• 79.99
Overall Rating 4.5   24
3
You get what you pay for.Not a sturdy tripod for your heavy equipment
17/09/2017
5
Just the perfect tripod for hiking, cityscape. Can't beat the size and weight. It is also reasonably solid. I will use this one for most of my use cases and use my big carbon tripod only when it's windy.
01/08/2017
5
Unboxed this yesterday and I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality.It's extremely compact, seems well put together and (in my living room at least) very sturdy. It actually has more features than my full size Manfrotto tripod which cost double. Once I'd unpacked it from the carrying case (which seems a bit bigger than it needs to be) I immediately set it up with my heaviest camera/lens combo to see if it could take the weight. In this case, that would be a Canon 650D and a Tamron 70-300 VC. Not the heaviest setup in the world but certainly on the weighty side. I got everything tightened up and was dismayed to see that the camera was still swivelling all over the place. However, this turned out to be user error as I'd not tightened up the lock ring that attaches the ballhead mount to the centre pole! With that sorted, I had no more problems.I've purchased this tripod for an upcoming road trip in the US and I'm confident that for £60 it'll certainly do a job.
01/07/2017
3
It's a great design but very fiddly and not too stable, it does have a weight hook to stop it toppling over, but there are lighter and more stable mini tripods out there for 6 times less price.
29/06/2017
5
This "K&f Concept Compact Tripod 50 Inch 2.69lbs Lightweight with Professional Ball Head Quick Rlease for DV Canon Nikon Sony DSLR Cameras" (note that this is the 50" compact aluminum version, not one of the other models) is an OUTSTANDING tripod for the price (~$75). In fact, I'm truly impressed by its quality compared to other tripods costing two to four times as much. Even better, it is easily one of the most compact, portable, and functional tripods you can find at any price without getting into uber-expensive carbon fiber options (and even then, very few of those high dollar $300+ tripods are this compact, nor do they offer substantially more stability). At 2.7 lbs. with a folded length of less than 12", this is about as "travel friendly" as a tripod gets. Yet it is capable of extending to a 50" height and providing surprisingly good stability at its fully extended setting. Obviously, no tripod of this size will ever offer the rock solid stability of a much larger, heavier tripod; however, in still conditions up through a fairly strong breeze, you can get tack sharp photos and far-better-than-hand-held-steadiness video from this tripod. For stills, I recommend that you use your camera's self-timer to trigger the shutter to avoid shake from depressing the shutter manually. And for video you will find yourself limited to panning (which is surprisingly smooth thanks to the decent pan feature of the head), without any great option for smooth tilting (vertically). Nevertheless, if your expectations for a travel/compact/hiking tripod are realistic at all, this model competes well with almost anything else on the market.Note for context: I am using this tripod with my Fuji X-T2, which pairs with it brilliantly. Users with larger, substantially heavier DSLRs may find that their experience varies. But for users with mid-size mirrorless cameras (or anything smaller or comparably light), all of my observations should hold true.WHAT I LOVE:- Surprisingly good ball head. Seriously, at this price, I am really impressed how smoothly the ball head operates and how securely and easily it locks into position with a moderate twist of the ball locking knob. It works great, and I have noticed no creep or slop in the operation of the ball head. Likewise, the tolerances seem milled very accurately. For example, when I level the tripod with the camera in landscape format, my camera's digital level shows true level. And when I drop the ball head to the side for portrait orientation, my camera again shows true level.- Surprisingly nice pan operation. I have no idea if it will last or "break in" and deteriorate over time, but when new, the pan movement of the head (which uses a separate locking knob from the ball head) is maybe the biggest surprise here. It feels great, with just enough drag/tension that you can pull of surprisingly smooth horizontal pans when shooting video, in spite of the lack of an extended arm like you typically have on a true video head. The locking knob can be left entirely loose, and the head still exhibits a smooth, consistent tension through its entire 360 degree range of motion. If you tighten the knob down slightly, you can increase that tension noticeably (although it does not offer truly "micro-adjustable" tension like on a nice fluid head) yet the drag still feels pleasantly smooth through the entire range of motion. And if you tighten it down hard, it locks the pan movement securely enough that you will have no worries about bumping/moving the camera out of alignment during multiple exposures or bracketing. Seriously, I expected I might have to replace the head but I like this one so well, I see no reason to do so unless you're wanting to switch to a true fluid video-style head. As ball heads go, you would have to spend quite a lot (more than the entire cost of this tripod) to get a substantially nicer head, and the improvement would be small. Nothing about this head makes it unworkable or inconvenient for any normal photography use I can think of.