to all be similar) 42" compact tripod and a Sirui T-0005KX 52" travel tripods. I returned the others and I'm keeping this Velbon CUBE.Size: The CUBE is very compact, and folds flat which basically no other design and compete with. Even the head has a slim profile in line with the rest of the tripod legs. The 42" Polaroid is very compact and arguably more so, but it doesn't fold flat and head is bulkier and it's slightly longer overall. The Sirui is the biggest and while it is still small, the descriptions are misleading and is actually longer than the claimed 11.8" - closer to 13". The Sirui doesn't fold flat and much bigger than the others by far. The CUBE win's the size battle with the Polaroid a close second and the Sirui last.Weight: The CUBE weighs almost nothing. OK, it's not nothing but less than a lb, which is very light. I have a lenses that weighs more, enough said. The Polaroid is still somewhat light overall but the head is kind of hefty. I've read on forums where someone has changed the head out for a lighter one, but that required some drilling and a separate purchase of another head, still it's heavier than the CUBE with customization. The Sirui is a tank compared with the other two. Also Sirui has made misleading claims again saying the tripod weighs 1.9 lbs. which is incorrect as it actually weights 2.3 lbs. which I verified with my own scale. Other reviewers confirmed that the 005KX weighs 1.9 lbs. The winner is the CUBE again, with the Polaroid another close second with the Sirui far behind.Sturdiness: The CUBE has legs that extend out and the center legs stretch out the the sides while the center stretches out in front. The locking mechanism is genius but at the same time the legs are wobbly. Clips pop out the side of each extension and locks the legs in place, and they lock fairly well and don't collapse on their own. You use pressure on the very top leg extension (all three legs pressed together at the same time to press all the clips for all legs together) and then the highest legs collapse and then by closing it actually presses on the clips for the lower legs and so on so that all of the legs collapse in one motion. It's pretty neat. However since you are not twisting or clamping down on each leg extension they have a good bit of side to side play, so much so that the whole tripod will wobble if you try to shake it from side to side. It stays still to take pictures, but its not the sturdiest. Another thing is that there is not a twist lock for the ball head, it has a clip quick release which is fast and convenient but it doesn't put a whole lot of pressure on the ball and I can move it with not very much hand pressure. It's enough for my mirrorless camera, but I don't think I'd try it with my DSLR. With the Polaroid I had trouble with the extensions staying locked. They have pins that pop out, but they are those ball pins that just takes a little pressure and then legs collapse. I saw videos where they showed some people twisting the legs, but that really doesn't seem to do anything. I couldn't get the legs to stay extended with a camera for the life of me. The ball head on the Polaroid is actually pretty nice if not a little big and heavy compared to the rest of the tripod. It locks with more force than the CUBE but it can still be overcome with a heavy camera. Regarding the Sirui, it has twisting locks for each section, so it was supremely sturdy compared to these others. Still not as sturdy as a full size tripod you would use in a studio but again much sturdier than the others. It was a little time consuming to lock and unlock the legs. I practiced with it some and improved my technique but for run and gun family vacation shooting it was not really what I wanted to go through. The head on the Sirui was the best by far, it has a quick release plate, pan feature, and overall the sturdiest. As far as being sturdy the Sirui wins, with the Velbon a shaky second and the Polaroid a distant third.Usability: The CUBE is basically designed to do exactly what I wanted it for. I have other tripods for studio use and even a bigger portable tripod that I can toss in the car for some shots, but I wanted something really compact I can throw in a bag with my morrorless camera and maybe just one or two lenses and be free to hike, bike, travel, fly, go on a cruise, whatever. This thing is small, I could probably stuff it into my wife's purse in a pinch and carry my camera in a pocket. All three legs extend in one motion and collapse in one motion for the perfect quick shot and go. The Polaroid being a little longer and not flat is a little more inconvenient, but the legs are harder to work with. They extend with hard tugging and while some will collapse easily when you don't want them to, others take some banging to get them to completely collapse. The Sirui, being bigger can not just go in a purse - maybe a back pack. Also the legs take time to extend and then twist lock each section and then again to collapse. For quick shooting on the go the CUBE is the clear winner, with the Polaroid maybe second and the Sirui third only because it's size.Price: There are no US sellers so I had to order mine from a Japanese seller, and these are ranging (with shipping) around $60-75. The Polaroid are going for about $20, the Sirui was $139. The winner is the polaroid and it's so cheap it might be worth buying just to try out - like I did. However I was just unsatisfied with the legs so I sent it back. Being somewhere in the middle I was fine with the price I paid for the CUBE but I will say that being as flimsy as it is, that I really think the price I paid for it is overpriced. I think a fair price would have been in the $30-40 range. The packaging is really cheesy as well. It looks like something you would find in a dollar store. The included case is actually just a very thin nylon bag, and not really a case. The price for the Sirui is fair, but if you look around there are other sellers (one being an amazon branded compact travel tripod) which is basically the same thing for less. If you look at the specs the others are listed as being around 13" and 2.3-2.5 lbs and if you read the specs on the Sirui you would think it's better because they claim 11.8" and 1.9 lbs but that is false. It is no different than the other brands in size and weight, so you're better off buying the least expensive of the similar designs.Overall I like this tripod and it suits my purpose. It's very light, very small, easy to use, easy to carry. It has a few faults, like wobbly legs and weak head, but at least the legs don't collapse on their own and the head is plenty strong for a compact mirrorless camera. I wouldn't even want to try this tripod with a DSLR or even mirrorless with a heavy pro lens as I don't think that's the intended purpose.

