Alzo is a company that has made a name for itself by making economical lighting rigs that have been making waves for years now. (We will be reviewing one of their new HMI light kits in a future issue, for folks who would like to get a feel for their main focus products.) However, in addition to making economical lights, they also make economical versions of some other video equipment and accessories, including video tripods.
While I’ve used a number of higher end tripods over the years, I really wanted to see what some of the newer, less expensive tripods had to offer for our readers. As such, we decided that we were going to do a number of reviews of low-cost tripods this year, so we thought it would be a great idea to start with Alzo.
Our test camera was our DVX100B camera, as the DVX100 series is one of the most common camera series for our readers. We put the tripod through a variety of tests, from simple pans and tilts, to quick setups and tear downs in a variety of different situations. With that said, let’s break down how the tripod faired in detail.
Ease of Use
This is a very easy to use tripod for the most part. It takes a little work to figure out how to get the base plate to slide on properly, but, after that, it’s very simple to manage. The gravity slide legs make adjusting leg heights pretty simple, although there aren’t indexed markings on them for precision. The adjustable feet are simple to slide into position, whether you choose the rubber tips for indoor work or rotate them up to reveal the ground spikes for outdoor work.
Depth of Options
The Clawball Fluid Head Pan Tripod is a pared down version of it’s bigger brother, the Pro-Video Fluid Head Pan Tripod.
It lacks the indexed height reference markings on the legs, the crank rack and pinion riser adjustment which raises the head 11”, the twin adjustment arms, the twin leveling bubbles (one on the head and one on the body), and the extra 10 inches of extended height afforded by its bigger brother.
The main trade for the loss of these features is the fact that the clawball head tripod is $30 cheaper, is four inches shorter when compacted, and is four and a half pounds lighter. In lieu of the adjustable rack and pinion riser, it does provide a clawball level adjuster, which can help you adjust for off-angle shoots in which you are slightly off balance due to the terrain you are in. Additionally, both tripods feature adjustable rubber feet that can be rotated up to reveal a spike for better tracking in grass and other outdoor terrain.
In the end, this light tripod that you can assemble quickly and use with most 4-15 lb. camera rigs, but which is a bit light in features, especially when you consider that there is only a $30 difference between the tripods.