- Good coatings and traction on controls. The knobs for operating the head and, especially, the joints for extending the legs all have a nice feel to them. In the case of the joints on the legs, there is a very nice rubberized texture that frankly gives an almost "premium" feel to the tripod. They're pleasant to use and easy to operate. Likewise, the rubber tipped feet seem durable and secure on a variety of surfaces, and the coatings on the aluminum leg sections and the (presumably cast metal) connections all feel smooth and refined, like a nice factory finish should feel. Seriously, nothing about this tripod screams "cheap." If anything, it screams "made with pride" much louder than I would've expected from a lesser-known brand at a considerably lower price point than recognized market leaders (in fact, a lower price point than many similarly-designed generic/knock-off brands as well!).WHAT I DON'T LOVE, BUT DON'T HATE EITHER:- Twist-style leg locks. For those who don't know, flip-style leg locks are unquestionably easier and surer to operate, especially in colder weather or with gloved hands. However, these twist-style joints are nearly as fast to deploy once you acclimate to using them. The only issue is that it is easier to "miss" one when snugging them up. Reviewers who consciously focus on their operation will tell you that there is nothing wrong with them--and they are correct, they work just fine. But photographers who actually use them in the field, and whose attention can easily be distracted by the shot they're setting up, will tell you that if you are distracted, it is very easy to twist them and THINK you have secured them, but then suddenly have a leg section collapse on you. With expensive camera equipment riding on the mount, this can be scary and deeply unsettling. Thus, I recommend that you always deploy and PRESS DOWN on the tripod firmly BEFORE mounting your camera whenever you first extend the legs. After that, if you move the (erected) tripod around between shots, you can trust that properly tightened locks will remain tight. It's just in the initial deployment--each time you deploy the tripod--that there is no question the twist feature is less "sure" than flip-locks which you can tell at a glance are, or are not, secured properly. I fretted over this because of my strong preference for flip-lock joints, but I find that I am acclimating fine to the twist-style, find it to be user friendly, and have no qualms about trusting them as long as I test the supportiveness of the tripod when I first deploy it.- Durability. For a compact travel tripod, reduced durability just goes with the territory. Building something bombproof means it also will be heavier than one typically wants in a travel tripod. However, that means you will need to be delicate with this tripod. No, it isn't going to break if you breathe on it wrong or even lean on it a little harder than you need to while composing a shot. But especially with regard to the lowest two leg sections, I suspect even a single hard step down onto, or collision against, the legs (a tumbling child, a tripping adult, a tumbling dog, or a sports ball hurtling wildly toward your direction...) would easily bend or break them. So don't expect this tripod to survive high drops or sudden hard pressure or collisions against it. It just won't. That's where carbon fiber would have a distinct advantage, though even if this were made of carbon fiber, the smaller joints and diameter tubing would still be susceptible to damage, I think. I don't mind this and understood it even before I bought and used the tripod. I just thought I should mention it as an unavoidable compromise for a tripod of this kind of compact, light, slender design.- Limited maximum height. For its size, the 50" height is more than acceptable and increasing that height would undoubtedly mean reducing its portability and compact folded size. So I think this is the ideal compromise, but of course, I would gladly take more height if I could get it.- Decent camera mounting plate. The plate that screws to the bottom of the camera is nice and compact, and unlike some of the larger rectangular mounts used on other tripods I've tried, it does not block the battery door on my Fuji X-T2 regardless of which orientation I mount it in. It also has a D-style "handle" built into the mounting screw so you don't need a screwdriver or coin to torque it down snugly on the camera, which is great. One improvement I'd prefer here, however, is a push-button style safety release for the mounting plate. As it stands, there is only the screw knob that tightens or loosens the mount on the tripod. Other ball heads I've seen with this kind of screw knob attachment system (which I really don't mind, even though some people seem to dislike it) include a separate push-button release so that, after you unscrew the knob and the mounting plate is sitting loose atop the tripod, it cannot accidentally release and drop your camera. This mounting plate does have two little feet that serve as "stops" to help prevent the plate from sliding off too easily. Obviously, you just need to make sure you always have one hand on the camera grip while you release the mounting plate and you should never have a problem. I just would prefer the added safety of a push-button release. The downside of the two little feet--and my real pet peeve about this setup--is that they prevent the camera from resting flat on a surface (i.e. they tip it upward or downward slightly) unless you physically unscrew the plate from the bottom of the camera. I often set my camera on a tabletop, wall, etc. to compose a photo, so I really wish the bottom of the mounting plate were perfectly flat to allow for this without removing the plate every time. (I may grind off the little feet for this reason, but be warned that if you do this, you