Good

so light and easy to handle, sadly they discontinued the model so having this still available in amazon was a treat

I do a lot of hiking and trips to Tokyo and often need a tripod for some of my shots.I hate lugging around a full sized tripod unless I absolutely need one as weight matters a lot for me.Up until now Ive been using a gorilla pod but always felt a bit limited when there wasnt anything to attach it to. I picked this up for my Sony A7 and always carry this around. It gives me just enough tripod for what I need in a small form factor that I can drop into my camera bag no problem.Its decently sturdy too!

I have just received this tri-pod having searched for one that fits easily into my camera bag. I wanted such a tri-pod to use not only with my Sony camera but also my Panasonic video camera. The standard of manufacture is good, ease of use is very good although general stability is only reasonable (I would not trust it in a high wind, but this is not surprising considering its size etc.). I have taken a number of shots with my video camera using the existing ball head, static and pan, and the results are quite satisfactory although as one would expect not as good as my much bigger and heavier fluid head tri-pod. In conclusion, and from my tests to date, as a travel tri-pod, at the Amazon price, I am happy to recommend it.

なるべく荷物をコンパクトにしたいけど三脚が欲しい時に重宝します。自分はコンパクトデジカメ(Sony RX100M6)でよく使います。正直いって安定性はそこまで良いとは思えませんが低い高さからそこそこ高い高さまで網羅出来るのが助かります。携帯性は抜群。ロードバイク乗りでしたら想像し易いですが収納時だと厚さが一定した長方形になるのでジャージのバックポケットに入れても邪魔に思いませんでした。雲台は...まぁ期待しない方が良いでしょう。あんまり重い物を載せるのは危険だと思いますがコンパクトデジカメだったら充分かと。

The Cube is very well made and excellent quality. Being extremely light you can carry it around in a suitably large overcoat pocket or almost any camera bag. It is incredibly quick to open/setup and collapses equally quickly. The head is the easiest to set to where you want that I have ever come across. (check out youtube for videos)The compromises come with the thin wobbly legs - these only work if you bend them gently outwards creating a tension that gives stability (actually the idea behind the design). Also care must be taken with the camera/lens load, so fine for my Panasonic GH2 with lenses but no good for Full Frame birder's or APS-C heavy long lenses of 300mm+.I have successfully used it for exposures of several seconds on rough river banks which were sheltered from very strong winds. It is also very good for the inside of buildings, churches etc.I am very happy with the Cube as an extra that I was missing before. I would recommend it (with the reservations mentioned above)

新婚旅行でハワイに行くのに際して、景色＋自分たち二人全身を撮りたくて三脚を探し始めました。YouTuberやブロガーのレビューを見てやや不安に感じていた点もありましたが、本当に買ってよかったと思います。私が三脚購入に際して考慮した点と、購入前の不安がいかに杞憂であったかを書かせて頂きます。・必須ポイント①：携帯性とにかくコンパクトに収納可能で軽量な三脚を探していました。旅行中はグレゴリーのウェストポーチに財布、携帯、一眼レフ(PENTAX K-50)を入れて持ち歩きたかったので、できれば三脚のためにカバンのサイズをアップさせたくありませんでした。サイズだけで言えばゴリラポッドやManfrotto PIXI等、よく挙げられるコンパクト三脚もありますが、Velbon CUBEの方が平べったくてカバン内の収まりは良かったように感じています。・必須ポイント②：高さ三脚自体の背が高いものをどうしても買いたいと思っていました。理由は景色＋自分の写真を不自然な角度で撮影したくないためです。高さを色々試してみたところ、最低100cmの高さにカメラがあれば大丈夫そうという結論に。ここではManfrotto Befreiや、Vielbon ULTREKも候補に挙がりました。が、ウェストポーチに収まるサイズ感を求めるとなるとすでにCube一択になっておりました。。・必須ポイント③：自由雲台これまで浅いなりに三脚に触ってきた身として、自由雲台以外ありえないと思っていました。コンセプトは「旅行中にパッと準備してしゃっと撮影！」なので、あれやこれや丁寧に調整したくありませんでした。その点、自由雲台であればワンタッチで好きな角度に調整可能です。自由雲台の弱点として水平を保つのが難しい、という話を聞いたこともありますが、自分自身、写真は綺麗に思い出として残ればそれでOKなので、その点を弱点とも感じておりません。・任意ポイント①：安定性できれば一眼レフで純粋に写真撮影を楽しむ為の三脚としても使いたいと考えておりました。とは言え今回の購入の最大の目的は旅行中に持ち歩くことですので、あくまで任意ポイントです。結果的にこの条件に気を取られすぎて様々なレビュワーに惑わされる結果になってしまいました。。使ってみての感想は、この三脚はあくまで旅行用三脚であるということです。逆に言うと旅行でさっと撮影する分には十分の安定性を兼ね備えています。たとえ使っているカメラが一眼レフでも、しなりを効かせれば安定します。しかし、カメラで写真を撮ることを目的とした場合は話が変わってきます。例えば星空撮影用の三脚としては、おそらく使い物になりません。ここでの安定性は「絶対に動かない」ではないのです。軽量ゆえに強い風が吹けばややぐらつきますし、しなりが効く分動く遊びがあるということでもあります。私はここを深く理解しないまま、「安定しなければ三脚として機能しないしなぁ、どうしよう、、、」と悩んでしまいました。目的をはっきりさせれば、自ずと判断できると思われます。以上の点をあーだこーだと様々検討した結果、Velbon Cubeの購入を決意いたしました。実物を初めて触った時は、なんてコンパクトなのーーー！？が第一印象でした。私と似たような経緯で三脚をお探しの方であれば、かなり強くお勧めできる三脚です！

Arrived safely