also lose the moderate security of they provide as "stops" to keep the plate from sliding off if you ever neglect to tighten the mounting attachment screw sufficiently.)WHAT DISAPPOINTS ME:- Frankly, there's not much to disappoint here, especially at this price point. The only one that springs to mind is that this product is advertised as having a monopod feature and even comes with instructions that attest to that fact. However, after careful inspection, I see no way to convert this to a monopod. The instructions state that one of the legs should be engraved to indicate that it can be unscrewed/detached (and then combined with the center column/head to form a monopod). However, none of my tripod's legs bears any such mark/engraving. In case it was just an accidental omission, I tried very forcibly to unscrew all three of the legs. None would budge, despite the fact that I torqued as hard as I dare without risk of damaging the tripod. If a leg does unscrew, mine came so tight from the factory that the idea of any normal-strength adult unscrewing it is unrealistic. I do a lot of work with my hands, so I can grip and torque pretty hard, but nothing budged. Thus, either the product came with its monopod leg so hopelessly cross-threaded so that it simply will not unscrew or, more likely, the maker omitted that feature from this smaller compact version and just neglected to clean up the marketing copy and/or instructions to avoid misunderstanding. It's not a deal-breaker, but it is kind of a bummer since there are times when the convenience of a monopod (especially long-distance hikes where less weight is always better, or in crowds where deploying a tripod can be difficult) would be greatly appreciated.All in all, this is an OUTSTANDING compact, travel-friendly, and affordable tripod that I recommend highly. The quality per dollar is quite high, and I see no reason to spend considerably more unless you need substantially higher durability because, for example, you'll be shooting sports or in some other context where the tripod may get collided with or otherwise damaged and thus, needs to be built like a tank.Note that this tripod is virtually identical to the "SIRUI" brand tripod that several YouTubers have reviewed and praised as the most compact tripod in the world (and in the case of the carbon fiber version, the world's lightest also, though I'm not convinced that is accurate). In fact, the only differences I can detect are that the SIRUI-branded version is in a slightly different color, has a push-button release on its head to keep the mounting plate from accidentally detaching when the mounting screw is loosened, and costs more money. Compared with SIRUI, my vote is still for this K&F because you get virtually identical functionality and portability, not to mention great quality, at a lower price.
14/06/2017
5
Compact, innovative design and sturdy. Well impressed...
10/06/2017
4
Quick Look: Fantastic photo tripod, however lacks all the functionality required to be a video tripod including vertical pan, and an arm to easily manipulate the horizontal arm. The adjustable legs work fantastically to adjust the heights with a twist mechanism. I really enjoy using this tripod for stills however look elsewhere for a video tripod.Design: The tripod is made with a light, yet very tough metal and has ridged twisty knobs to adjust the height. There are 4 twisty knobs per each leg allowing for a lot of height adjustment. For each leg there is a clip that lets the leg extend to 3 different widths.Mount: The mount accepts my Canon t-rebel 3 with ease, with a slide mount. The ball head allows for up to 90 degree vertical shots and has a green bubble which helps with leveling shots.Accessories: The black and green carrying case works great to carry this tripod around. It works like a string bag and helps protect the tripod from the elements.RATINGPrice ★★★★ [4]Design ★★★★★ [5]Adjustability ★★★★★ [5]Functionality ★★★★ [4]FINAL SCORE ★★★★★ [4.5]Verdict: If you plan to take photos with this tripod, this is a fantastic choice as it has all the adjustments needed. However if you are planning to use this for video, I suggest looking elsewhere for a tripod with a vertical swivel and horizontal arm for pans.
30/05/2017
4
I needed a tripod that closed to around 12" so it would fit inside my camera backpack. This one is sturdy once you adjust and tighten all the controls. Would have liked the legs to be easier to open and close, but size and weight was main priority for me.
16/05/2017
5
 I was so excited to get this tripod. There is so much that it can do that just wasn't possible with my old tripod. It's so strong and won't blow over on windy days when I am outside shooting, yet it is light enough for me to pack around. I love that I can position my camera in so many positions and know that my camera will stay secure. This has the hook on the bottom for extra stability. The tripod bag is padded, so when I put the tripod away, it is safely protected. I love how easy, and fluent the ball head moved on this tripod. It makes it so much easier for taking panorama photos. The ball head also works so much better for time lapse photography. The ball head comes covered in a velvet drawstring pouch to keep it protected. My favorite thing about this camera I think is how close it allows me to shoot on the ground for close macro work. I am very happy with this tripod and am going to be getting a ton of use out of it.
Amazing Tripod! Amazing Tripod! Amazing Tripod! Amazing Tripod! Amazing Tripod! Amazing Tripod!
15/05/2017
5
This is a very nice tripod, I would recomend this to anyone looking for a compact lightweight tripod. The carry bag is a nice bonus!
08/05/2017